The Great Canadian Skyline Thread! II

[Redkey]

Calgary has very little downtown residents. I'm sure there will be more activity as new condos and hotels get built downtown.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

There is zero activity in the financial core of Calgary after six pm. Absolutely zero compared to any other major city. It really sucks cause I like shopping at The Core and everything closes at six.

Toronto's financial core is like that too, but it's slowly getting better. 1 King West, Trump, Ritz, and Shangri-La have injected a few thousands permanent residents to the area with another few residential towers planned.

The design of the core will mean that there will likely never be an apron of retail down there, but it does look like it will begin to fill in where it can. The office towers look nice, but they do make for a far less vibrant street scene.

[ZeDgE]

Originally Posted by travis3000

I notice the streets in Calgary seem dead anytime people take pics. I never see anyone walking around especially at night. I'm used to Toronto and Montreal when there's always lots of activity 24/7.

Downtown is mainly a financial centre, 9-5 Mon-Fri its bustling, although when the weather is nice 8th ave can be busy in the evenings and weekends.

It was probably about -25 when that pic was taken which wouldn't help much either.

If you go a bit south to the Belt line its quite a bit different.

[MonkeyRonin]

goodnight. by ronnie.yip, on Flickr

[SignalHillHiker]

Oh, beautiful!

[SignalHillHiker]

A beautiful shot of Ottawa: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeygottawa/8319480228/

[SignalHillHiker]

Not Canada, but you guys would appreciate it - via Reddit.

[FrAnKs]

HOLY F*****G CRAP !

thanks

[bulliver]

Damn rich people and their helicopters...

[whiteford]

Originally Posted by ZeDgE

Downtown is mainly a financial centre, 9-5 Mon-Fri its bustling, although when the weather is nice 8th ave can be busy in the evenings and weekends.

It was probably about -25 when that pic was taken which wouldn't help much either.

If you go a bit south to the Belt line its quite a bit different.

true. Calgary can actually get quite busy on weekends and when its work hours everyone is in their office like they should be. on cold days they keenly use the plus 15 network. its not as dead as people think. the beltline district and to a lesser extent, kensington (i hope i spelled that right) is much more populated and they are the actual epicenters of urban life for Calgary. it is were all of the people are during the day. why would anyone want to hang around a bunch of office towers? that's were you go to work.

[Surrealplaces]

From Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/istig/

[Doug_Cgy]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

There is zero activity in the financial core of Calgary after six pm. Absolutely zero compared to any other major city. It really sucks cause I like shopping at The Core and everything closes at six.

But at least the Beltline has lot of activity up to 10 or 11 on any given night.

I think "zero" is being a bit dramatic. Stephen Ave has life in the evening, especially in the summer. Lots of great places to wine & dine or go for a beer. I certainly know I choose to go out there as opposed to Twisted Element for my nights out. Can't stand that club

Core is also open later Thurs/Fri.

[Surrealplaces]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

There is zero activity in the financial core of Calgary after six pm. Absolutely zero compared to any other major city. It really sucks cause I like shopping at The Core and everything closes at six.
But at least the Beltline has lot of activity up to 10 or 11 on any given night.

Originally Posted by travis3000

I notice the streets in Calgary seem dead anytime people take pics. I never see anyone walking around especially at night. I'm used to Toronto and Montreal when there's always lots of activity 24/7.

That pic isn't really a good example to go by. It's after hours on a night that's -20C

Take a look at these shots that I've taken of Montreal and from Calgary. The point isn't that Calgary is busier than Montreal......
Obviously Old Montreal is busy at times, but not always, just as parts of Calgary can be busy at times, but not always.

Downtown Calgary in January Thursday at 7:30pm

Stephen Avenue Mall by Surrealplaces, on Flickr

September Saturday evening at 8:30pm

Calgary's Stephen Avenue Mall by Surrealplaces, on Flickr

October 10 (Saturday) evening at 6:45pm

Calgary's Stephen Avenue Mall by Surrealplaces, on Flickr


Conversely, here is a shot of Old Montreal at 7:30pm on a Tuesday

Montreal at Night by Surrealplaces, on Flickr

Vieux Montréal by Surrealplaces, on Flickr

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by travis3000

I notice the streets in Calgary seem dead anytime people take pics. I never see anyone walking around especially at night. I'm used to Toronto and Montreal when there's always lots of activity 24/7.

Ya I was in downtown Calgary on a saturday afternoon and was so surprised that i could only find a Subway open. Somewhere near Flames Central. Sidewalks were nearly empty. So different from Vancouver/T.O./Montreal. One day maybe.

[ZeDgE]

Originally Posted by Denscity

Ya I was in downtown Calgary on a saturday afternoon and was so surprised that i could only find a Subway open. Somewhere near Flames Central. Sidewalks were nearly empty. So different from Vancouver/T.O./Montreal. One day maybe.

That seems very strange. Everything would have been open along 8th ave on a Sat afternoon. Was this like 20 years ago or something?

Look at Surreals pics above, that's more indicative of 8th ave usually. I don't think its even fair to compare Calgary to those cities.

[SignalHillHiker]

I forget what days of the week I was in Calgary, except that they were weekdays because it was a business trip. It was plenty busy, especially near the cafes with outdoor seating.

[Chadillaccc]

But guys, you are only showing pics and examples of one street. We're talking about the entire financial core (which is most of the downtown area).

I have also walked around the core on a Saturday morning/early afternoon and could only find a timmies open. I think it was the one at fifth avenue and fourth street. Couldn't even find a subway. I remember because it was the most hung over I had ever been in my life and I desperately needed a drink of water and a slurpy (ended up getting a timmies frozen lemonaid! ) This was in August of this year.

[someone123]

Does it really matter if a city has one office district that is not busy outside of 9-5 business hours (aside from maybe questions of efficiency in terms of using parking structures and other infrastructure 24/7 etc.)? I think a better question is whether or not there exist some neighbourhoods somewhere in the city that have something to offer in the evenings.

[Chadillaccc]

Well of course Calgary has several neighbourhoods that are busy even in the evenings. This conversation started about the financial core being completely dead after five and in the winter. But yeah, I can even agree when it is as cold as it was last week, I even stopped smoking and only used the plus fifteens to get where I needed to go

[Doug]

Calgary probably was the busiest streets in the country between 5:00 and 8:00 am as the local culture is to hit the office early