4 Twitter accounts featuring historical photos of Calgary

Mar 30 2020, 8:30 pm

Calgary may appear as a sleek, bustling, and modern city to visitors nowadays, but it wasn’t always the case.

Much like every other metropolitan area, Calgary rose from the ground up thanks to settlers, pioneers, and an entrepreneurial spirit or two.

It has only been 145 years since Calgary was founded back in 1875, and since that time skyrises have risen, suburban areas have sprouted, and the population has exploded to an astounding 1.33 million – making it the third most populous in all of Canada.

There are a few Twitter accounts that aren’t all that interested in present-day statistics, however, and are instead fascinated by the formative years of the city we call home.

Historians, along with accounts representing government archives, are constantly discovering new (yet quite old) photos of Calgary as it was growing into the steel and glass behemoth that is it today.

We’ve tracked down a select few of these accounts so that you can take a look back in time at the streets of Calgary, Alberta:

Harry Sanders: @harry_historian

As a Calgary-based historian, Sanders’ professional account is chock-full of facts, photos, and newspaper clippings of a long-ago Calgary.

The Provincial Archives of Alberta: @ProvArchivesAB

While this one might not be Calgary-specific, it is still a treasure trove of images showing what Alberta looked like in years past.

S. Alberta Pioneers: @sa_pioneers

Telling the stories of southern Alberta’s first pioneers, this Twitter account specializes in easily-identifiable landmarks, buildings, and views.

Alan Zakrison: @AlanZakrison

Alan Zakrison is a Calgary-based (or Cowgry-based, as he puts it) history buff with a serious sense of humour. He’s quick with the retweet button, so following him gives you an insight into basically every account mentioned above.

And, finally, a look at just how far we’ve come:

DH Calgary StaffDH Calgary Staff

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