Downtown Calgary
Calgary has a thriving downtown core! What is unique about downtown Calgary is that it truly is at the centre of the city, a distinct area of high rises, office buildings, condos and more. From many places around the city you can see the downtown core rising up, full of opportunity, history and fun.
The area recognized today as downtown Calgary was originally inhabited by the first nations people of the Blackfoot Confederacy. In 1876 Fort Calgary was established by a division of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in order to monitor fur trade activity and U.S whiskey traders. When the Canadian Pacific Railway reached Fort Calgary it started to grow exponentially, becoming an official city in 1894. Settlers flocked to Calgary in response to an offer of free homestead land, and Calgary became a hub for agriculture. Today one of the slogans for Calgary is "feel the energy." 1947 is when Calgary really began to feel the energy, as the oil sector took off following World War 2. Downtown Calgary is still the home to many oil companies, who are largely to thank for the infrastructure we know and love today.
In celebration of Canada's centennial in 1967 and as part of a downtown Calgary renewal project, the Calgary Tower was built. It swiftly became the most recognizable landmark in the city, the epitome of downtown Calgary. Today, the Calgary Tower has been somewhat eclipsed by a new skyscraper: The Bow. With new landmarks like this coming to Calgary, it is clear that downtown Calgary is only going to continue to dominate the city skyline in beautiful and mesmerizing ways.
Downtown Calgary is not only home to businesses. You can also find fine dining, entertainment, parks, shopping, museums and other attractions.
Fun Fact: The reason why so many of the historic buildings downtown are made of Paskapoo Sandstone is because for a long time there was a law that required this be the main building material. Why? In 1886 on November 7th, the City of Calgary was devastated by a fire. Although no one was killed or injured, over $103,200 of original infrastructure was lost. City officials created the law to use sandstone for all large buildings downtown to prevent this from happening again.