Downtown Murals Get First Major Restoration in 52 Years

Art conservators are restoring two untitled murals painted by Robert Oldrich in 1974 that have been sitting in Calgary's Plus-15 walkways for more than half a century. The City of Calgary and the Glenbow Museum are collaborating on the project, which began last month and is planned to run until September.

After 52 years of accumulated dirt and grime, conservator Doris Fuller Ruiz said it's satisfying to see the colours restored. The oranges and yellows already look brighter, while the blues add more depth. The work involves removing dirt, stabilizing flaking paint, and repairing damage like indents and gouges.

To know which materials to use without damaging the original paint, the Glenbow's conservation team shipped samples of the murals' paint and ground layers to the Canadian Conservation Institute in Ottawa for analysis. Everything the conservators do has to be reversible and documented in detail, in case future restoration becomes necessary.

The murals were originally located on the Glenbow's outer walls but have since been moved to a Plus-15 walkway near the museum. The city plans to better protect them from the elements going forward, hoping they could last another 50 years before needing restoration. Oldrich created a variety of public art pieces around Calgary, and the Glenbow has said it plans to re-install some of his concrete panels in time for the museum's renovations to be completed next year.