8th Avenue and Centre Street Looking East, Calgary 1912

Downtown Calgary in 1912, when streetcars shared the road with horses, early automobiles and plenty of pedestrians. Looking east along 8th Avenue from Centre Street, this wonderfully busy photograph captures Calgary in the middle of its early 20th-century boom.

Storefronts, real estate offices and crowded sidewalks fill the scene, while a Calgary streetcar makes its way through the centre of it all. A great piece of local history and a fascinating glimpse of a city rapidly becoming modern.