Did you know that Inglewood's main street, 9 Avenue SE used to be called Atlantic Avenue? Neither did I, until I downloaded the City of Calgary's Inglewood self-guided walking tour and dragged Benn along with me to learn more. Get your guide on your phone or print it here.
Inglewood is a historic Calgary neighbourhood that, despite changes to the area, has managed to remain its quaintness. It's located east of Calgary's core and is a beautiful area situated close to the Elbow and Bow rivers and home to trendy shops and restaurants.
In January 1991, the City of Calgary declared Inglewood a Special Heritage Character Area
- Calgary Atlantic Avenue, Inglewood Historical Walking Tours, page 5
the city of Calgary's self-guided walking tours are a great early morning or afternoon activity. The website has a few, but we wanted something that could be done in about an hour. It's easy enough to use the guide on your phone if you don't want to carry around the pamphlet. Pro Tip: If you use the guide, keep in mind that the pamphlet contains two tours. A shorter tour (pages 1-24) and the rest is the longer tour that takes you off of 9th Ave SE. We did the short tour.
We started at Rosso Coffee Roasters on 9th to grab chai tea for me and coffee for him before setting off with our printed copy of the tour. We started our tour at 9am and it was pretty quiet along 9th Avenue. It is a beautiful street, the day was gorgeous and we enjoyed looking for the buildings on the pamphlet, comparing the differences and in some instances marveled at things that were exactly the same. I wondered how I had never noticed the off-white plaques that provide information about a particular building’s history and of course, looking up and seeing the original names of the buildings, most of which were right at the very top. Some of the buildings had been covered with stucco that were removed during the revitalization to reveal original facings, limestone and edging.
[Chai for life]
[Benn strikes a pose?]
My favourite was the adorable Inglewood Telephone building located at 1311-9 Avenue SE. It was the city's first fully automatic telephone exchange and still has Alberta Government Telephones painted on the on the front as a nod to the its run from 1908-1991 when AGT was sold by the province to Canadian telecommunications giant Telus.
Calgary's core is full of history on just about every corner. Much of it is hidden in plain sight as we walk, drive and run along these streets without taking a moment to look up at buildings and the little things like stone work or a name etched into brick that tell a story about a piece of Calgary's past. And it's much like anything else, once you know - you never miss it again. I love historical tours because it gives me a gentle reminder that I can slow down to find something undiscovered in places that are routine and familiar.
[Looking up to see the original building names and things that you don't see when your eyes are to the ground]
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My name is Nicole and I am a Calgary based lifestyle and travel blogger with a focus on alcohol free living. During this period of self-isolation and physical distancing, like many others, I've been more focused on lifestyle than travel. This time has given me the opportunity to slow down and find ways to be inspired, have fun, stay fit and eat well without travelling too far from home.
While I am inspired by beautiful Instagram pages and blogs that feature nomad travellers living and working from beaches in enviable locales – but that’s not my reality. Even though I don’t normally travel for extended periods of time, I have always had great times and made amazing memories on my getaways.
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