Here’s a fabulous Calgary Urban Trek with lots of variety, taking in Bridgeland, Crescent Heights and Renfrew, plus a bit of Tuxedo Park. Ahead it’s much history and character. A fair sized loop with a short steep push early on, it’s otherwise pretty easy going. There’s busy commercial strips, quiet residential lanes, peaceful sections of pathway by the Bow and lots of coffee/munchie stops along the way* Our route is nothing more than a suggestion, so freestyle it and make it your own.
We started at 12th Street (NE) just south of Centre Avenue. There’s not much free public parking in the area, but there is some here (our cheapskate ways are showing). Head north to 1st Avenue and turn left. Block after block, it’s trendy boutiques and cafes (meaning we can’t afford). There’s modern condos and old buildings dating back to the early days of the community. Founded about 1910, Bridgeland sometimes feels like a small town unto itself. Near Langevin School look to the north and see a prominent church, its golden dome shining in the sun. You’ll get to see it up close and personal soon enough.
Urban Trek: Bridgeland-Crescent Heights-Renfrew – another long winded Calgary City Walk trip report. A Chris & Connie adventure.
At Edmonton Trail, take a left, then soon after go right at Meredith Road, then right again on 4th Street. Look for the 1910 Reliance Block along here, with some vintage signage. Then look down and see some ancient sidewalk stamps equally as old. How the world has changed since them. Left on 1st Avenue then right on 3rd Street and head up. Pass a street on your left so steep it’s now blocked to traffic. Suspect it was a terror in winter.
Scroll down for photos and to comment.
On levelling out meet up with Edmonton Trail and continue to 8th Avenue where you go left. Boogies Burgers over there…mmmm…Fat Elvis. Heading west, it’s tree-lined streets and fine old homes. You’re in Crescent Heights now, a community just a little younger than Bridgeland. Turn right at Centre Street and enter the bustling northern reaches of Chinatown. If you’re in the mood for Asian eats you’ll satisfy it here. The old Tigerstedt Block sign is super cool.
Coming to 16th Avenue, we make a Pho place our lunch stop – and there’s a bunch of them nearby and everyone we’ve tried exceptional. For inner city hikes in winter we often eat out, as there is not always suitable places to picnic, which we’d prefer to do if we could. Cross 16th Avenue and head left. At 1st Street NW turn right. Across the road – just what is a Unitarian? Hey Google! This is a lesser-known branch of Christendom and it seems this might be the only such church in the city.
In behind and from the early 1910s, it’s Balmoral, one of Calgary’s iconic sandstone schools from the era. Your author went to Sunlata, another in this style. The tower clock is a unique feature, even if it’s never functioned (nor does it even have a mechanism). Continuing and on the same property it’s smaller Balmoral Bungalow School to your left. It’s was a temporary faculty put in place while the other was built, that later due to higher than expected enrolment continued to see use for some time after. It’s now an adult continuing education centre.
You’re now in the community of Tuxedo Park with most development happening in the late 1920s. Go right at 18th Avenue NW, cross Centre Street then continue east (now on 18th Avenue NE). Here it’s a mixed of older homes with newer infills. Turn right on Edmonton Trail and after crossing busy 16th Avenue you’re now in the community if Renfrew. Dating from the late 1940s, it was earlier the site of Calgary’s Airport (during WW2 also a military air base).
Left on 15th Avenue, it’s row after row of charming little bungalows, then right on 6th Street. At the Boys & Girls Club, look for the hangar, a last remnant from the old airport. Continue on, pass Stanley Jones School, another sandstone beauty and across the road a little corner store of the same name. Lotto stop! Not many independents like it are left, especially one going back over a century. Head south some more to take in Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church – we pointed it out earlier. And now at the edge of the escarpment look out over the city.
Double back to 7th Avenue and head right. A vintage VW Van captures our attention. Known by many names – Microbus, Minibus, Hippie Wagon, VeeDub Transporter, Kombi and officially as a Volkswagen Type 2 (boring) – these are highly sought after by collectors. Left at 8th Street, pass All Saints Russian Orthodox Church and on coming to 8th Avenue turn right. Eastbound, turn right on 10th Street and immediately after left on Child Avenue. Just past a park turn left then, quickly zigzag right on Phair Avenue (no sidewalk, but there’s no traffic). Heading down, it’s a hard left on 13a Street. That place looks like stacked containers. On hitting the pathway, turn right and drop down further. On coming to the Nose Creek Pathway, go right once more.
Pass behind the Telus Science Centre – that scary Dino! The CPR tracks are just across the creek and maybe with some luck a train will show for you, as it did for us. Two locomotive and a single car – not much of one but no complaints. In behind the zoo come to the Bow River. Friends and I would play on that big bridge over there as a kid. We were invincible don’t you know and smarter than anyone. What if a train came? What about falling from the bridge and the weir just downstream? People drowned in that death trap all the time (it’s gone now). How the hell did we survive adulthood?
The path bends west and well away from any road, here down by the river and backing on the zoo, it’s a peaceful section of the route. At the CTrain Station, cross over into the community of Bridgeland. North on 9th Street and on coming to the Soccer Field, take the path heading left and gradually up, then come to a nice old church. Want to know more about it? Of course you do, here: Calgary then and now – St Matthew Lutheran Church.
Head north on 7th Street, make a quick left on Centre Avenue then it’s right on 6a Street. Pass an old fire hall (built 1909), now someone’s home. How cool. Firepole to the kitchen! Go right on 1st Avenue then left on 7th Street then right on 2nd Avenue. For the next while it’s an wonderful parade of fine old homes. It seems the gentrification monster is giving residential areas of this well kept community a pass for now.
At 11a Street, turn south. But not before checking out Bridgeland School (kitty-corner) from 1921, now a private learning facility. On our visit, kids could be seen tobogganing on the hill in behind. We were fearless like them…once. Come to 1st Avenue and turn right on 12th Street and in a moment or two, you’re done and back at your car. This was about sixteen clicks and for us some welcome exercise during a time where there’s been some physical struggles. It was nice to get and if you duplicate our route (does anyone even do that?) we hope it’s as much fun for you as it was for us. We’re easily amused.
*That’s if there’s not a pandemic lockdown in place – there wasn’t when we did this adventure late last year, but as we type there sure is. Damn ‘Rona ruins everything.
Stay tuned for more fun – there’s lots of new content coming.
They’re saying…
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If you wish more information about this route, by all means contact us!
Date of adventure: November, 2019. Location: Calgary, AB. Distance: 16km loop. Height gain maximum: 50m. Height gain cumulative: 70m NOTE: all distances and heights are approximate and may differ slightly from other trip reports. Technical stuff: If done in winter, ice!
Thank you for the update. This trip happened a year or so back, so this must be a new happening. It looked used then. Here’s hoping the incorporate it into a complex and not tear it down.
In the early 80s I worked for Eastside Dodge delivering parts to body shops and mechanics all over town. On hot summer afternoons coming back north from Manchester and Ogden, traffic was always clogged. My co-workers thought I was nuts, but I always got off Blackfoot trail and went thru Inglewood to take the bridge that went through St. Georges Island and the zoo, rather than staying on Blackfoot Trail to get back. I figured if I was going to be stuck in traffic the same amount of time either way, the zoo with its big shade trees and the Bow River was a far more appealing choice than the stinky old stockyards … especially on pig days.
I (Chris) always used it a short cut too when I was a delivery driver in the 1990s. Hauled out of an Alyth Lumber Yard (small stuff). That bridge was a tight squeeze for sure! Thanks for commenting!
Shouldice Bridge was the worst. The sides of the road were hilariously sparkly with all the bits of busted mirrors. Never hit that one myself, but I once ran right into a dumpster at the RCMP post garage and was applauded by a bunch of Mounties.
It was amazingly hard to get fired for wrecking company trucks back in the day. It was also ridiculously easy to get hired just for being a warm body with a valid license, and they didn’t even always check for that either. Boom town days in Calgary were just crazy.
We used to do something called the "pointless challenge" 🤪 and miss those days. It was so much silly fun and often frustrating as heck. In these we'd invite people to send in random photos of obscure locations, but not give any information, and then we'd track where it was and shoot something similar.
Most of these came from old family collections, as was the case here. Anyone up to resurrecting the series?
In hindsight, why didn't we pose someone in our shot?
Pointless: “Devoid of meaning (or) senseless” Merriam-Webster.
If you like what we do and want to support this ongoing project (12 years now), go here: https://www.BIGDoer.com/help-the-society/ Thanks to Connie for making this post possible.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: ca1970 and 2014. Posted by Connie.
Captured on a cold, cold day many years ago. We've been passing this old house for decades and it's little changed in that time. At some point we expect to drive by and it'll be gone.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
When retired old railway cars usually get cut up for scrap. Sometimes, however, they find their way into the hands of the general public or whomever. Flat cars make good bridges, and boxcars can be transformed into storage buildings and the like. Case in point here. We see them used like this often enough and in this case, it's part of a corral.
Incidentally, this boxcar dates from 1950 and this was found by tracing the old road number, which is still visible.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
This central Alberta racetrack was never a commercial operation but instead just a fun place for car enthusiasts in the area to get together. Early '70s or thereabouts and it only lasted a few years. Even thought it's been abandoned for that long, there is no doubt what was here.
You know we like the the obscure stuff and this one fits the bill perfectly. Found by accident while backroad cruising and the history comes thanks to local car guy Mike.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2022. Posted by Connie.
On top of little Myrtle Mountain in the Kimberley (BC) Nature Park.
There's some good wilderness fun to be had here and nice views as you can see, but the real reason we came is mining history. The whole area near the ski hill was extensively worked over a century ago and we were looking for evidence of this. We didn't find much in the area searched, but it's a big chunk of property and we hope to return to cover more ground again soon. Of all the subjects we cover, mining related is a favourite.
Still, it was a good hike and that can't be bad. Look to the comments for more info 👇.
Exploring nature and history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2022. Posted by Connie.
It's a strange curiosity in south Kananaskis, there on a hillside and we have no idea who created it. We asked around and no one's completely sure about its history. In the past it showed the Canada 100 logo from 1967 but in 2017 someone changed it to reflect the country's 150th.
That's our friend Emily from DanOCan.com having a look.
Exploring history with Off the Beaten Path with Chris & Connie. Photo: 2017. Posted by Connie.
Interesting!
Thanks for taking the time.
Nice looking churches.
We passed a few nice ones along the way.
I remember that day well!
Always a good day with you.
(Bridgeland School ) It’s for sale currently and the property has been re zoned for development.
Thank you for the update. This trip happened a year or so back, so this must be a new happening. It looked used then. Here’s hoping the incorporate it into a complex and not tear it down.
Beautiful!!
Thanks, it was a fun historic tour.
In the early 80s I worked for Eastside Dodge delivering parts to body shops and mechanics all over town. On hot summer afternoons coming back north from Manchester and Ogden, traffic was always clogged. My co-workers thought I was nuts, but I always got off Blackfoot trail and went thru Inglewood to take the bridge that went through St. Georges Island and the zoo, rather than staying on Blackfoot Trail to get back. I figured if I was going to be stuck in traffic the same amount of time either way, the zoo with its big shade trees and the Bow River was a far more appealing choice than the stinky old stockyards … especially on pig days.
I (Chris) always used it a short cut too when I was a delivery driver in the 1990s. Hauled out of an Alyth Lumber Yard (small stuff). That bridge was a tight squeeze for sure! Thanks for commenting!
Shouldice Bridge was the worst. The sides of the road were hilariously sparkly with all the bits of busted mirrors. Never hit that one myself, but I once ran right into a dumpster at the RCMP post garage and was applauded by a bunch of Mounties.
It was amazingly hard to get fired for wrecking company trucks back in the day. It was also ridiculously easy to get hired just for being a warm body with a valid license, and they didn’t even always check for that either. Boom town days in Calgary were just crazy.
Never lost a mirror on that bridge but had many close calls. Thanks for sharing these awesome memories!