Memorial Drive is a major road in Calgary, Alberta. Aside from its important role in city infrastructure, the tree lined sides of Memorial Drive serve as a living testament to the many local soldiers who died during World War I and give it a parkway look on the western section. An active path system also runs along the south side of Memorial Drive, beside the banks of the Bow River. The Calgary Soldiers' Memorial forms part of an extensive renovation to Memorial Drive, which heightens the function of the road as a monument to the city's military. The Landscape of Memory Project began in 2004, in order to revitalize a nine kilometre stretch of the road. The design incorporated "Poppy Plaza" at the corner of Memorial Drive and 10th Street NW. The plaza used "weathered steel" to create large gateways, and the plaza and adjacent river walk were lined with the same rusted metal into which quotes about the Canadian experiences of war were cut. The Peace Bridge was incorporated into the remembrance theme of Memorial Drive, though there are no explanatory plaques at the site of the bridge.
Memorial Drive seen from the Zoo bridge
Memorial Drive looking east from 17 St NW
Ihor Novosilets' Holodomor Monument near Memorial Drive (Calgary) at Edmonton Trail, Dedication: "Eternal Remembrance. In memory of many millions of Ukrainians who perished in the genocidal great famine inflicted upon Ukraine by the Soviet Regime 1932-1933. "Let us all stand on guard against tyranny, violence and inhumanity."
Calgary Soldiers' Memorial
The Calgary Soldiers' Memorial is a war monument in Calgary, Alberta that was dedicated on April 9, 2011, the anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The monument is dedicated to Calgary area soldiers who have given their lives in war and military service overseas. The monument is located on Memorial Drive and bears the names of 3,000 fallen soldiers from the Calgary area who died in military service.
Architectural conception of the finished memorial design.
Groundbreaking ceremony on March 6, 2010. Colonel Thomas Putt, commander of 41 Canadian Brigade Group, breaks ground with a military entrenching tool. At left is City Councillor Druh Farrell, in whose ward the proposed monument was to be located. Visible in the photo are soldiers and veterans of the King's Own Calgary Regiment and The Calgary Highlanders. At centre is the commanding officer of the Highlanders, Lieutenant-Colonel Mike Vernon.
Parade at the Calgary Soldiers' Memorial to commemorate the Battle of Vimy Ridge on April 8, 2017.