Calgary's Past: From Wrestling to Romance & Beyond
Recently, I had coffee with Jim Ellis, Director of the University of Calgary’s “Institute For The Humanities” about a history project I had recently become aware. (Side note: Thanks, Shaun Hunter, author of “Calgary: Through The Eyes of Writers.”) Created in 1976, the Institute was the first of its kind in Canada. Its focuses on three programs: annual resident fellowships, research projects and engagement with the community. The project I was interested in knowing more about was the “Calgary Atlas Project.”
“Ring-A-Ding-Dong Dandy” history of Stampede Wresting map. Writer Heath McCoy, artists Kyle Beal and graphic designer Glenn Mielke.
The Project
“The Calgary Atlas Project seeks to recover crucial stories about Calgary’s past and present, stories that illuminate in surprising ways the character and diversity of the city. Forgotten or overlooked stories from Calgary’s history are mapped onto the city’s geography, highlighting significant sites, events, and people in Calgary’s past. Ultimately the project will produce eighteen to twenty maps, spanning the earliest moments of habitation and settlement to the latest re-developments in the East Village.” (source University of Calgary’s website).
The titles of the maps themselves show that Ellis and the Atlas team of researchers have found some intriguing off-the-beaten path Calgary stories.
The Animals Guide to Calgary
First Nations Stampede
A Queer Map
Calgary’s Architecture in 40 buildings
Calgary Goes to The Movies: A Historical Guide
A Map of Stampede Wrestling
Calgary’s Underground: Place, Time, Art: A Guide
Workers Stand Up: Calgary’s Labour History Map
City of Romance: The Literary World of 1920s Calgary
Calgary’s Underground map. Writer Diana Sherlock, artist Drunken Paw (Mark Dicey, Leslie Sweder, Janet Turner), photographer Dave Brown, graphic designer Glenn Mielke.
The Format
Each map is 24 by 18 inches and folds down to a 4.5 by 6 inch size that easily fits into your back pocket. Yep, this is old school – a paper map. You won’t find this information on Google Maps. Each map is a collaborative effort of a local researcher/writer and artist.
Once folded out, one side of the map has all the stories; the other side is a poster with a map embedded into the collage of images from the stories. The stories’ side has 20 to 40 short historical quips, which collectively tell a fascinating story of Calgary’s history. Stories you won’t find in any textbook or traditional Calgary history book.
Warning: The maps are not to scale and often are hard to understand as the actual map is sometimes hidden in the images. But don’t worry - addresses accompany most stories so wayfinding shouldn’t be a problem.
Workers Stand Up (Calgary Labour History map). Word by Kirk Niergarth, images and words by Karen Mills.
Calgary Goes To The Movies map. Research by Tamara P. & Robert M. Seiler, Andrew Watts, Charles Tepperman, art by Amanda Forbes and Wendy Tilby, graphic design by Glenn Mielke.
First Nations Stampede: A Guide to First Nations History at the Calgary Stampede map. This map was done on a buffalo hide by Adrian Stimson and research by Erin Hrynuik.
Sample Stories:
From City of Romance
From Calgary Arts Underground
From Stampede Wresting Map
From Calgary Goes to the Movies map
From Works Stand Up Map
From Calgary’s Architecture in 40 buildings
From A Queer Map
From: First Nations Stampede
From Animals Guide to Calgary
Where Can You Get A Map?
The maps are available at:
Esker Foundation Art Gallery
Shelf Life Books
The Next Page
Pages Books
Lougheed House
The cost is of the maps are $8 each expect for Esker Foundation Gallery where they are $10 each or 3 for $25, any six for $45 and the full collection for $78.
Last Word
My chat with Jim was exhilarating as he kept sharing some of the amazing stories the various researchers had uncovered about Calgary. I was impressed with the diversity of individuals he was able to find and engage in the research and illustrations. It was enlightening to know that there are many more Calgary historians out there.
These maps are must haves for anyone interested in Calgary’s history.