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NewsLocal NewsPublished Aug 01, 2024 • Last updated 5 days ago • 2 minute read
In 2005, Queen Elizabeth II renamed the Provincial Museum of Alberta to the Royal Alberta Museum in honour of the centennial anniversary of Alberta’s confederacy. The former RAM site will be demolished and rebuild into a community green space. Postmedia fileIt’s the end of an era in Edmonton, as the site of the former Royal Alberta Museum (RAM) is to be demolished to make way for a new green space.
The site, which was the home of the RAM from 1967-2015, will be converted into a green space where “families can gather again,” according to a release from Alberta Infrastructure. The plan is to demolish the main building of the RAM while maintaining the Government House and Carriage House buildings.
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“The old Royal Alberta Museum building has been a part of our province for decades, and we know many Albertans have happy memories and sentimental stories from visits there,” said Infrastructure Minister Pete Guthrie in the release. “The green space we’re planning will give residents and visitors the opportunity to create new memories in one of the nicest areas in Edmonton.”
Alberta Infrastructure is opening the plan to the public and has created an online survey to let Albertans have a say in designing the new space. In addition, Alberta Infrastructure says in the release they are working closely with Indigenous communities in the planning of the space.
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“The Royal Alberta Museum has been focused on preserving and promoting our province’s heritage since 1967,” said Culture Minister Tanya Fir. “In its new location in Downtown Edmonton, the Royal Alberta Museum continues to impress and inspire Albertans and visitors alike. A new, welcoming green space in place of the former museum will add to the serenity of Government House and Edmonton’s river valley.”
When it closed, the province investigated the possibility of renovating the original RAM building but found the cost too high to be practical — roughly $150 million, including $75 million in deferred maintenance costs.
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On social media site X, formerly Twitter, Edmonton Glenora NDP MLA Sarah Hoffman posted that she was “sad to hear” the building was going to be demolished.
“Many organizations have expressed interest in repurposing portions of this historic building,” her post read.
“The current government should stop, talk to the neighbours of the RAM, community partners, and local representatives to find a win-win before it is too late.”
Plans for a park date back to 2016, under the former NDP government. It issued a request for proposals in March 2016 for a contractor to tear down the structure making way for a green space, but then launched an online campaign for public proposals in December 2017.
In 2019, Alberta Infrastructure told Postmedia the submissions process was still open.
The former RAM is located in the Glenora area and was purpose-built as a museum in 1965, renamed the Royal Alberta Museum in 2005 by Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to mark Alberta’s centennial. The building has been sitting vacant since 2015.
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