Calgary Historical Sites
Stephen Avenue
Stephen Avenue is the downtown section of 8 Avenue, named after George Stephen, the Canadian Pacific Railway's first president. After the railway arrived, this became the street where Calgary shopped, and by the 1890s the Hudson's Bay Company, the Alberta Hotel and the Calgary Herald were all here.
- Where
- 8 Ave, downtown
- Community
- Downtown Commercial Core
- Designation
- National Historic Site (2002)
- Today
- Shops, restaurants and offices
Why It's Protected
Parks Canada made Stephen Avenue a National Historic Site in 2002 as a well-preserved prairie retail street from 1880 to 1930. Most of its buildings are two to six storeys, built mainly of stone, with large windows and ornate cornices. Many went up during Calgary's building boom between 1905 and 1913.
The Pedestrian Mall
The mall officially opened on July 1, 1970, and was finished in 1972. More than 200 pedestrian malls were built in North American cities between the 1960s and early 1980s; by the mid-1990s only about 30 were left, and Stephen Avenue is described as one of the most successful.
When I'd Go
- Spring through fall, when it's closed to vehicles 24 hours a day (April 1 to October 31)
- In winter, during the day: it's pedestrian-only from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- For a meal in the 1911 Dominion Bank building at 200 8 Avenue SE, now Teatro
Nearby
The 7 Avenue CTrain stations are one block north. The avenue runs through the Downtown Commercial Core, with Downtown East Village, Eau Claire and the Beltline all within walking distance.
Stephen Avenue in pictures
Photographed on the ground by Kelly Baker.
Communities around Stephen Avenue
The residential communities closest to it.