Then & Now
Lions Park
Then
& Now
BY ROBERT MICHON
Musée Héritage Museum St. Albert Lions Park, 1979
ON QUIET SUMMER afternoons,
when the sun is shining, there are few better places to be than Lions Park. It’s one of the oldest and most developed of St. Albert’s parks, so it may surprise you to know that this isn’t a City park at all— or at least, not entirely. For over 60 years, Lions Park has been the passion project of the St. Albert Host Lions Club, and they are the ones responsible for building it into what it is today. The park has seen many renovations over the years, and it continues to serve the needs of the community.
1950s The Lions Club of St. Albert was formed in 1952 as the local branch of an international service organization whose 28 T8Nmagazine.com
members aim to better their communities and the world at large. In 1956, the St. Albert Town Council leased a plot of land to the club for them to develop however they wished. This land, situated between our city centre and the railway tracks, would become Lions Park. The Lions Club was committed to the idea of building and maintaining a park for all of St. Albert to enjoy. In these early years, they focused on building picnic sites, landscaping and planting trees, and keeping the park cleaned up so that it remained attractive.
1960s By now, the park was clearly a success. People were especially enjoying it on warm summer days. But the Lions Club still sought to improve it. They built shelters to give picnickers reprieve from the rain. They built mini-golf courses to entertain children. They even built a bandstand
DID YOU KNOW? Many of the park’s features were developed as part of the Lions Club’s centennial celebration project in 1967. The club committed $30,000 to a large-scale renovation that included public washrooms and decorative archways, and less-visible improvements such as drainage systems to ensure the park wouldn’t flood during summer storms. in 1966, so that residents could enjoy outdoor concerts on Sunday afternoons. There was also a small campground constructed in 1964, where visitors and residents alike could spend the night sleeping under the stars and telling stories around the campfire.
