Uptowne Olds was a hit for visiting members of the Alberta Heritage Resources Foundation (AHRF) board, who toured the area and came away impressed by its well-preserved condition.
"I was shocked ñ very pleasantly shocked by how intact the historic downtown is in Olds. It's really a jewel, I would say for Alberta,î said Matthew Wangler, the executive director of the AHRF. ìThere's very few commercial cores in the province that are left, that are that intact and have that degree of heritage value so it was fantastic."
Wangler and the other board members were in Olds for their quarterly AHRF board meeting held at the Pomeroy Inn from February 21 to 22.
The AHRF provides funding to communities for historic preservation through a number of programs, including the Heritage Preservation Partnership Program, Municipal Heritage Partnership Program and Alberta Main Street Program.
Festivities started with a bus tour of historic buildings around town. The first stop was the Mountain View Museum and Archives, followed by Pandora's Boox and Tea, barns at Olds College, then an impromptu visit to the college brewery for some beer sampling before returning to the Pomeroy.
Guiding the tour was Donna Erdman, chair of the Olds Historical Society. She said the tour was an opportunity for the board to see the state of Olds' historic main street.
ìWe're just trying to show off a little bit,î she said. ìI'm trying to show that this is an interesting community with a really deep foundation of heritage, or culture and also to show that there's a tremendous amount of support in our community for these things.î
AHRF chair Fred Bradley was also on the tour and said he was impressed by how different community groups came together for one purpose.
ìWhat really impressed me was the partnerships and the collaborations between the town, the historical society, your business community Ö Olds College, the Olds Institute and the Uptowne Olds organization,î he said. ìI think it's remarkable how your community's come together, embraced heritage and used it as a focus to help revitalize your downtown core.î
Downtown revitalization benefits a community in three ways, Wangler said.
First, it's good for the environment because the town avoids tearing buildings down and sending waste to landfills, he said.
Heritage preservation is also important for economic and social reasons, he continued.
ìSo economically, I think there's huge benefit to heritage preservation because people like to go to places that have character, that are compelling,î Wangler said.
ìIt has enormous social value to people to be able to preserve history and to play a meaningful and active role in promoting greater appreciation for the community's heritage.î
