When an Alberta town decided to build a UFO landing pad
1967 project in St. Paul hoped to draw tourists -- from nearby or far, far away
The town of St. Paul, Alta., took western hospitality to a new realm in 1967. When others in Canada were building roadside outhouses or enormous fish statues as Centennial projects, the small farming town built the world's first UFO landing pad.
The landing pad, a circular cement deck attached to a spaceship-shaped Chamber of Commerce, even had space sounds piped in for extra effect.
An enduring tourist attraction
It was built in an effort to attract both tourists and Martians to this rural pocket, starting off as a tongue-in-cheek celebration of Canada's Centennial but growing to full-fledged intergalactic fervour. As seen in this CBC Television footage, folks could dine on Saturn Salads and Martian Burgers and cruise aboard the Martian Express.
Aliens have yet to land in St. Paul, but in 1998 the town hosted a UFO conference for believers and the merely curious.