Or a 35 year old n00b named Don Iveson... :)

Yes, and out East it would likely be something like "King Street" or "Victoria Avenue" or "George Street" (or "Rue St-Laurent" or "Boulevard René-Lévesque") instead of any permutation of 10th, NW, and Street/Avenue like the Western examples you just listed.

So, you're basically helping prove my point with those extra examples.

This forum being about urbanity and built form, mostly, I think it can be an interesting experiment to try to figure out (as I candidly did in the open there) where pics of random urban fabric are from, by looking at the details. Sure, had I allowed myself to do more research, maybe I would have figured the traffic lights don't merely look 'generally Western', but are instead a Calgary-specific design because of this or that tiny detail. But that wasn't the point.

Oh, and by the way, if you re-read you'll see that the "Sun & Moon Psychic Boutique" sign is what I called "West Coastish", while the numbered street grid I considered (very very) "Western", which is really not the same thing as West Coast(ish). (And yes, I know NYC is a prime example of a numbered grid :P It's not like there's a law forcing Western cities to have one, and Eastern cities to not have one.)



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Plains

FYI.

Calgary's western boundaries touch the foothills, but IMO it is very much a "Prairies" city just like Alberta is a Prairie province, despite having mountains and Canadian Shield and boreal forest. It embodies those same feelings and cultural traits you'll find in Edmonton and Saskatoon and Winnipeg.

At least yours aren't ugly mouthfuls to say.

"Oh, where are you at now?"
"Only at MEC on one hundred and twenty fourth street and one oh second avenue!"

I didn't want to needlessly press Rusty's buttons (I don't know what they put in the water in Calgary but it sure seems to make them thin-skinned) but now that you've said it I will add that it's crystal clear that Calgary is a Prairie city.

From your link: "The Canadian portion of the Plains is known as the Prairies."

We really do say Prairies in English Canada, not Plains. Though it's interesting that the title of a famous book (and TV show) in the U.S. is "Little House on the Prairie."

is this peace bridge?

nice view.

But by definition, the mere fact that one can talk about "the Canadian portion of the Plains" concedes that the aforementioned Plains do extend into Canada instead of somehow abruptly stopping at the 49th... :P

I'm very aware we call them the Prairies, but when referring, say, to architectural styles that are typical of Non-Coastal Western North America on both sides of the border, I think an appropriate generic word for the broadest definition of the area would be the Plains.

It kinda sounds stupid to say "Great Plains/Prairies", like they're not geographically the same thing. God did not create this little orb with the 49th in mind :P ;)

It certainly is.


https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3852/...02c776a4_b.jpgPeace by Chadillaccc, on Flickr

Hmmm, nearly the entire western half of the city is in the foothills, and the entire northwestern quarter absolutely.

http://www.mappery.com/maps/Calgary-Topo-Bike-Map.jpg

Downtown, Nose Creek, and the Bow Valley (southern part of the city) are the transitional boundaries between the hills and the prairie. It's quite a stark contrast once you really notice.

But yes, I guess the street names not being a mouthful is a plus, but "Atlantic Avenue" has such a nice ring to it!!!

I guess you're right. Entering Calgary from the east you're in the flat prairie still, but exiting the city westbound towards Cochrane you're clearly in the foothills. It's an interesting place Calgary is in, geographically.

Is Atlantic Ave used in regular conversation among Calgarians, or do most refer to it as 9th Ave? I've seen Atlantic (9th) Ave written from time to time but in conversation I usually just refer to the area as Inglewood.

I too would love to see Edmonton re-adopt some of the historic (or even newer names) for certain key roads...

124th St - Edward St
105th Ave - Columbia Ave
97th Street - Namayo Rd (maybe change it to Namao)
118th Ave - Alberta Ave

Etc.

Ohhh no, the old names are pretty much never referred to, at least as far as I've heard. Not once. No one would know what the other was talking about most likely :P The old names were just so much nicer. I forget what 17th's was, but it was wayyyyy better than some stupid number. Maybe Broadway? I don't remember.

I admit that numbers are more comprehensive for directions, but come on, the human quality of beautiful names, some with historic meaning, should trounce that crap.

17th was Notre Dame Ave.

I think the numbering system is very helpful, but it's also very utilitarian. It's function over form. I think a middle ground could be achieved and Calgary is much closer to that middle ground where certain key avenues and streets which are well known enough that people will know where it is anyways could be named rather than numbered.

Hamilton Mountain has a lot of numbered streets, and I find it a nightmare. It's easier to remember someone lives on Ottawa St. or something than being like "Wait, was it East 32nd street or East 34th? I'm pretty sure it was in the low thirties. . . "

Calgary is located where the grassland prairies meet the foothills.
Edmonton is located where the parkland prairies meets the boreal forest.

It's a pretty different entrance to either city coming in from either the west of the east (more so in Calgary though)

It is very hard for Calgary not to share those same prairie cultural traits considering that a good portion of the city is from Saskatchewan.

Oh for sure. I didn't mean to insinuate that we're not culturally a prairie city, just that literally half of the city is in the Foothills geographically.


I don't really know if there is such thing as a "foothills city" I guess the only other major Foothills metropolis is Denver. I guess these cities could be characterized by the ranch culture which developed in/around them as the cities matured. I believe both Calgary and Denver also have major rodeo festivals. That is sort of a shared trait/heritage.

Both cities have a strong ranching heritage, but the difference is that Denver tries to remove all traces of that history while Calgary embraces it.

That's so weird to hear. I wonder why they would try to erase such an interesting and unique heritage? Like, I mean it's obviously not super unique in the grand scheme, but for major cities it most certainly is. For cities that don't have much history to begin with, we gotta hold on to what we got!!! :haha:

Probably because Denver is trying to give the illusion of being more cosmopolitan and urbane and high brow than it actually is, so it has to removed perceived inferiorities from its local culture. It's dumb, but it is what it is.