Hillhurst is a community located within the

inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

of Calgary,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The boundaries of the community are 8th Avenue NW to the north, 10th Street NW to the east, the

Bow River The Bow River is a river in Alberta, Canada. It begins within the Canadian Rocky Mountains and winds through the Alberta foothills onto the prairies, where it meets the Oldman River, the two then forming the South Saskatchewan River. These w ...

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 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, 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 The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways o ...

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 immigrants. A proportion of 48.2% of the buildings were condominiums or apartments, and 56.2% of the housing was used for

renting Renting, also known as hiring or letting, is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for a ...

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 Calgary Roman Catholic Separate School District No. 1 or the Calgary Catholic School District (CSSD) is the Roman Catholic separate school board in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It also serves the neighbouring communities of Airdrie, Chestermere, ...

(closed in 2010) * Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, or SAIT Polytechnic — Post Secondary College

Sports teams

Hillhurst is home to the

Calgary Kookaburras The Calgary Kookaburras is a ladies Australian rules football club based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They play at the Queen Elizabeth School, Hillhurst and are members of AFL Canada. They were the first women's football club formed in Canad ...

Australian rules football club.

References

External links