Bowness, Alberta
Encyclopedia
Bowness is a community district in west Calgary. It was an autonomous town until 1963, when it was amalgamated
Amalgamation (politics)
A merger or amalgamation in a political or administrative sense is the combination of two or more political or administrative entities such as municipalities , counties, districts, etc. into a single entity. This term is used when the process occurs within a sovereign entity...
by Calgary.
The neighbourhood is bordered by the Bow River
Bow River
The Bow River is a river in the Canadian province of Alberta. It is a tributary of the South Saskatchewan River, and is considered the headwater of the Nelson River....
on the north and east, 16th Avenue on the south, and Stoney Trail on the west. Immediately over the river to the east lies the community of Montgomery, itself an autonomous town until Calgary amalgamated
Amalgamation (politics)
A merger or amalgamation in a political or administrative sense is the combination of two or more political or administrative entities such as municipalities , counties, districts, etc. into a single entity. This term is used when the process occurs within a sovereign entity...
it in 1963.
On the northwest end of the community is one of Calgary's most popular parks, Bowness Park
Bowness Park, Calgary
Bowness Park is a urban park on the Bow River in Bowness, a neighbourhood in the north-west quadrant of the City of Calgary. It is popular in the summer for picnics and boating, and in winter for ice skating on the lagoon and the canal which feeds it....
. The park sits between the Bow River and a lagoon, and is popular for picnics, summer sports, ice skating
Ice skating
Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...
in the winter, and boating. It is also part of the city's large pedestrian pathway network. To the south-east, it is bordered by Edworthy Park
Edworthy Park
Edworthy Park is a city park located in the southwest section of Calgary along the south shore of the Bow River. The Canadian Pacific Railway crosses the length of the park....
.
Bowness is represented in the Calgary City Council
Calgary City Council
The Calgary City Council is the legislative governing body that represents the citizens of Calgary. The Council consists of two offices; Office of the Mayor and Office of the Alderman. Naheed Nenshi was elected to the Office of the Mayor in October 2010 as the city's 36th chief executive...
by Ward 1 Alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
Dale Hodges. Residents of the area are called "Bownesians" (Bow-NEE-zhins).
The community has an area redevelopment plan
Area redevelopment plan
An Area redevelopment plan is an urban planning designation created by municipalities in Alberta, Canada for the purposes of facilitating development in specific geographic areas. ARPs differ from Area structure plans in that they apply to areas of a municipality that have already been developed...
in place.
History
The Bow ValleyBow Valley
Bow Valley is a valley located along the upper Bow River in Alberta, Canada.The name "Bow" refers to the reeds that grew along its banks and which were used by the local First Nations peoples to make bows; the Peigan name for the river is "Makhabn", meaning "river where bow weeds grow".-Parks:Bow...
, where Bowness is situated, has been occupied by native peoples since the end of the last ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
, around 10.500 years ago. Archeological evidence shows that the Nitsitapii (Blackfoot
Blackfoot
The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana....
) have been in the area for over a thousand years, with Stoney, Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
and Tsuu T'ina
Tsuu T'ina Nation
The Tsuu T'ina Nation is a First Nation in Canada. Their territory is located on the Indian reserve Tsuu T'ina Nation 145, whose east side is adjacent to the southwest city limits of Calgary, Alberta...
peoples arriving from the sixteenth century onwards. Non-natives reached the region in the late 1700s, after which native populations began to decline rapidly, due to epidemics and the decimation of the bison herds on which they depended. In 1877, the Blackfoot, Blood, Peigan, Tsuu T'ina and Stoney First Nations signed Treaty 7
Treaty 7
Treaty 7 was an agreement between Queen Victoria and several mainly Blackfoot First Nations tribes in what is today the southern portion of Alberta. It was concluded on September 22, 1877. The agreement was signed at the Blackfoot Crossing of the Bow River, at the present-day Siksika Nation...
, accepting to live on reserves that covered some of their traditional hunting grounds.
At about the same time Treaty 7 was signed, the Dominion Land Survey
Dominion Land Survey
The Dominion Land Survey is the method used to divide most of Western Canada into one-square-mile sections for agricultural and other purposes. It is based on the layout of the Public Land Survey System used in the United States, but has several differences...
was done, making it easier to lease or sell land in the west of Canada. The area which is now Bowness was leased for a while by the Cochrane Ranche Company, from 1883. It was then bought and sold several times over the next few decades. Two of these sales were important for the subsequent history of Bowness. In 1890–91 Thomas Stone and Jasper M. Richardson purchased the land. They started the Bowness Ranche and built a ranch house whose stables and barns were on an island in the river which is now Bowness Park
Bowness Park, Calgary
Bowness Park is a urban park on the Bow River in Bowness, a neighbourhood in the north-west quadrant of the City of Calgary. It is popular in the summer for picnics and boating, and in winter for ice skating on the lagoon and the canal which feeds it....
. The name Bowness was apparently chosen by Stone, who had enjoyed visiting Bowness-on-Windermere
Bowness-on-Windermere
Bowness-on-Windermere is a town in South Lakeland, Cumbria, England. Due its position on the banks of Windermere the town has become a tourist honeypot. Although their mutual growth has caused them to become one large settlement, the town is distinct from the town of Windermere as the two still...
in the English Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
before coming to Canada.
The second sale of note was in 1908, to John Hextall
John Hextall
John Hextall was a landowner who founded the community of Bowness, now part of Calgary, Canada.-Early life:John Hextall was born in 1861 at Canonbury House in Islington, London, England, the fourth child of a wealthy silk merchant. After training as a solicitor, he married Alice Delphine Dunn in...
, an English solicitor. Calgary, just six miles to the east, was booming at the time and Hextall envisioned turning Bowness into an exclusive residential suburb “in a natural scenic setting of great beauty”. In 1911, he subdivided part of the ranch, built a bridge, and got the City of Calgary to run its streetcar line across the bridge into his development, which he called Bowness Estates. In return, he donated two islands on the Bow to the City, for use as a park, now known as Bowness Park
Bowness Park, Calgary
Bowness Park is a urban park on the Bow River in Bowness, a neighbourhood in the north-west quadrant of the City of Calgary. It is popular in the summer for picnics and boating, and in winter for ice skating on the lagoon and the canal which feeds it....
. (This arrangement is strikingly similar to one made in 1909 to develop the Glenora suburb of Edmonton.)
Despite an aggressive advertising campaign, and improvements such as the building of a golf course and club house, only a handful of lots were sold. There was a downturn in the economy and then World War I broke out in 1914, and Hextall himself died the same year. After the war, Bowness languished, although Bowness Park
Bowness Park, Calgary
Bowness Park is a urban park on the Bow River in Bowness, a neighbourhood in the north-west quadrant of the City of Calgary. It is popular in the summer for picnics and boating, and in winter for ice skating on the lagoon and the canal which feeds it....
was extremely popular with Calgarians, who came in the thousands on the street-car. Some small farms were established and enough lots sold to justify building a school in 1932, some stores, and in 1934 a post office. Marty Wood
Marty Wood
Martin Roy Wood is a celebrated rodeo cowboy from Bowness, Calgary, in the province of Alberta, Canada.Marty was born in 1933 in Carstairs, Alberta, to Dorothy and Harry Wood. His great grandfather was Henry Wise Wood, the founding president of the United Farmers of Alberta, who had settled in...
, the famous rodeo cowboy, arrived with his family in 1940 or 1941, and attended Bowness School. His parents opened riding stables on Chinook (now 34th.) Avenue. Of note also was the use of a large field near the park, the Bowness Flying Field, as Calgary's first commercial airport. It was managed by Fred McCall
Frederick McCall
Frederick Robert Gordon McCall DSO, MC & Bar, DFC was a Canadian air ace during World War I, with 35 confirmed and two unconfirmed victories. After a career in civil aviation, he returned to service in World War II....
, a Canadian wartime flying ace, who flew mostly sightseeing flights to Banff
Banff, Alberta
Banff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately west of Calgary and east of Lake Louise....
and around the area throughout the twenties.
Bowness began to take off again after World War II, when the government provided 48 one acre plots to returning veterans, in an area known as the Soldiers' Settlement. Schools and churches were built and in 1947 two theatres were opened to serve the growing population. In 1948, Bowness became a village. A volunteer fire brigade was formed, a fire hall built, and other public services provided. The status of town was achieved in 1952, with John Mackintosh
John Mackintosh (politician)
John Mackintosh was a provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta as an independent from 1930 to 1935...
being elected as the first mayor of the Town of Bowness.
Finally, the town of Bowness was amalgamated
Amalgamation (politics)
A merger or amalgamation in a political or administrative sense is the combination of two or more political or administrative entities such as municipalities , counties, districts, etc. into a single entity. This term is used when the process occurs within a sovereign entity...
into the City of Calgary in 1963.
Bowness today
Since Bowness was amalgamated, it has had to cope with a number of social issues. In part due to its origins as an autonomous community, Bowness is home to both wealthy and disadvantaged residents and is more socioeconomically diverse than many of Calgary's newest suburban neighborhoods. This diversity has contributed to some socioeconomic problems in the community (including crime). An example of this socioeconomic diversity can be seen in the difference in housing stock between the high-priced homes and properties along the Bow RiverBow River
The Bow River is a river in the Canadian province of Alberta. It is a tributary of the South Saskatchewan River, and is considered the headwater of the Nelson River....
, and the less expensive, former military housing just a few blocks away.
Like many older Calgary neighbourhoods, Bowness is experiencing gentrification with the renovation and reconstruction of some of the housing and commercial properties. For example, between 2006 and 2010 the commercial properties along "Main Street" Bowness have undergone renovation and revitalization including the Former Bowness Hotel Site (now called Hextall Place) and the Bow Cycle Building.
Bowness is home to a number of unique annual events including the Lions Club Stampede Parade and Breakfast held the first weekend of Stampede; the Tour de Bowness held at the end of July; and the Harvest Fair held the second weekend in September.
Demographics
In 2008 the neighbourhood had a population of 11,308. Residents in this community had a median household incomeMedian household income
The median household income is commonly used to generate data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more...
of $
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
40,468 in 2000, and there were 24.1% low income residents living in the neighborhood. As of 2000, 12.7% of the residents were immigrants. A proportion of 30.9% of the buildings were condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
s or apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
s, and 45.6% of the housing was used for renting
Renting
Renting is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for all property charges regularly incurred by the ownership from landowners...
.
Education
Most public senior high school students from the community attend Bowness High SchoolBowness High School
Bowness High School is a public school in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, which teaches grades 10 through 12. It is operated by the Calgary Board of Education....
, which was built before the amalgamation
Amalgamation (politics)
A merger or amalgamation in a political or administrative sense is the combination of two or more political or administrative entities such as municipalities , counties, districts, etc. into a single entity. This term is used when the process occurs within a sovereign entity...
. Junior high and elementary schools include Thomas B. Riley Junior High, Belevedere Parkway Elementary, Bowcroft Elementary, and R. B. Bennett Elementary (closed in 2004). There is also one K-9 Catholic school, Our Lady of the Assumption.