Downtown Calgary is a dense urban district in central

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. It contains the second largest concentration of head offices in Canada, despite only being the country's fourth largest city in terms of population. The downtown is divided into several residential, commercial, corporate, and mixed-use neighbourhoods, including the Financial District (CBD), Eau Claire,

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

, East Village, Beltline, and the West End. Downtown Calgary is bordered by 14th Street W. on the west, the

Bow River The headwaters of the Bow River in Alberta, Canada, start at the Bow Glacier and Bow Lake (Alberta), Bow Lake in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, Canadian Rocky Mountains. The glacial stream that feeds Bow Lake (Alberta), Bow Lake ...

and Prince's Island Park on the north, the Elbow River on the east and the CPR mainline tracks on the south. The neighbourhoods of the Beltline and Mission to the immediate south are often considered part of downtown, due to the high concentrations of businesses, high population densities, and occurrence of retail and nightlife opportunities, but strictly speaking they are not technically part of downtown. The population of Calgary's downtown has grown substantially in recent years, growing by several thousand between 2011 and 2016. With the population of the five combined downtown neighbourhoods surpassing 18,000 , Downtown Calgary now has a significantly larger population than that of other Canadian cities of similar size, such as

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

and

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

. While Downtown Calgary continues to grow, the Beltline neighbourhood to the immediate south, with a population of 21,958 , is taking up the majority of residential development in inner city Calgary. Calgary Transit's

CTrain CTrain (previously branded C-Train) is a light rail system in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Much of the system functions as a high-capacity light metro, while in the downtown free-fare zone, trains run like a modern tram with a dedicated right-of ...

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

system runs down 7th Avenue S. through the middle of downtown in an east–west direction, and the ride is free on this section. The future Green Line will run underground through downtown under 2nd Street, in a north–south direction.

Neighbourhoods

Commercial core

Calgary's dense business area comprises the bulk of the downtown community. It is a core of skyscrapers. , eight of the ten tallest buildings in western

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and a few of the tallest in the country, are in Calgary. It is arguably the densest downtown area of any city of its size in North America. Many of the buildings are connected via an long network of elevated walkways and bridges. The system, known as the " +15" is the largest of its kind in the world. The area surrounding the Stephen Avenue Walk is Downtown Calgary's primary retail area. Stephen Avenue (8th Avenue SW) is a pedestrian mall lined with historic buildings containing stores, restaurants, cinemas, and drinking establishments. Immediately adjacent to the outdoor portion of Stephen Avenue is an indoor complex of two shopping malls. The malls, The Core Shopping Centre (formerly TD Square/Calgary Eaton Centre) and the Scotia Centre are bordered at either end by the historic

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

store and Holt Renfrew's upscale department store. The street is also home to a number of galleries, restaurants, pubs, off-beat cinemas, and nightclubs. Other attractions in the commercial core include the Devonian Gardens in The Core, the

Calgary Tower The Calgary Tower is a free-standing observation tower in the Downtown Calgary, downtown core of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Originally called the Husky Tower, it was conceived as a joint venture between Marathon Realty Company Limited and Husky ...

, the Art Gallery of Calgary, The

Glenbow Museum The Glenbow Museum is an art and history local museum, regional museum in the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The museum focuses on Western Canada, Western Canadian history and culture, including Indigenous perspectives. The Glenbow was establ ...

, Olympic Plaza, Arts Commons, and the Telus Convention Centre. The commercial core is also divided into a number of districts. They include the Entertainment District/Stephen Avenue, The Olympic Plaza and Cultural District, and the Government District.

Government district

The government district is an informal subdivision of the downtown core, and is centered along

Macleod Trail Macleod Trail is a major road in Calgary, Alberta. It is a six- to eight-lane principal arterial road extending from downtown Calgary to the south of the city, where it merges into Alberta Highway 2, Highway 2. South of Anderson Road, Macleod Tr ...

, between the commercial core,

and Downtown East Village. It contains the City Hall, the Calgary Public Library, the Calgary Police headquarters, the '' Harry Hays building'' (federal government), Bow Valley College, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

consulate and the

Calgary Board of Education Calgary School District No. 19 or the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) is the public school board in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. As a public system, the CBE is required to accept any students who meet age and residency requirements, regardless of ...

among other buildings.

Cultural district

The cultural district is centered on the Burns Building and Olympic Plaza, and contains educational and cultural venues such as Bow Valley College,

and Arts Commons, including ''The Big Secret Theatre'' (home of

One Yellow Rabbit One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre (OYR) is based in the Big Secret Theatre in Calgary’s Arts Commons. With its Resident Performing Ensemble, OYR creates original theatrical works each year for its home audiences and also hosts The High Perf ...

theatre company), ''Jack Singer Concert Hall'' (home of Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra), ''Max Bell Theatre'' (home of Theatre Calgary), ''Martha Cohen Theatre'' (home of

Alberta Theatre Projects Alberta Theatre Projects ("ATP") is a professional, not-for-profit, Canadian theatre company, founded in 1972 by Lucille Wagner and Douglas Riske, currently based out of the Martha Cohen Theatre in Arts Commons, in Calgary, Alberta Alber ...

), and ''Engineered Air Theatre''. A statue of The Famous Five stands between Stephen Avenue and Olympic Plaza.

Entertainment district

The entertainment district is located along 8th Avenue South. It contains the pedestrian mall of Stephen Avenue, lined with restaurants and shops, enclosed shopping centres (including

The Core ''The Core'' is a 2003 American science fiction disaster film directed by Jon Amiel and starring Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo, Stanley Tucci, D. J. Qualls, Richard Jenkins, Tcheky Karyo, Bruce Greenwood, and Alfre Woodard. ...

, Scotia Centre, Bankers Hall and The Bay), as well as Calgary's only art house

movie theater A movie theater (American English) or cinema (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business ...

(the ''Globe Cinema'') and recreation areas such as the Devonian Gardens. Landmark buildings found in this district include the Hyatt Regency Hotel, which incorporates several historic buildings into its facade, the Calgary Marriott and Fairmont Palliser Hotel. Landmark skyscrapers in this district are Scotia Centre, Bankers Hall, and Eighth Avenue Place. The "Udderly Art Legacy Pasture", a collection of decorated fiberglass cows built in 2000, is hosted mainly in the Centennial Parkade, while other particular exponates are spread throughout the city.

East Village

The East Village is an area to the east of the Downtown Commercial Core. This area was plagued by crime and homelessness for a long time. However, the area has seen a great amount of redevelopment since the late 2000s. In 2007, the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation began construction on $357 million worth of infrastructure upgrades to the neighbourhood, bringing all streets above flood plain levels, upgrading sewers and storm drains, and building plazas. The neighbourhood has since become a new hot-spot for the downtown area, playing host to the award-winning RiverWalk, several restaurants in the historic Simmons Mattress Factory building, and several new condo towers, with several more under construction. The neighbourhood is host to the $191 million National Music Centre of Canada, and will be host to the $245 million New Central Library of the Calgary Public Library system. Since the redevelopment has started, the neighbourhood has seen $2.7 billion worth of investment.

West End

The West End is a high-rise, high-density residential neighbourhood to the west of the Downtown Commercial Core. The neighbourhood is home to

Millennium Park Millennium Park is a public park located in the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas of Chicago, community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in July 2004, is a prominent civic center near t ...

, which plays host to a large skate park, and is the home of the Calgary Pride celebration every September. The Downtown West - Kerby C-Train station serves the community. Downtown West End is also well connected into the Plus 15 skywalk system.

Chinatown

Chinatown is located directly north of the Downtown Commercial Core and northwest of the East Village. The neighbourhood is characterized by high-density living and a high density of East Asian retail and restaurants. Calgary's Chinatown is home to the largest Chinese Cultural Centre in North America. Designed in a traditional style, the cultural centre's roof is modelled after the

Temple of Heaven The Temple of Heaven () is a complex of imperial Religious Confucianism, religious Confucian buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperor of China, Emperors of the Ming dynasty, Ming and ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. Chinatown Calgary has an area redevelopment plan in place with work continuing towards revitalizing the neighbourhood. The neighbourhood also contains Dragon City Mall, the only traditional Chinese-inspired shopping mall in Alberta.

Eau Claire

Eau Claire is a neighbourhood located directly north of the Downtown Commercial Core. The area, which was developed from reclaimed industrial land, fronts the

and sits immediately north of 3rd Avenue South. North of Eau Claire is Prince's Island Park, a large urban park on an island in the Bow River and the site of many summer festivals, including the Calgary Folk Music Festival, Carifest,

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

in the Park and various

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuity, gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performa ...

happening A happening is a performance, event, or situation art, usually as performance art. The term was first used by Allan Kaprow in 1959 to describe a range of art-related events. History Origins Allan Kaprow first coined the term "happening" i ...

s. Within Eau Claire is Eau Claire Market and a variety of pubs and restaurants. It is also located on the city's large network of pedestrian pathways and trails, along

Demographics

As of the 2016 Canadian Census, the population of Downtown was about 38,663 people living on approximately of land. Also as of 2016, there were approximately 137,030 jobs in Downtown Calgary. Residents in this community had a

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two 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 of und ...

of $30,126 in 2005 with 41.4% of the population reported as low income residents. , 44.3% of the residents in the commercial core were

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

s. A proportion of 99.7% of the buildings were

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

s or

apartment An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...

s, and 95.9% of the housing was used for

renting Renting, also known as hiring or letting, is an agreement where a payment is made for the use of a good, service or property owned by another over a fixed period of time. To maintain such an agreement, a rental agreement (or lease) is sig ...

Crime

In the May 2023-May 2024 data period, the Downtown Commercial Core had a crime rate of 12.705/100, a decrease from the previous data period. This puts it at this comparison to other Calgary communities: Saddle Ridge (1.358/100), Whitehorn (1.741/100), Rundle (2.342/100), Brentwood (2.348/100),

Acadia Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...

(2.542/100), Bowness (2.934/100), Shawnessy (3.296/100), Inglewood (3.438/100), Sunnyside (3.650/100),

Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...

(4.703/100), Southwood (5.147/100), Sunalta (5.307/100), Montgomery (5.483/100), Forest Lawn (6.528/100), Rosscarrock (7.049/100), Downtown Commercial Core (12.705/100), Downtown East Village (15.605/100), Manchester (43.368/100).

References

External links

Downtown Calgary Community Association
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