Established in 1875 by the North-West Mounted Police, Fort Calgary is located at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers in Calgary, Alberta. In 1974, the site was purchased by the City of Calgary and reopened as a historic site and museum. In recent years, the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation has made changes to transform and rejuvenate the area surrounding Fort Calgary. As part of this, in 2014, five red pillars were built on the edge of the East Village, known as the Fort Calgary Sentinels.
The striking red Sentinels are the centerpiece of the CMLC's Fort Calgary Edges project, linking Calgary's East Village together with Fort Calgary. When developing the design, the CMLC's focus was on cohesiveness and community, "we wanted to look at how to treat the edges of the East Village, for a seamless transition between that urban space and park space that is Fort Calgary." states Susan Veres, VP of Marketing and Communications.