Renfrew

The bluff above Bridgeland, built on a wartime airfield.

Before the houses, this was the airport. A Royal Canadian Air Force training base and airfield occupied the land through the Second World War and doubled as Calgary’s civic field, which is why the community was not developed until the 1940s and was established in 1950. The grid that followed sits on the escarpment, so the west edge looks across Bridgeland to the downtown towers. Ukrainian Pioneer Park on the 600 block of 7 Avenue and the two Ukrainian churches beside it mark the Slavic families who arrived early. The aquatic centre, the two arenas and Renfrew Athletic Park sit together on 13 Avenue NE.

We wrote the full story on The Desk. Living in Renfrew.