Pictures of Calgary

[Ronald]

Great pictures, thanks for sharing.
Looks like Calgary is developing quickly, with lots of construction activities going on (judging by the pics). I don't think it can match Toronto though when it comes to construction activities.
Calgary was on my list when I visited Canada in '05. Due to circumstances (no more accomodation available, as the city was packed with tourists who were there for the Stampede) I went to Edmonton instead. Boy, do I regret that.
More pics of Calgary would be much appreciated!

 

[Ummagumma66]

Ronald: Calgary is outpacing the rest of the contry in terms of Construction, there is at least 7 million square feet of office under construction, of course the big 5 towers going up are penny lane, the bow, jamison place, livingston place and centennial place, all are around 1 million sq feet each, there is whole host of smaller office projects, then there are the condo projects, currently there are around 40 cranes around the downtown, and that number is sure to rise over the next few months. the city is reinventing its self, and its an amazing sight. (which I'll attempt to share with the rest of you.)

 

[RJR123]

They better hope to hell the boom lasts! It's so risky when you're entire economy is based on a single, dwindling commodity.

 

[Ummagumma66]

I hope so too, but already there are signs that things that are cooling, theres not enough people for all the positions that are availble, people that live here and want to buy a house, can't as the average price is $499,000, I'm hearing about lots of people who can't afford to live here, and that are going back east, the province is getting too expensive.

 

[Long Island Mike]

Calgary: Quite a bit more than a Cowtown

UG66: Good Calgary photo tour! Since I have never been in Alberta,how is the rivalry between Edmonton and Calgary these days? I am aware of the sports rivalries but since the cities are so similar in size is there anything else? How is CGYs economy today-I remember the oil boom and how is Alberta as a whole today? It seems that Calgary has done OK for now from what I have read. LI MIKE

 

[Bogtrotter]

^Alberta's economy continues to boom, much of it centred in Calgary rather than Edmonton.

Nice pics. It's been years for me but I'm eager to get back there and check out the city.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Calgary is quickly becoming more robust, urban and urbane. Still, while there have been some impressive physical changes, the most important changes can be seen in the people and felt in their attitudes. The population is a lot more culturally diverse than when I grew up there and people are actually starting to seriously talk about urban issues.

 

[Edward Skira]

Gwen Morgan, former CEO of Encana, brought up the issue of urban development a while back in the Globe business section. He suggested that we could cut energy use by designing our cities in a more urban way. When the ex-ceo of one of the country's largest energy companies, and one who lives in Calgary, says this you know that some attitudes are changing.

 

[Ummagumma66]

I will post a construction update hopefully after the Stampede parade, but yeah this city is hopping for development, the next 5 years should prove to be most interesting....

 

[Zephyr]

Brings back memories, please share more of your photos. Personally, without Toronto and Calagary, all my work would have been outside Canada, so I guess I am a bit biased.

Not such a bad place if you spend the time there - but it is no Toronto. The restaurants there are a challenge for me, not enough options for my taste.

 

[simply Dan]

Not such a bad place if you spend the time there - but it is no Toronto.

Calgary is but a small fraction of the size of Toronto - not good for comparison.

 

[Zephyr]

I am puzzled by your response simply Dan. Did you really think I didn't know the population difference, or anyone else on this thread for that matter? I didn't think I was comparing population sizes when I posted, nor was the answer dependent on me knowing the population difference to compare the two cities. That reminds me of New Yorkers' attitude toward any other American city compared to theirs, regardless of venue: "you can't compare xxxx to New York, we are so much larger".

I think Houston is no San Francisco when it comes to restaurant options, and London is no Chicago when it comes to skyscrapers, even though the population is the reverse in each of these cases. But are these not good comparisons either?

 

[yyzbrian]

Huh?

I came across this thread by chance and felt that I had to comment on the observation by Observer that Calgary is flatter than Toronto or Edmonton. I have traveled and spent time in many Canadian cities for pleasure and business including Calgary and totally disagree that with this assessment. I am not sure what you are basing your observations on, but that city has FAR more and far greater natural variations in elevation than we do in Toronto. The eastern half of Calgary is on a relatively flat plain, but the north, north west and western parts of the city are developed on hills and valleys carved by retreating glaciers millions of years ago. Friends of mine took me up a hill behind the Olympic Park a few years ago and the view of the city up there is spectacular. There are no natural land forms even close to this type of elevation in Toronto. The reason you could see Calgary from 70 kilometers away as you drove in from the mountains is because that part of the city is on hills and not located on forested land. Think of it this way, if you look at the edge of a card straight on, you cannot see the face of the card, but if you bed it slightly, you can see far more of the surface of the card. Calgary is located on ground like this bet card, allowing you to see it from a great distance. See images at bootom of page in the link below.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=135935&page=117

 

[Zephyr]

I surrender ...

 

[Ummagumma66]

there will be a major update for calgary, I just gotta find the time, you guys need to see the changes as there have been alot....