Calgary's historic McDougall Centre in need of repair

Another historic sandstone building in downtown Calgary is in need of some TLC.

If all goes as planned the McDougall Centre, located on Sixth Streetand Fifth AvenueS.W,will get a facelift this fall the first in nearly three decades.

The province says an exterior restoration ofthe107-year-old building has been put out to tender.

"The repair involvesrepointing, cleaning and repair of the exterior sandstone masonry. Also a new concrete curb will be added," said Dallas Huybregts, spokesperson withAlberta Infrastructure.

There are about 190 sandstone buildingsstill standing in Calgary mostbuilt after the great fire of 1886.

Butmore than a century of snow and ice has taken a toll and many of the buildings are cracking and crumbling.

Last year fencing was put up atCalgary'sold city hall because a piece of sandstone fellfrom the building.

• Sandstone found nearPalliserhotel spurs concern of falling debris
• Calgary's Old City Hall gets fencing after sandstone chunks fall

"Calgary sandstone is a little on the soft side," saidBob vanWegen, co-founder of the volunteer-runCalgary HeritageInitiative Society."It's basically a combination of calcium and sand. Or sand and TUMS, somebody [once] told me."

Van Wegen saystheMcDougall Centre began asAlberta's first teacher's college and later became anelementary and junior high school.

"You wouldn't know it now, but this used to be like a residential neighbourhood," he said.

The students were all gone by1981 and since then the buildingand has been usedforprovincial meetings and announcements.Alberta Infrastructure expects to restore theMcDougallCentre faade by the end of the year.