Historic Calgary Week 2010

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Historic Calgary Week 2010 - A Walk Through Time

From Friday, July 23 to Monday, August 2 (Heritage Day), the 20th annual Historic Calgary Week celebrates milestones in our history: anniversaries of Chinatown, City Parks and many more. Enjoy eleven days of events, tours and talks for every interest: art, pioneers, family history, airplanes, neighbourhoods, music, parks, schools, windmills, theatre and gardens. Major historic sites will hold great all day family events. Events take place all over Calgary and beyond.

Visit our website at www.chinookcountry.org and watch for our brochures in June and July.

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Step back in time with tours, centennial events
By David Finch, For The Calgary Herald June 13, 2010

Believe it or not, modern Calgary did not spring, fully formed, from the ashes of the ruination caused by the National Energy Program in 1980. The city on the Bow has deep roots in the West and this year's Historic Calgary Week (July 23-Aug. 2) provides an opportunity to explore the city's wide range of cultural, intellectual, economic and ethnic influences...

Read more:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/travel/Ste ... story.html

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Historic Calgary Week events are now listed online at www.chinookcountry.org

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Two CHI tours during Historic Calgary Week. For the whole schedule, visit www.chinookcountry.org

7th Avenue East – Calgary’s Cultural Centre

Do you remember the excitement of stepping off the C-train into Olympic Plaza for the medal ceremonies back in ’88? That was the feeling of history in the making! From City Hall to the Legion, Art Central, the Bay and more, the east side of 7th Avenue is the core of Calgary's cultural district with great historic buildings and exciting new plans. Join the Calgary Heritage Initiative and guest speakers to explore this rich avenue and be inspired to share your stories and memories.

10:30 am - Noon, Sunday July 25. Meet at the Olympic Plaza C-Train station.


7th Avenue West – Mid-Century Modern and More

From sandstone and brick to brute concrete and curtain walls, 7th Avenue West recalls "mid-century" Calgary and our transition to a modern metropolis. The Bay Parkade, Elveden Centre, the Nexen (Nova) building, Century Gardens, the "Planetarium" and the Kerby Centre are some of the stops along the way. The new LRT platforms as the C-Train pushes west continue the evolutionary spirit. Join the Calgary Heritage Initiative and guest speakers as we explore the diversity of 7th West.

10:30 am - Noon, Sunday August 1. Meet at the Bay, 7th Avenue and 1st Street SW.

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Editorial: Moving forward by looking back
Calgary Herald July 27, 2010

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/opinion/Mo ... z0vZxzLZQF

Calgary is a city that always seems to be rushing headlong into the future -- looking ahead to the next municipal election, the next major downtown project, the next big festival. This week, however, is a good time to stop and look back. It's Historic Calgary Week, and it reminds Calgarians that this thriving city of more than one million souls would not be the bustling, forward-looking metropolis that it is without the folks who came before, who put that vision into place.

In September, school bells will ring throughout Calgary as more than 99,000 students head off for a new year in the Calgary Board of Education's 218 schools, while another 45,000 kids attend classes in the Calgary Catholic School District's 106 schools. It all started with the first schools established in Calgary by John Costello and Mother Mary Greene. The latter opened St. Mary's School in July 1885 and, with Father Albert Lacombe, established a Catholic school district by December of that year. Costello started Calgary's first public school because, the story goes, he had enough children of his own to populate the classroom. One of those children was future Calgary mayor Michael Costello, who, in December 1916, "at the head of a large crowd of rejoicing Calgarians," according to the Herald, officially opened the new Centre Street bridge, still in use today.

As Calgarians head to the polls this fall to elect a new mayor, they might want to reflect upon the first man to occupy that office -- George Murdoch, who fired his gun to celebrate Calgary's incorporation in November 1884 and his own impending mayoral candidacy. Doing some grocery shopping today? Take a moment to remember Calgary's first grocer, Isaac Freeze, who set up shop on 9th Avenue. Gridlocked in traffic? Think of future prime minister R.B. Bennett, who caused Calgary's first traffic accident, when he drove his car into a light pole on Stephen Avenue, and swore to bystanders he'd never drive again. (He never did). And while you're sitting in traffic, if you hear a fire engine go screaming by, remember James (Cappy) Smart, who started the Calgary fire department in 1885 after the J.L. Bowen house caught fire and neighbours could only throw snowballs helplessly at the blaze.

These and so many other people came before us and left their marks on this city in countless indelible ways. Take a moment to thank them while you're enjoying the many activities planned for this Historic Calgary Week.

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