South Calgary (1906 - )

In 1906, South Calgary was subdivided as a residential district, but remained undeveloped and outside city limits until 1910. Its boundaries are 26th Avenue SW to the north, 34th Avenue to the south, 14th Street to the east and Crowchild Trail to the west. The City’s streetcar network reached the area in 1912, encircling it in 1913 within the South Calgary loop. Detached homes, churches and corner stores lined the community’s grid pattern of streets and avenues. Homebuilding, interrupted by war and depression, resumed by the 1950s. King Edward School operated between 1913 and 2001 in a sandstone building that became the cSpace Arts Centre in 2017. In 1985, the Marda Loop name began, inspired by the Marda Theatre, a local landmark, and either the original streetcar loop or the later electric trolley bus turnaround on 33rd Avenue, or both. The South Calgary Community Association, formed in 1957, became the Marda Loop Communities Association in 2011. 

Altadore (1910 - )

Altadore was annexed and named in 1910. It is situated between the Elbow River (east) and Garrison Woods (west), and 34th Avenue SW (north) and 50th Avenue (south). The South Calgary loop, which linked Altadore to a city-wide streetcar network, began operating in 1913. Early development generally followed the grid system with large parcels set aside for parks, schools and churches. Many early homes were 1- and 2-storey houses on 25-foot lots. Two large nearby projects began in the 1930s: the Glenmore reservoir, dam and waterworks, and Currie Barracks. In the late 1940s and into the 1950s, new construction typically included 1-storey stucco bungalows on 50-foot lots, 3-storey apartments, and 2-storey retail buildings. Early in the 21st century, land-use bylaw changes encouraged increased density on the 50-foot lots, resulting in the replacement of the 1950s bungalows with infill housing. Once at the edge of the city, Altadore is now considered an inner-city neighbourhood.