Bearded 'hipster-like' visionary needed to revive Calgary's sandstone quarries

Coun. Gian-Carlo Carrasuspectsit will take a certain type of entrepreneur to revive Calgary's sandstone industry.

"Is there someone out there with a beard and hipster-like who wants to get into the quarry business like we have people getting into the local farming business?"

The Ward 9 councillorbelievesthat there areinterested investors out there, but they're not going to bite until the city takes the first step.

And that began withcouncil passinghis notice of motion on Wednesday to investigate the economic viability of reopening two of Calgary's quarries.

Only Coun. Sean Chu voted against the motion.

"There are a lot of heritage buildings in this city made out of sandstone and they're going to need refurbishment," Carra told the Calgary Eyeopener on Wednesday.

That includesthe crumbling walls of old Calgary city hall, which is closed for restoration for the next four years.

"And the sad thing to me is we're buying sandstone from Europe and the United States, rather than out of our own quarries."

Digging up the past

It was thedevastating Great Fire of 1886 that sparked the sandstone boom in Calgary.

Many of the city'scivic and religious buildings constructed in the early 1900'swere made withPaskapoo sandstone instead ofwood.

At one point, 16quarries operated around the city but did notsurvive against the rising costs of stonecutters and masons, and theinvention of cheapbuilding materials.

Carra's motion floats the idea of reactivating twoold sites in Calgary the J.A. Lewis Quarryin Nose Hilland another inEdworthyPark.

However, the challenge with thelatter is that the city does not own the mineral rights.

Carra said that was a conscious decision made by the Edworthy family when they dedicated the park to the City of Calgary

"It wasa strategy to maintain the park that they were granting to the city that they worried might get, you know,crossedby a road or whatever, so they need to be involved."

Calgary Eyeopener6:49Should Calgary re-open sandstone quarries?

A Calgary city councillor wants the city to explore the idea of re-opening two of its long-closed sandstone quarries. We talk to Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra about his motion.

With files from the Calgary Eyeopener