St. Albert's Place was designed to be a meeting place for the
political, civic, administrative, cultural, and community
activities of St. Albert, Alberta. Today, the $18M building is seen
as a demonstration of the accessibility of government to the
community, and a focal point for community participation in
government affairs. Completed in 1976, the building spans 133,150
square feet of land in the city just north of Edmonton.
The complex includes: council chambers, administrative offices, a
museum, an auditorium, a public library, and arts and crafts
facilities. Cardinal faced some of the same hurdles with the civic
centre as with the Grande Prairie Regional College, and with
similar results: the interior budget was slashed in order to
preserve the curvilinear exterior. Notwithstanding the delays and
hurdles, the Civic Centre was completed with its original purpose
intact - that of a public cultural space. Today, it stands as a
staple of the community, and a monument to the relationship between
the government and the public it serves.
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