CALGARY — The Calgary Tower will be lit up in blue and yellow on Wednesday to honour the engineer behind its structural design.Clifford Osborne, a lifelong Calgarian, died on April 21 at the age of 89.A structural engineer who was involved in multiple famous projects in the city apart from the Tower, including the Harry Hays Building and the Plus-15 walkway system, Osborne is being remembered not only for his professional achievements that helped shape the city’s skyline but also for his humility and wide-ranging personal interests.Construction on the Calgary Tower — originally known as the Husky Tower — took place between 1967 and 1968, costing $3.5 million..Doug Osborne told Postmedia that his father was 32 years old when construction on the 190.8-metre tower began, and recalled visiting the site as a young child along with the rest of his family.“I was five and my sister might have been three at best, and my brother would have been a year and a half older,” Doug said.“All of us just rode up the elevator and were standing at the top of the tower, you know, windy as heck, and I was scared as heck.”Born and raised in Calgary, Osborne attended Western Canada High School, where he met his future wife, Joan.After high school, Osborne earned a hockey scholarship to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where his focus ultimately shifted from hockey to engineering.The couple returned to Calgary in 1960, settling in the Elbow Park neighbourhood and raising a family..As a project manager and structural engineer with A. Dale & Associates, he contributed to numerous major downtown developments.In a 2018 interview marking the Calgary Tower’s 50th anniversary, Osborne reflected on the project as one of the defining moments of the era in Calgary.“It was a big thing for all Calgarians. Everybody seemed to be involved because it was a celebration of Calgary,” Osborne said.“People were watching to see how many feet per day it made. I think it made twenty-eight feet in one day as a maximum.“The concrete portion went up in twenty-four days. It was very unique, and the people involved were very unique and it was real teamwork.”In recognition of his prominent role in the building of the tower, staff agreed to illuminate the structure in the colours of the University of Michigan — blue and yellow — because of Osborne’s love of the school.“They said ‘pick a favourite colour and we’ll light up the tower for him in that way,’ which was kind of cool,” Doug said.“I don’t think dad had a particularly favourite colour, but there was a lot of Michigan stuff around so I thought blue and yellow.”.Beyond his engineering work, Osborne was known as a skilled craftsman and artist, creating clay sculptures of tradespeople and construction workers. He also had a passion for music, particularly the banjo.His son said his father’s legacy will endure in the city he helped build.“I’d like the citizens of Calgary to know that he was the person who did all the engineering on the tower,” he said.Osborne is survived by his children Dan, Doug, and Carolyn, as well as several grandchildren and a great-grandson.
