Heritage Park Historical Village

Heritage Park Historical Village is a living history museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on 127 acres (51 ha) of parkland on the banks of the Glenmore Reservoir, in the city's southwestern quadrant. The Historical Village part of the park is open 7 days a week (10-5) from the Canadian May long weekend through to the September Labour Day long weekend, and then weekends from Labour Day through to Canadian Thanksgiving weekend in mid October. Gasoline Alley Museum and the Railway Café are open year-round. As one of Canada's largest living history museums, it is one of the city's most visited tourist attractions. Exhibits span western Canadian history from the 1860s to the 1950s. Many of the buildings are historical and were transported to the park to be placed on display. Others are re-creations of actual buildings. Most of the structures are furnished and decorated with genuine artifacts. Staff dress in historic costume, and antique automobiles and horse-drawn vehicles service the site. Calgary Transit provides regular shuttle service from Heritage C-Train station. The park opened on July 1, 1964.
The park is divided into four distinct areas reflecting different time periods in Western Canadian history: the Hudson's Bay Company Fur Trading Fort, c. 1864; the Pre-Railway Settlement Village, c. 1880; the Railway Prairie Town, c. 1910; and Heritage Plaza (opened 2009), depicting the 1920s to 1950s.
Heritage Park has over 100 exhibits including:
Many of the exhibit spaces (e.g. hotel, barns, Gasoline alley, upper floors of buildings) are used year-round (including when the park is not open to the public) for special events such as weddings, corporate meetings, company barbecues, fundraisers, etc.
In March 2009, Heritage Park opened a major new expansion, Heritage Plaza. The addition features several new buildings depicting a larger 1930s and 1940s western Canadian town. Within Heritage Plaza, Gasoline Alley Museum and the Railway Café are open year-round, unlike the rest of the park, which is seasonal. The attractions added in the 2009 expansion included:
Heritage Park additionally puts on a number of special events throughout the year. Some of these special events occur during the summer season when the park is open for general admission and many of the events occur outside of the summer season. The following is a list of some of these special events:
Heritage Park Historical Village is a charitable institution governed by The Heritage Park Society. The Society was incorporated on December 10, 1963. The land that Heritage Park is located on is owned by the City of Calgary. The Heritage Park Foundation Board, incorporated on March 17, 1976, is responsible for the stewardship of the Park's endowment funds and is elected by up to 200 members of the Heritage Park Foundation. Most (if not all) of Heritage Park's exhibits and buildings have been funded by donations by corporations and individuals and through grants from various levels of government. Heritage Park's annual operating budget is funded partially by ticket sales and partially by government grants, donations, and endowment funds.
Heritage Park employs a core group of full time year round employees and then hires a large number of seasonal employees for the summer season. Heritage Park also relies on a large group of volunteers from the community who assist in various ways throughout the park.