Community Heritage Roundtable - article

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Community Heritage Roundtable - article

Postby newsposter » Sun Jul 15, 2007 4:46 pm

Article on the June Community Heritage Roundtable in the Calgary Real Estate News. The next heritage roundtable will be held in the fall. If you would like to be notified of the next roundtable, send an email to info@calgaryheritage.org

http://www.cren.ca/content_view?CONTENT ... 12%2C+2007

by Irina Mazursky, Calgary Real Estate News, July 12

Knights of the Heritage Roundtable

Calgary’s most historic communities shared their accomplishments at the Community Heritage Round Table at Ramsay Community Hall on June 26.

Community Heritage Success Stories was the theme as members from Hillhurst-Sunnyside, Cliff Bungalow-Mission, the Bowness Historical Society and the Cathedral of the Redeemer showed off their historical initiatives.

“I think all of these different projects help Calgarians to appreciate their city more and appreciate that Calgary does have a rich history and it’s not just about today’s building boom,” said Bob Van Wegan, board member Calgary Heritage Initiative and Community Planner for the Federation of Calgary Communities (FCC).

Representatives from Hillhurst-Sunnyside talked about their online tour book. It allows anyone to upload walking tour instructions and read and walk along as they learn about local history and landmarks. The Cliff Bungalow-Mission Heritage Designation Program was designed to encourage residents to nominate neighbourhood buildings of historical interest. A jury will consider all proposals and award a historic plaque to the owners, which will be installed on the property. The Bowness Historical Society showcased “Bowness: Our Village in the Valley,” a book produced by the society itself. The Cathedral Church of the Redeemer also put out a book accounting its historical impact on Calgary. The presenters described the struggles they faces getting their projects off the ground.

“I think it’s pretty much accepted now that preserving some of our built heritage enhances life for people in all kinds of ways. It helps us remember our history, they’re vessels of memory, there’s stories attached to these places,” said Darryl Cariou, Lead Heritage Planner City of Calgary. He mentioned that a landscape where heritage buildings mingle with new buildings would provide variety and visual appeal to a community.

Van Wegan was impressed at all of the initiatives, and recognized the hard, mostly unpaid work carried out by all of the communities.

“I was amazed at how many history books Bowness sold. I thought given the population of Bowness that it was just amazing how deeply rooted that project was in the community,” he said. At $60 per book ($55 for seniors) the publication sold almost 1,500 copies. “To sell over a thousand books into that population I think is astonishing!” The Society is currently t work on another book, to chronicle families rooted in the neighbourhood. It is due some time next spring.

“I really liked the approach they took in Hillhurst/Sunnyside,” said Cariou of the self-directed walking tour, which features contemporary spots as well as older sites. “It’s a richer kind of walking tour. It’s a more holistic approach, where heritage is part of the community, so that stuck out for me as sort of an unusual approach that I thought was a positive approach.”

The Calgary Heritage Initiative is a grassroots movement, which approached the city for support and guidance.

“We’ve got approval from City Council to rehabilitate Central Memorial Park and so far we’ve got about a third of the budget we need and we’re confident we’re going to get the rest of the budget that we need to see that Central Memorial Park is brought back to have similar kind of role that it had throughout its history,” said Cariou of other heritage initiatives in the works.

The business boom in Calgary has caused many historic priorities to fall to the side. Maintaining its importance has been a challenge.

“We’re always struggling with the effects of the current boom, that tends to wipe away what came before. I think that keeping and preserving heritage is part of having a great city. The great cities of the world all respect and honour their heritage and their heritage is an important attraction for them,” said Van Wegan.

According to Van Wegan history must be recorded and celebrated before it is forgotten.

“History is so transitory, unless you write history down, it’s lost and then there’s nothing to build on in the future,” he said.

Historic buildings also represent the values and beliefs of yesterday.

“Our intangible heritage that comes from our ranching and agricultural roots and values of hard work and entrepreneurship and rolling up your sleeves and getting it done. And those are values that are still relevant today that we’ve learned in the past and that we don’t want to forget about. And those values are embodied in the buildings,” said Cariou.

In order for this movement to keep gaining momentum, more Calgarians need to get involved. Cariou suggests visiting events like the round table, going to Heritage Park, talking to Aldermen about historic preservation and getting neighbours involved.

“Groups of Calgarians and communities are taking ownership of heritage and are promoting it and celebrating it. I think it’s significant, I think Calgarians are becoming interested in their history and that’s important,” said Van Wegan.

To learn more about Calgary’s heritage, visit www.calgaryheritage.com.

——Irina Mazursky is the Calgary Real Estate News resident reporter.
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