History of the Shaw Conference Centre

When people congregate and confabulate at the ultramodern Shaw Conference Centre (SCC), they’re actually meeting at a historic gathering point.

For at least 5,000 years, there was a First Nations tradition of meeting atop the hill with a panoramic view of the North Saskatchewan River valley. That ancient tradition was renewed in 1983 with the opening of the SCC.

Recorded Events in History

• 1795 AD – The first European fur trading post was established in present-day Edmonton.
• 1891 – The first railway arrived.
• 1904 – Edmonton was incorporated as a city.
• 1905 – Alberta became a province of Canada with Edmonton as the capital.
• 1980 – Construction began on a unique convention centre for Edmonton. Designed by B. James Wensley and Associates Inc., most of the 10-storey structure was built into the hillside below street level, extending under Jasper Avenue in downtown Edmonton.
• 1983 - Edmonton Mayor Cec Purves and Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed officially opened the Edmonton Convention Centre, built at a cost of $81.8 million.
• 1997 – The building’s name was changed to the Shaw Conference Centre.
• 1999 – The J. R. Shaw family donated a stainless steel, see-through bison sculpture, Paskwamostos, created by famous Western Canadian artist Joe Fafard.
• 2004 – Construction began on a major expansion of the Shaw Conference Centre.
• 2006 - Hall D opened, with the spaciousness to accommodate up to 2,000 people, and enhance their experience with a panoramic view of the river valley.