Hillhurst is a community located within the inner city of

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, Alberta, Canada. The boundaries of the community are 8th Avenue NW to the north, 10th Street NW to the east, the Bow River to the south, and 18th Street NW to the west. The communities of Hillhurst and the neighbouring Sunnyside together form the Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Association. The two communities have an area redevelopment plan in place, revised in 2009. The popular

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

Business Revitalization Zone (BRZ) adjoins the Hillhurst community. It is an active family-friendly commercial area, abundant with amenities.

History

Established in 1914, Hillhurst is one of Calgary's oldest neighbourhoods. The first homesteads appeared here in the 1880s – the most notable being that of Felix McHugh. In 1883, he established his homestead in Section 21, now known as Hillhurst. The site of his house is now a playground at corner of 9A Street and Memorial Drive. Ezra Riley acquired the land, and sold it to the city in 1904. He also donated a 20 acre parcel, which is now

Riley Park Riley Park is an urban park in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is located in the neighbourhood of Hillhurst, bounded by 8th Ave. NW, 10th St. NW, 5th Ave. NW and 12th St. NW. The park plays is host to Calgary's Cricket Leagues and Calgary Concert B ...

, and a stone structure where St. Barnabas Church is now located. The city set the size of the lots to 25 feet with lots selling for about $300 each in 1907. In the early days, much of Hillhurst was a slough. As more and more people came, the dirt trails and wooden sidewalks gave way to paved roads; cement side walks, and lit roadways. Now, Hillhurst is a community with a population of approximately 5000. The small well-kept houses and tree-lined streets are the result of over 80 years of care and hard work.

Demographics

In the City of Calgary's 2012 municipal census, Hillhurst had a population of living in dwellings, a 6.4% increase from its 2011 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2012. Residents in this community had a median household income of $50,822 in 2000, and there were 18.6% low income residents living in the neighbourhood. As of 2000, 15.3% of the residents were

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

s. A proportion of 48.2% of the buildings were

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

s or

apartment An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...

s, and 56.2% of the housing was used for renting.

Education

In 2006, there were five schools in the district: * Hillhurst Community School — Public * Queen Elizabeth Elementary School — Public * Queen Elizabeth Junior and Senior High — Public * St. John Fine Arts Elementary — Calgary Catholic School District (closed in 2010) * Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, or

SAIT Sait as a given name or surname is the Turkish written form of the Arabic male given name Sa‘id. The name Sait or the abbreviation SAIT may refer to: People (given name or surname) * Sait Faik Abasıyanık, Turkish writer * Talât Sait Halma ...

Polytechnic — Post Secondary College

Sports teams

Hillhurst is home to the Calgary Kookaburras

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

club.

References

External links