Parks in Calgary - historic postcards

Step back in time by taking a look at these historic postcards commemorating the legacy of our parks.

The City has been collecting historic postcards that commemorate Calgary's early parks. We have postcards from several parks, including:

The City of Calgary Parks historic postcard collection was made possible through the dedication of Mr. Robert Roe – Thank you Mr. Roe!

Central Memorial Park Postcard

Bowness Park Postcards

Bowness Park was (and still is) a favourite destination of Calgary families. It was built before the first world war in the town of Bowness as a weekend retreat for neary Calgarians.

Bowness lagoon postcard
Bowness lagoon postcard
Bowness lagoon postcard

Central Memorial Park Postcards

Central Memorial Park is Calgary's oldest surviving park. The park was opened in 1912 on land donated by the Federal Government.

Central Memorial Park cenotaph postcard
Central Memorial Park postcard
Pre-Central Memorial Park postcard

CPR Gardens

CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) Gardens was Calgary's first official park. The garden was designed to show travellers arriving by train what fine things are possible on the prairies and entice them to stay. The garden was located where the Calgary Tower stands today.

Canadian Pacific Railway Park fountain postcard
Canadian Pacific Railway Park garden postcard
Canadian Pacific Railway pathway postcard

St. George's Island Postcards

St. George's Island (the Calgary Zoo) was once one of Calgary's most important parks.

St. George's Island conservatory postcard
St. George's Island garden postcard
St. George's Island pathway postcard

Victoria Park

Victoria Park dates back to the early 20th century as one of the Calgary's oldest communities.

In the late 1880’s a portion of land was purchased for the development of agricultural fairs in Calgary, later it would become known as the Stampede. These grounds were named after Queen Victoria in 1889. Although the area located around the Stampede was originally called the East Ward it was referred to as Victoria Park by the neighbouring community.

Victoria Park chuckwagons postcard
Victoria Park exhibition entrance postcard
Victoria Park grounds postcard

If you would like to add to our collection and donate an historic postcard, please contact Parks.​​​​​​

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