The neighbourhood of Eau Claire in

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 ...

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is located immediately north of

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

, and south of 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 north of 4th Avenue. A mix of riverside condominiums, shopping, restaurants, hotels, a large public plaza and urban parkland make Eau Claire one of Calgary's most popular areas. Contained within Eau Claire is the city's Festival District. 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 the Bow River pathway.

History

The name Eau Claire derives from one of Calgary's original industries - a sawmill transplanted from

Eau Claire, Wisconsin Eau Claire ( ; lit. "clear water") is a city in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, Eau Claire and Chippewa County, Wisconsin, Chippewa counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the county seat, seat of Eau Claire County. It is the List of citie ...

and staffed by mostly Norwegian mill workers. The area on the banks of the Bow River was selected in 1886 for its easy access to fallen timber. The community was subsequently named for the Eau Claire Lumber Company. Eau Claire Plaza, at the core of the Festival District is currently undergoing a major modernization and redevelopment to better integrate it with the city, Prince's Island, Barclay Mall and the other surrounding hotels, restaurants and businesses. (Eau Claire Market will be torn down in 2024 to make way for the new LRT Green Line.) The community has an area redevelopment plan in place.

Demographics

In the City of Calgary's 2012 municipal census, Eau Claire had a population of living in dwellings, an 8.2% 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 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 $80,210 in 2000, and there were 21.8% low income residents living in the neighbourhood. As of 2000, 32.7% of the residents 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 98% 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 38.7% 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 ...

. It is represented in the Calgary City Council by the Ward 7 councillor.

Eau Claire Market

Eau Claire Market is the focal point of the neighbourhood. It sits immediately south of the Bow River and was built on former industrial land. The mall is home to several unique and "one of a kind" shops and galleries, a six screen Cineplex Odeon multiplex, a food court and several restaurants. To coincide with the reconfiguration of Eau Claire Plaza, plans are currently in development to demolish and completely rebuild the market which has declined in popularity in recent years. The new market will likely cater to a larger and more diverse demographic to better serve the residential community at large. The redeveloped market will enclose the entrance to the future underground 2 Street SW Station, part of the Calgary Green Line. Taking design inspiration from the Central Library, the north end of the market will feature a tunnel portal integrated in the building, leading the CTrain to north-central Calgary via a new bridge over the

. Construction of the station is expected to begin in 2024. The Eau Claire Market is scheduled to be closed on May 31, 2024, and demolition will begin on July 1, 2024. Havard Developments the property's management will celebrate a final closing ceremony on May 11, 2024. The market along with River Run condos owned by the city will be demolished and redeveloped into a Green Line C Train Station, and other compounds as part of a revitalization plan by Havard Developments.CBC News, (Mar 5, 2024) 'Calgary's Eau Claire Market to close May 31', ''CBC News'', retrieved on March 16, 2024, retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/eau-claire-market-demolition-closing-green-line-lrt-1.7133957

Crime

References

External links

Eau Claire Community Association
{{Calgary neighbourhoods Neighbourhoods in Calgary Eau Claire, Calgary Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in Canada