Neighbours: Montgomery
I’m guessing you don’t know where Shouldice Terrace is; I didn’t - until I did some
digging into the history of Montgomery and uncovered that that was Montgomery’s
original name. The “Terrace” part of the name makes sense given the entire
community is built on the south facing Bow River escarpment. The gradual slope
offers almost everyone in the community a view of the majestic Douglas fir tree
forest (the most eastern stand in Canada, with some being over 400 years old) on
the other side of the Bow.
The “Shouldice” part comes from James Shouldice who purchased 470 acres west of
the Calgary city limits in 1906 so he could farm. After farming he land until his death
in 1925, the land was slowly developed as its own town. Fifteen years before he
died, he donated 100 acres along the Bow River for a park (land today that would be
worth multi-millions of dollars for condo development), obviously thinking that
someday Calgary would grow and need more park space.
But why the name change to Montgomery? In 1943, the post office had an issue with
the name as there was also a town in Alberta called Shouldice (it still exists today, as
a hamlet about 85 km SE of Calgary). They requested a name change to prevent
confusion. Montgomery was subsequently chosen to celebrate Bernard Law
Montgomery of Alamein a celebrated Great Britain military leader who played an
important role in WWI and WWII. Montgomery annexed into the City of Calgary in
1963, is celebrating its 50 anniversary this year.
Today, Montgomery’s boundaries are Shaganappi Trail to the east; 32nd Avenue and
Market Mall to the north and Bow River to the south and west. Like many older
inner city communities, it has seen its ups and downs, but today it is on an up swing!
It is one of the city’s top 10 infill communities with numerous new houses and
condos being built. It is also home to Calgary’s newest Business Revitalization Zone,
an indication that local businesses are working together to create a sense of place
and a brand for the community. Montgomery’s population rose to 3,860 people in
2012, a 4.7% increase compared to 2011, an increase twice the city’s average. A
very healthy sign!
Montgomery is the gateway into Calgary as you drive in from the west on the
TransCanada Highway. It is here you see the funky Alberta Children’s Hospital on
the bluff, the cluster of new buildings at Foothills Medical Centre and your first good
look at downtown’s shiny skyline. It is not surprising then that Montgomery has its
own motel village along the TransCanada highway, as mid-century travellers would
have been looking for a place to stay as soon as they entered the city.
Montgomery has some of the best recreation facilities of any community in the city
with Shouldice Park offering football, baseball and soccer fields, a batting cage,
tennis courts, indoor pool and a wonderful picnic area on the Bow River. It also has
its own shopping center anchored by a Safeway grocery store – Bridgeland,
Inglewood and East Village can’t match that. And then there is Market Mall, its
neighbour to the north. From a shopper’s perspective, it doesn’t get much better.
From an employment perspective Montgomertonians can walk, cycle or drive in
minutes to two hospital complexes, the University of Calgary and downtown.
Looking at the community’s demographic it’s clear to see Montgomery is in
transition. Seniors over 75 make up 11.2 percent of the population, almost 3 times
the city average of 4.3%; this it the result of several seniors’ lodges in the
community. At the same time, 26.7% of the population is between 20 and 34 years
old (vs. Calgary’s 24% average). This is a very healthy sign as they are the one’s who
will give the community the energy and investment needed to transform it into a
21st century urban village.
One of the young newcomers to Montgomery is Kristina Groves, former Olympic
speedskating medalist and now a University of Calgary grad student who, is in the
process of building a small, affordable, sustainable home on a “tear down” lot she
purchased. “I love the charm and character of the community. It has history, is
affordable and is located close to both the Oval and Canada Olympic Park,” exclaims
Groves. She also notes that several other current and former Olympians are living in
Montgomery. Hmmm….maybe the name should be changed to “Olympic Village?”
Montgomery, like Bowness has its own Main Street, currently experiencing signs of
beautification with new banners, a pocket park and the recently completed fourstorey condo building with retail at the street. Montgomery is home to over 100
businesses including its own lumberyard (Timbertown), its own boat dealer
(Hyperactive Watersports – what a great name – in 2010 it was the largest Tige Boat
dealer on the planet) and one of Calgary’s top restaurants (Notables).
Montgomery has all of the ingredients to become one of the city’s top ten inner city
communities in the not too distant future.