Central Memorial Park officially reopened on Friday following two years of renovation work.

Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier and Deputy Premier Doug Horner were on hand to celebrate the improvements, including new paths and fountains, that came at a cost of $11.5 million.

Special guests included Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and her husband, Pieter van Vollenhoven. The princess was to take part in a wreath laying ceremony on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the liberation of The Netherlands and the end of the Second World War.

The work was meant to deliver the inner-city park from the drug dealers and other criminal elements who found it the perfect spot to do business, and that's good news for Calgarians such as Liz and Remy Thompkins, who met there 20 years ago.

"We used to come to this park very often and it started to get run down and we didn't feel comfortable being here," Liz Thompkins recalled on Friday.

"When we heard that the park was opening today, we had to come back and hang out again. I love what they've done."

'When we heard that the park was opening today, we had to come back and hang out again. I love what they've done."— Liz Thompkins

A local history buff said the revitalization project showed the city is finally recognizing the importance of preservation.

"It's kind of Calgary becoming more of an adult as a city, in that we want to respect and care for our history," said Bob van Wegen of the Calgary Heritage Initiative.

That history that goes back almost a century. Since it was completed in 1912, Central Park, as it was known then, lived up to its name as the place where people gathered for local events.

The park became more of a memorial after the two world wars, van Wegen said.

"What's happening today is we're keeping that ceremonial and memorial role, but we're also reclaiming that celebratory role it had in its earliest days," he said.

Funding for the renovations came from Beltine Fund, which accumulated from various development projects in the past.