Everyone in Calgary knows Stephen Avenue, even if only from hazy memories of an eventful night out.
What you might not know is that this part of downtown, also known as 8th Avenue SW, is rich with history. Although you might have a hint from the many old, historic buildings that line the area.
A historic downtown district
You might not have guessed it from its status as an entertainment hub, but Stephen Avenue was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2002.
Old Stephen Avenue consists of nearly three dozen buildings belonging to the Sandstone Era of Calgary, which dates from 1880 to 1930. These are mostly retail properties, with a few former banks and one church.
Sandstone construction became all the rage in Calgary after a major fire in 1886 destroyed 18 of the city’s old timber-frame buildings. These sandstone edifices became so iconic that Calgary earned the nickname “Sandstone City” and absolutely boomed in the years between 1905 and 1913.
The early days
Prior to the arrival of the transcontinental railway in 1881, Inglewood was the heart of Calgary. But once the railway was established, the town centre moved to the west bank of the Elbow River.
Stephen Avenue is named after the Canadian Pacific Railway’s first president, Lord George Stephen, and was Calgary’s main street in the 1890s. It was home to a number of important businesses such as the Hudson’s Bay Company, the Alberta Hotel, and the Calgary Herald. For a time, it was the place to see and be seen, which is not too different from today.
However, by the 1960s, the main shopping districts, as seen in the downtown core, began to struggle. A decline in retail sales led to vacancies and social issues as residents were displaced by new growth.
Across North America, a new strategy took hold to revive downtowns and reposition them as “people places” through the building of malls and plazas. From the ’60s to the early ’80s, hundreds of pedestrian malls were developed to bring life to downtown centres.
Calgary’s Stephen Avenue is one of this movement’s most successful examples.
Then and now
Today, you’ll know Stephen Avenue as a hot spot for bars, restaurants, nightlife, summer patios, festivals, and street performers. In a way, it remains the heart of Calgary. The architecture is a blend of modern amenities and relics from a bygone era. That’s all part of its charm, but it was hard-fought.
Thanks to the oil boom, downtown Calgary was overtaken by office towers in the 1970s, and many worried whether the historic buildings on Stephen Avenue would remain. The ’80s and ’90s saw continuous civic debate on the future of the beloved street, which eventually led to the establishment of the Stephen Avenue Heritage Area Grant Program.
This public- and private-sector-funded program rehabilitated 34 of the area’s heritage buildings for economic reuse through facade restoration and rehabilitation of the buildings’ interiors through the private sector.
Now the heritage of Stephen Avenue is protected, with the most recent redevelopment threat withdrawn in 2023, which had proposed an enormous three-tower project on the historic block. Public sentiment, as seen through movements like the #SaveStephenAve campaign, clearly shows that this is a proud piece of the city’s heritage and one that Calgarians are willing to fight for.
Did any of Stephen Avenue’s colourful history surprise you? Let us know in the comments below, or share your favourite places to visit on 8th Avenue SW.
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Alicia Lyons
Staff Writer
Alicia is a storyteller who chased the sun all the way to Calgary and decided to stay. When she’s not writing, she can be found stumbling along nature trails, curling up under a fuzzy blanket with a good book, or finding any excuse to eat.
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