City of Edmonton Archives Finding Aid - City of Edmonton. Parks and Recreation Department fonds (RG-21) Generated by Access to Memory (AtoM) 2.4.1 Printed: June 07, 2019 Language of description: English Rules for Archival Description (RAD) Archives Society of Alberta Subject Terms City of Edmonton Archives 10440 108 Ave NW Edmonton Alberta Canada T5H 3Z9 Telephone: 780-496-8711 Fax: 780-496-8732 Email: [email protected] www.edmonton.ca/archives http://cityarchives.edmonton.ca/index.php/city-of-edmonton-parks-and-recreation-department-fonds City of Edmonton. Parks and Recreation Department fonds Table of contents Summary information ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Administrative history / Biographical sketch .................................................................................................. 4 Scope and content ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Notes ................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Access points ................................................................................................................................................... 6 Series descriptions ........................................................................................................................................... 6 RG-21-1, Administration, 1962 - 1979 ........................................................................................................ 6 RG-21-2, Heritage, 1938 - 2017, predominant 1966 - 1992 ....................................................................... 7 RG-21-2-1, Archives Committee ............................................................................................................... 8 RG-21-2-2, Archives and Landmarks Committee ..................................................................................... 9 RG-21-2-3, Edmonton Historical Board .................................................................................................. 11 RG-21-2-4, City of Edmonton Archives ................................................................................................. 31 RG-21-3, Parks, [ca. 1882] - 2001; predominant 1900 - 2001 .................................................................. 36 RG-21-3-1, Cemeteries ............................................................................................................................ 37 RG-21-3-2, Golf Courses ......................................................................................................................... 39 RG-21-3-3, Parks Administration ............................................................................................................ 41 RG-21-4, Facilities, [ca. 1910] - 2012, predominant 1959 - 1997 ............................................................ 42 RG-21-4-1, Recreation Facilities ............................................................................................................. 43 RG-21-4-2, Valley Zoo ............................................................................................................................ 49 RG-21-4-3, Fort Edmonton Park ............................................................................................................. 51 RG-21-4-4, Universiade '83 ..................................................................................................................... 95 RG-21-4-5, Muttart Conservatory ........................................................................................................... 96 RG-21-5, Agencies and External Community Groups, 1959 - 1969 ......................................................... 97 RG-21-6, Photographs, [ca.1930] - 1984, predominant 1950 - 1984 ........................................................ 98 - Page 2 - RG-21 City of Edmonton. Parks and Recreation Department fonds Summary information Repository: City of Edmonton Archives Title: City of Edmonton. Parks and Recreation Department fonds ID: RG-21 Date: [ca.1828]-2017, predominant 1959 - 2000 (date of creation) Physical description: 30.65 m textual records and other material Language: English Language: French Dates of creation, revision and deletion: Note [generalNote]: Accession numbers: A48-3, A67-590, A68-120, A69-66, A69-129, A70-67, A73-12, A73-14, A73-66, A74-34, A74-71, A75-91, A75-109, A75-118, A75-126, A76-16, A76-37, A76-55, A76-57, A76-76, A76-93, A76-116, A77-1, A77-8, A77-11, A77-67, A77-100, A77-115, A77-119, A78-35, A78-114, A78-123, A78-137, A78-149, A79-1, A79-6, A79-9, A79-25, A79-26, A79-49, A79-67, A79-96, A79-122, A79-127, A79-128, A79-132, A79-150, A80-5, A80-20, A80-37, A80-47, A80-137, A81-93, A81-124, A81-129, A81-130, A82-14, A82-78, A82-104, A82-124, A82-133, A83-98, A83-102, A84-54, A84-74, A84-82, A84-138, A84-142, A84-171, A84-188, A85-10, A85-89, A85-97, A85-149, A85-156, A86-51, A86-79, A86-126, A89-55, A89-65, A89-106, A89-127, A91-60, A92-5, A92-6, A92-34, A92-63, A92-142, A93-40, A93-63, A93-74, A93-90, A93-113, A93-174, A94-130, A95-3, A95-64, A95-197, A95-213, A96-2, A96-119, A96-181, A97-8, A97-144, A97-181, A97-182, A99-52, A99-65, A99-171, A2000-32, A2000-97, A2000-158, A2001-44, A2005-80, A2005-81, A2005-86, A2005-87, A2005-88, A2005-93, A2005-102, A2005-104, A2005-176, A2005-179, A2006-74, A2006-81, A2006-86, A2006-90, A2006-91, A2006-98, A2006-133, A2006-135, A2006-136, A2006-139, A2006-141, A2006-184, A2006-186, A2007-5, A2007-58, A2007-80, A2007-82, A2008-50, A2009-53, A2009-66, A2010-1, A2010-41, A2010-100, A2011-72, A2011-75, A2012-100, A2013-34, A2013-35, A2013-37, A2013-113, A2013-114, A2013-141, A2013-163, A2014-25, A2014-55, A2014-78, A2014-99, A2014-121, A2014-133, A2015-6, A2015-49, A2015-99, A2015-135, A2015-156, A2016-2, A2016-116, A2016-118, A2016-155, A2018-21 City of Edmonton Archives Page 3 RG-21 City of Edmonton. Parks and Recreation Department fonds Administrative history / Biographical sketch Note The Parks and Recreation Department was established on January 1, 1962 through the amalgamation of the Parks Department and the Recreation Department. The newly formed department was responsible for all City-owned recreational facilities and parklands. This included all parks, arenas, and pools, as well as facilities such as Fort Edmonton Park, the Storyland Valley Zoo, the Planetarium, John Walter Museum, golf courses, City leisure centres, and municipal cemeteries. The department also provided recreation opportunities to citizens. These changed over time, but included athletics, dramatics, crafts, daycare, play school, camping, clubs, and dance. The Parks and Recreation Department was led by a Superintendent from 1962 until the early 1970s, at which time the position was reclassified as a General Manager. The head of the department reported to the City Commissioners until 1983, when the Commissioners’ positions were dissolved and replaced a the City Manager. There were a number of advisory boards that provided advice to City Council regarding a number of issues relating to the work of the Parks and Recreation Department. Over time these included the Zoo Advisory Board, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, the Edmonton Historical Board, and the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Advisory Board. When the Parks and Recreation Department was established there was an administrative division, a research and planning division, a programme division (which included pools, the planetarium [later the Space Sciences Centre], and playgrounds), a construction division, and a maintenance division. The Storyland Valley Zoo was part of the Parks and Recreation Department but operated independently from the larger divisions. The division names changed slightly over the next few years but the functions remained the same until 1966, when the Historical section, including the Historical Exhibits Building and John Walter Museum, was assigned to the department. This relieved the Historical Board of its administrative duties and allowed it to focus on an advisory role. Also this year operation of municipal cemeteries (including Beechmount, Edmonton and Mount Pleasant) was transferred to the General Maintenance Division of Parks and Recreation. In 1967 the department underwent a significant restructuring meant to create a more logically aligned and balanced organization. The new divisions included Administration, Development (including planning, design, engineering, construction, forestry), Program Resources (formerly the Programs Division), Community Programs (divided by district), Revenue Programs (such as aquatics, arenas, zoo, planetarium, concessions, and golf courses), Maintenance (including forestry, horticulture and cemeteries), and Historical Development. This structure lasted until at least 1971. In 1978 the Edmonton Space Sciences Foundation was established to plan for the creation and operation of a Space Sciences Centre. When this dream was finally realized in 1984 the Planetarium was closed. By 1980 the Parks and Recreation Department had been reorganized into four units: Operations, Administrative Services, Planning and Development, and Major Facilities. Yet another reorganization occurred by 1988, by which time the organization of the department had become less centralized. The units at the time included