Currie Barracks Parade Square

We’re paying a visit to Parade Square at Currie Barracks, or Canadian Forces Base Calgary in more recent times. It’s located in the southwest quadrant of the city and just off Crowchild Trail. The first image takes us back to 1971 and shows a military ceremony taking place on this very spot. In our photo, captured in 2015, it’s a much quieter scene. Events such as it no longer happen here, and haven’t for a while as the facility was decommissioned some time ago.

Today the square is used as activity grounds for students attending a number of learning academies that exist in the old buildings that surround our position. Where parades, revues and inspections took place, now hosts informal basketball and street hockey games. This post is an old one respun and about half of Parade Square was bulldozed under in the time that’s passed since we shot it. We’re not sure why this happened but think the section seen here still exists and may check down the road.

There has been military activity at this location for over a hundred years, although the base and buildings as they appear today date from a later period (the 1930s and beyond). When built Currie Barracks was far from town, but urban development has long since surrounded the property. The city has grown by leaps and bounds!

The military continued to use the base well into the 1990s, when due to budget issues it closed. Even so, the Forces still have a small presence here and one modest building remains in use by them. It’s not seen in these photos, but not far away.

Currie Barracks has been subject to much redevelopment and this a process started a few years after the base shut down. Many of the old office and living quarters have been repurposed. For example, the long building seen in the back left in both photos was (at the time) home to a film services company. We’re not sure the current status. Most others that surround Parade Square, recall, became specialized schools.

Other parts of the property, not seen in our photos, are now tracts of high density housing. It’s a trendy place.

The original image comes from the John Bacon collection hosted at ArmyCadetHistory.com (now offline) and we send our thanks to both for allowing us use. If you have an old photo (your copyright) showing a scene you think would made good Then & Now fodder, by all means message us.

Information accompanying the image tells us we’re looking at Cadet Corp #2554, trainees for Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, and that this was their annual inspection. The PPCLI regiment dates back to the early months of World War One and for much of its history stationed out of Currie Barracks/CFB Calgary. Today they work out of Edmonton instead.

Your author vaguely recalls attending an event at this very location in the 1970s, on a school trip, but his mind was on general trouble making and the details of why lost.

Some people we spoke with while researching the article, all former cadets or personal with ties with the base, mentioned something interesting. They stated Parade Square was essentially sacred ground and not to be walked upon unless you were a participant at an event taking place there. Failure to follow this rule would result in punishment and I guess it could be severe.

I wonder what they would say to us civilians using it as we did in this post? Or that it’s now used for casual sports activities? Both would probably be frowned upon.

You’ll notice the building in the back left seems to “fall away” more in our photo. In fact it’s not not that far off level when compared to the original but for some reason, slight mispositions get exaggerated once the images are stacked. Perhaps it has to do with focal length or something.

You’ll notice we were able to find the same crack in the pavement, near Connie’s feet and in the older photo, that of the fellow closest to the camera position. We find that particularly awesome for some strange reason, but then again we’re easily amused.

It’s not that the crack has never been repaired, but that we got so close, that the difference between the two photos at this point is mere centimetres. How cool is that! While this element lined up well, the buildings in back could have been done better and the one on the right (partially hidden by trees in our photo) is quit a bit off.

With that in mind, perhaps we’ll return the site and shoot a new “now” photo to post here. Yes, we’re certain of that. The original was captured when were were still feeling our way and could be improved upon, both in composition and lighting. We picked a day where the sun shone particularly harsh and if done again, would shoot more towards the evening when it’s softer. We have new techniques that would help us zero in better in regards to lining it up too.

Stay tuned…maybe…but like everything here, it may not happen right away. We always have so much on the go and everything here moves at a glacial pace.

Dig deeper: (new window): Currie Barracks Calgary History.

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They’re saying…

”Thank you so much for sharing these amazing places with us.” Jeme Deviny. (It’s our pleasure.)

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Rosebery BC Then & Now – Train theme.
Crowsnest Pass then and now – Chinook Motel.

Something to say and no one to say it to? Go here: contact us!

Date of Adventure: 1971 and 2015.
Location: Calgary, Alberta.
Article references and thanks: John Bacon collection hosted at ArmyCadetHistory.com (now offline) and HistoricPlaces.ca.

Parade Square @ Currie Barracks Calgary 45 years apart.

Thanks to the John Bacon Collection for allowing use.