by Anthony Imbrogno, a volunteer with The Calgary Heritage Initiative Society/Heritage Inspires YYC
Why is today’s downtown core located west of Fort Calgary? In the 1880s, Inglewood was growing in anticipation of the railway, but then Canadian Pacific Railway built its station where the Calgary Tower stands today. Much of the fledgling town picked up and moved.
Civic leaders then built bridges and ran the Stampede’s forerunner, the 1886 International Seed Grain and Hay Exposition. The first General Hospital opened in a house, performing surgeries on the kitchen table.
Calgary’s first buildings were constructed with wood, but 18 were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1886. Afterwards, town council mandated building with sandstone from the surrounding foothills.
Hence the nickname Sandstone City. See for yourself along Stephen Avenue National Historic Site. Imperial Bank helped make it Calgary’s commercial core. The Alberta Hotel followed, and HBC built a department store in 1891.
Smallpox killed several people in 1892, sparking a riot when fearful residents attacked Chinese laundries, the purported source of the outbreak. Many thousands of Chinese had worked on the CPR and settled in Calgary.
An influx of Russian Germans fleeing persecution arrived in 1892 in Bridgeland-Riverside. Ukrainians and Italians followed. Nuns like Mary Greene established Sacred Heart Convent in 1885. Édouard Rouleau became head physician of Holy Cross Hospital.
The CPR took advantage of the Rocky Mountains’ picturesque landscapes. Near Siding 29, Banff townsite emerged in 1883. The presence of hot springs led the government to create a national park in 1887. Opened one year later, Banff Springs Hotel is a modern-day castle, with another one built on Horunnumnay (“little fishes’ lake”, aka Lake Louise).
The park’s founding saw the exclusion of Indigenous people. They also faced Residential Schools that isolated students from their culture and families under sometimes terrible conditions.
At today’s Fish Creek Provincial Park, William Roper Hull built a two-storey Tudor Revival-style ranch house. Also, there was Shaw’s family homestead and woollen mill. A store on Stephen Ave sold their goods to many customers headed for the Yukon’s Klondike Gold Rush.
Sandstone City was a beacon on the prairies, connected to the world via railway and offering opportunities to many.
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“Calgary, Alberta.”, 1884-11-08, (CU181590) by Unknown. Courtesy of Glenbow Library and Archives Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary. https://digitalcollections.ucalgary.ca/asset-management/2R3BF1OY55VV?WS=SearchResults.
“Big fire on 9th Avenue SE, Calgary, Alberta.”, 1886-11-07, (CU1115356) by Ross, Alexander J.. Courtesy of Glenbow Library and Archives Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary. Big fire on 9th Avenue, Calgary, Alberta, between Centre Street and 1st Street SE. I.S. Freeze, J. Paterson, and Grand Central Hotel buildings in middleground. Contents of various buildings piled in foreground. https://digitalcollections.ucalgary.ca/asset-management/2R3BF1OT23D6?WS=SearchResults.
“View of Alberta Hotel, Calgary, Alberta.”, 1893, (CU1151254) by Unknown. Courtesy of Glenbow Library and Archives Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary. Decorated for Dominion Day? https://digitalcollections.ucalgary.ca/asset-management/2R3BF1F0I4Z6?WS=SearchResults.
“Chinese section men on handcars, Canadian Pacific Railway.”, [ca. 1886], (CU1103679) by Boorne and May. Courtesy of Glenbow Library and Archives Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary. https://digitalcollections.ucalgary.ca/asset-management/2R3BF1O2D94D?WS=SearchResults.
“Bridgeland area, Calgary, Alberta.”, [ca. 1912-1915], (CU140825) by Unknown. Courtesy of Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary. https://digitalcollections.ucalgary.ca/asset-management/2R3BF11WVC9?WS=SearchResults.
“Sacred Heart Convent, Calgary, Alberta.”, [ca. 1900-1905], (CU1156653) by Unknown. Courtesy of Glenbow Library and Archives Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary. https://digitalcollections.ucalgary.ca/asset-management/2R3BF1FTRYQZ?WS=SearchResults.
“First General Hospital in Calgary, Alberta.”, [ca. 1920], (CU1193643) by Oliver, W. J.. Courtesy of Glenbow Library and Archives Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary. https://digitalcollections.ucalgary.ca/asset-management/2R3BF1S14NLX.
“Canadian Pacific Railway hotel, Banff, Alberta.”, 1888, (CU181509) by Unknown. Courtesy of Glenbow Library and Archives Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary. https://digitalcollections.ucalgary.ca/asset-management/2R3BF1OY1FOL?WS=SearchResults.
“The first Lake Louise Chalet, Lake Louise, Alberta.”, [ca. 1890-1893], (CU185533) by Unknown. Courtesy of Glenbow Library and Archives Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary. https://digitalcollections.ucalgary.ca/asset-management/2R3BF1OXAVWK?WS=SearchResults.
“St. Dunstan’s Calgary Indian Industrial School, Calgary, Alberta.”, [ca. 1905], (CU11056821) by Unknown. Courtesy of Glenbow Library and Archives Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary. https://digitalcollections.ucalgary.ca/asset-management/2R3BF14A476V.
“Bow Valley Ranch, home of William Roper Hull, Calgary, Alberta.”, [ca. 1900], (CU1220800) by Unknown. Courtesy of Glenbow Library and Archives Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary. https://digitalcollections.ucalgary.ca/asset-management/2R3BF1XDFSPW?WS=SearchResults.
