Concrete cast bison heads from Centre Street Bridge sell at online auction

Calgary history up for auction Some uniquely Calgarian artifacts are being auctioned off. Kevin Fleming reports

Calgary — Eight bison heads crafted by a local artist were sold at an auction this week and one of the concrete castings brought in a final bid of $10,000.

The bison heads are not the original sculptures that adorned the bridge in 1916 but were modelled after them by local artist Al Stinson and sat on the bridge from 1983 – 2000.

"The current ones don't have as long of a beard and their horns are not as protruding as these bison heads are," said Josh Traptow, executive director of Heritage Calgary in an interview earlier this month.

LEVIS Online Auctions hosted the sale on April 18 and all eight bison heads were sold for between $6,000 and $10,000.

The auction included a number of other artifacts and money from the sale is going towards heritage plaques for new Calgary buildings.

Visit the LEVIS Online Auctions website for more details on the sale.

(With files from Kevin Fleming)