Calgary, Alberta – Part I

And now… off to Cowtown: Calgary, Alberta’s largest city!

Stephen Avenue

Stephen Avenue, also known as 8th Avenue SW, is a historic pedestrian-only street in downtown Calgary, and is designated as a National Historic Site of Canada. When I lived in Alberta the Avenue was called 8th Avenue Mall, but has since been named after George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount Stephen, the first president of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Stephen Avenue is known for its well-preserved buildings, many of which are constructed from sandstone. The Avenue is also known for some of Calgary’s finest restaurants, cafés, pubs and bars. The street also provides an eclectic mix of boutiques and high-end retail. Major shopping centres include The Core Shopping Centre, Bankers Hall, Fashion Central, Scotia Centre, and The Bay (although The Bay was on its very last day of operation when we visited).

Stephen Avenue really comes alive on a Friday night after work; we ate our last Alberta meal on Stephen Avenue, and it was a challenge to find a patio seat in any of the restaurants that Friday evening.

The Galleria Trees, Stephen Avenue

The sculpture was designed by the architect of the Bankers Hall building, The Cohos Evamy Partners, because trees are difficult to grow in Calgary. They also provide an excellent wind break in this busy walking area. The metal structures are interesting during the daytime, but they should also be viewed at night when they are lit with vibrant, seasonally-themed LED lights. They are also outfitted with a sound system so that music can be played along with the light show.

“Novus Textura” on the Galleria Trees

Ribbons of red, orange, green and yellow have transformed Calgary’s Galleria Trees into a colourful representation of the city’s urban fabric. Novus Textura involves more than 4.25 km of hand cut straps that travel from massive “spools” at ground level along Stephen Avenue and into the branches of the ten Galleria Trees located between the buildings of Bankers Hall and The Core Shopping Centre.

Local artists Gordon Skilling and Jolie Bird created the art piece, with Bird investing more than 400 hours into the hand weaving and stitching of the ribbons. Roughly eight kilometres of black thread was involved. The 120 straps range in length from three to 24 metres and have been weather-treated to minimize damage caused by UV exposure:

The Calgary Tower + City View

No Calgary visit is complete without a trip up the Tower. I’ve always affectionately referred to the Calgary Tower as “The Wart”, given its contrasting size to the CN Tower in Toronto.

The Calgary Tower is a 190.8-metre (626 ft) free-standing observation tower in the downtown core. Originally called the Husky Tower, it was conceived as an urban renewal plan and to celebrate Canada’s centennial of 1967. The tower was built at a cost of $3,500,000 (CAD) and weighs approximately 10,884 tonnes, of which 60% is below ground. It opened to the public on June 30, 1968, as the tallest structure in Calgary and the tallest in Canada outside Toronto. It was renamed the Calgary Tower in 1971.

Views From the Tower

So, up the Tower we went. Once there, we peered through the glass floor (from a distance, of course):

Grabbing some Instagram shots on the glass floor:

High Park (below), seen from atop the Calgary Tower. High Park is the name of a vibrant public space in Calgary’s Beltline neighbourhood. It transforms an underutilized parking lot atop the Centre City Parkade into a unique urban retreat. Created amid the COVID-19 pandemic, High Park provides the community with much-needed public space, offering a 200-meter elevated boardwalk that lets visitors stroll above the cityscape. This colourful walkway is lined with themed parkettes designed for rest, social gatherings, and rejuvenation. High Park redefines urban greenspace, inviting residents and visitors alike to experience a fresh perspective of the city:

Back on the Ground…

A memorial dedicated to victims of Canada’s residential school system, known as the Every Child Matters Memorial, has been placed on the steps outside Calgary City Hall. This memorial, which includes items like children’s shoes, stuffed animals, and flowers, was initially erected in response to the discovery of unmarked burial sites at residential school locations. According to the sign on the fence, the City of Calgary is actively working to establish a permanent memorial for residential school victims.

Crossing the Bow River on the Peace Bridge

The Calgary Peace Bridge is best described by the architects themselves, (Santiago Calatrava):

The bridge is a landmark structure connecting the richly landscaped residential community of Sunnyside on the north side of the river with the modern urban downtown community of Eau Claire, located on the south side of the river. The 126-meter long (413 feet) and 8-meter wide (26 feet) with a total height at 5.85 meters (19 feet) bridge structure is embedded as a sculptural, yet mathematically-derived element into a naturally landscaped surrounding and its sculptural appearance generates a striking contrast with the surrounding landscape.

The structured shape is defined by a helix developed over an oval cross section with two clearly defined tangential radii creating an architectural space within. The upper openings are filled with glazed leaves bent to the same shape as the exterior of the helical form offering protection to the users from the rain and winter weather conditions:

Calgary Farmer’s Market (West)

Located at 25 Greenbriar Drive NW. There are two Calgary Farmers’ Markets: the South Market, and the West Market. In the summer of 2022, the West location was opened in the city’s northwest. The Calgary Farmers’ Market West offers 54,000 square feet of space. This location brings al fresco-style dining, boutique-style vendor stalls, and room to explore, taste, and connect:

Dates visited: May 27-31, 2025

Note: There was so much outstanding architecture, amazing murals and sculptures in Calgary, that I’ve divided this post up into two parts. Please stay tuned for my next post where I take a dedicated look at the Calgary art and architecture scene we discovered while wandering the city.