When an original Centre Street Bridge lion returned to public display in Calgary in 2018, the plan was not to make it look new. The northeast lion went to Rotary Park with traces of age still visible. The city calls the approach “arrested decay”: conservation that retains weathering and cracks rather than erasing every sign of time. [1]
It was not the same lion that had already found a home by the Municipal Building. After the four originals were removed from the bridge in 1999, the southwest lion was selected for restoration and used to make moulds for replacements. It was unveiled at the Municipal Building in 2003. [1][2]
Where is this place?
Original Centre Street Bridge lion, Rotary Park, Calgary — distinct from the Municipal Building lion and bridge replicas. This map locates the town or region, not a verified exact historic event site.
Each original lion was cast in five sections: one head, two sections for the front of the body and two for the rear. Mortar joined them together. The body and the central part of the plinth were hollow, despite reinforcement within the concrete. [3]
Conservation Solutions’ contribution to a professional bulletin records work on the lion in spring 2017 and a further anti-graffiti treatment planned before its public opening. The conservation and the later protective coating were separate stages. [4]
By 19 September 2018, the city announced that conservation and the new setting were complete. The site included a base, paths, seating and landscaping. The team had drawn on structural engineering, heritage architecture, conservation, materials knowledge and specialist moving expertise. [3]
The northeast original was placed on the Rotary Park bluff, overlooking the bridge. Down below, the replacement lions occupied the pavilions their predecessors had left in 1999. [1]