Unsheathed: Iconic King Eddy sign to live once more

The historic King Edward Hotel sign was removed from the building in April of 2013.

A historic sign, which hung above the intersection of 9 Ave. and 4 St. S.E. for nearly 60 years, is receiving a facelift in anticipation of its installation at its new home.

The King Edward Hotel sign, depicting a sword and a shield, was removed from the exterior of the former site of the ‘King Eddy’ in April. The former hotel is Calgary’s second oldest building and was the home of what many considered to be Canada’s oldest blues bar until the music at the Eddy ceased in 2004.

The former site of the King Edward Hotel is set to become the location of the National Music Centre. The building will be incorporated into the $130 million, 160,000 square foot design for the centre, at which time, it will be reunited with the iconic sign.

Restoration of the King Edward Hotel logo is underway at a shop in northeast Calgary. The sign arrived in April and workers predict the sign will take thousands of hours to restore. The sign will be stripped down to its metal skeleton, rewired, refit and refurbished.

According to Tyler Stewart of the National Music Centre, no detail can be overlooked in the restoration of the piece of Calgary’s music history.

“This sign has been hanging off the side of the building since the middle of last century,” said Stewart. “That we can restore it and bring it back to its former glory and have it be a part of the National Music Centre is an amazing opportunity for us.”

The sign is expected to be ready for the opening of the National Music Centre in 2016.

With files from CTV's Bill Marks