'Suburban pioneer' - developer of Thorncliffe passes...

Moderator: newsposter

'Suburban pioneer' - developer of Thorncliffe passes...

Postby Bob van Wegen » Sun Feb 11, 2007 12:02 pm

It doesn't have to be pre-WW1 to be history. The mid-century coming of suburban development to Calgary is a big part of our urban history...

Excerpt below. Full story (paywall as of posting) http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/new ... c24d1de358


'Pioneer' instrumental in developing Thorncliffe in 1954

Chris Simnett, Calgary Herald
Published: Sunday, February 04, 2007

John McLeod was in the right place at the right time to help turn Calgary into the bustling city it is today.

McLeod, who passed away on Dec. 21 at age 99, was a "true pioneer in Calgary's residential development history."

In 1954, McLeod was instrumental in developing Thorncliffe, which was then outside of the city limits.

Thorncliffe wasn't a typical housing tract in that McLeod's company, Spyhill Development, agreed to put in all the utilities, something that developers in the city continue to do to this day.

"He was the guy that started it all," said (Max Foran), a communication and culture professor at the University of Calgary who is writing a book on the relationship between developers and the city between 1948 and 1978 and interviewed McLeod mere months before he died.

"It (Thorncliffe) was a significant development and McLeod, he was a pioneer. He was a pioneer in terms of residential subdivisions being built and paid for by developers...
Bob van Wegen
 
Posts: 148
Joined: Sun Oct 09, 2005 12:02 pm

Return to News

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 49 guests