Calgary: Growth of a City’s Skyline (With Photos)

Some Key Events in Calgary's History that Would Change its Skyline Forever (With Photos)

Calgary has come a long way since the day that it was founded by Éphrem A. Brisebois and his team of North West Mounted Police (NWMP) officers back in 1875.

Who would have ever thought that this small NWMP base of operations would eventually turn into not only one of the largest cities in Canada, but also the strongest economically across the board?! Learn more at History of Fort Calgary and the Man Who Named It.

Much has happened since that special year in history…

In 1883, the Canadian Pacific Railway had connected its railway to Calgary, supporting trade with the rest of the nation and helping it grow into an important agricultural and commercial hub of the west. A new market for tourism and hospitality was also kick-started as a result, which would eventually lead to the construction of the Fairmont Palliser Hotel.

In 1886, a massive fire swept over Calgary’s downtown area destroying more than a dozen wooden buildings. The aftermath of such destruction led city officials to draft a law that required all downtown buildings to be constructed using a fire retardant material – like sandstone – a commodity that was readily available to be mined from the Bow River’s embankments.

In 1912, with funding from the “big four” businessmen, a small but innovative agricultural show called the Calgary Stampede would hold fierce competitions between cowboys from all over North America who competed for a total of $20,000 in prizes. The show itself attracted 100,000 visitors over six days. The city constructed a rodeo arena on land along the Bow River to facilitate the event.

And more recently…

In the 1980’s, despite the “oil glut” early on in the decade, a handful of office towers including the Western Canadian Place (1983), Suncor Energy Centre (1984), Canterra Tower (1988) and Bankers Hall East (1989) to name a few were completed on schedule.

In 1981, Calgary won the bid to host the 1988 Winter Olympics. Construction on the world-class facilities needed to host the event including Canada Olympic Park, Olympic Oval and the Saddledome (already underway) commenced immediately and would have a long-lasting presence on the city skyline.

In the 1990’s to present times, several new skyscrapers are completed, under construction or in the planning phase including TransCanada Tower (2001), Centennial Place (2010), the Bow Tower (2012) and Brookfield Place (2018), to name a few. Similar to the construction boom of the 1980’s, these towers are indicative of Calgary’s position as an economic strength of Canada, a city that has managed to keep its head above water even during economic downturn like that seen in 2008 and 2009.

All of these occurrences have brought about incredible change to Calgary’s skyline. In 10, 20, even 30 years from now, surely downtown will look even more different than it did in the photo comparisons seen throughout this article. Nonetheless, I will always love my city for what it was, is and will be down the road of life.

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