The Heritage Artifacts

Heritage Calgary is auctioning 27 historic items with Levis Auctions until April 18. The items were transferred into our possession by the City of Calgary in 2017. They include cast concrete bison heads that are believed to date back to the 1983 restoration of the Centre Street Bridge, as well the original 1916/17 crests. They were removed from the bridge in 1999 when it was closed for renovations.

When the Centre Street Bridge was built in 1915–17, the kiosks were decorated with symbolic sculptures and shields: the bison represented Western Canada; a maple leaf for Canada; the rose for England; the shamrock for Ireland; and the thistle for Scotland. These sculptures were originally executed by James L. Thomson, a Calgary artist who was also responsible for the sculptures adorning the Bow Bridge in Banff.

The original, deteriorating bison heads were replaced in 1983. Al Stinson, who was commissioned to sculpt the new bison heads, modelled them after a living specimen at the Calgary Zoo. The original heads were removed from the bridge, and Stinson's replacements were mounted in the summer of 1983; the last ones were mounted on August 16, 1983. They were removed during the 1999–2000 restoration of the bridge (replaced with new recreations).

Also included in the lots are the painted tin sign and cornices from the Queens Hotel, which once stood at 802 Second Street S.E. The Queens Hotel was built in 1893 and was open for nearly a century. The items likely date back to a hotel addition that was built in 1902.

Please be aware that the Queens Hotel sign is more than six metres wide while the life-sized bison heads are estimated to weigh around a tonne, and buyers will need to arrange to transport their purchases off property.

How Heritage Calgary came to be responsible for the artifacts:

Dating back to 2003, the Standing Policy Committee on Operations & Environment approved a recommendation from the Calgary Heritage Authority:

“To approve, in principle, the sale at auction of the eight replacement non-historic buffalo heads, dating from the circa 1980 Centre Street Bridge rehabilitation; and That in recognition of their advanced state of deterioration, and the fact that they have been replaced with accurate replicas; that the concrete City crests, shields and other adornments, removed from the Centre Street Bridge at the time of its 1999 restoration, be examined for possible sale, or be discarded.”

In 2017, The City confirmed that Heritage Calgary was responsible for the artifacts. Heritage Calgary determined that we would de-accession the artifacts in accordance with museum best practices. And so, in 2020, Heritage Calgary circulated the Queens Hotel sign and elements as an offered donation to local museums and public institutions.

The priority was to make sure public institutions had an opportunity to express interest in the artifacts. As none were taken up, an auction has been arranged to ensure that the items can be put to good use rather than remaining in storage.

The auction is hosted by Levis Auctions and will run until April 18, 2021. Proceeds will fund the heritage plaque program, which recognizes sites listed on the Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources. The auction details are available on Levis’ website: https://levisonlineauctions.com/auction-catalogue/auction_84_e/