Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Calgary's nickname, Cowtown, is cherished by the city's one million residents, who prefer
that romantic vision of their beloved home to the city's more modern identity as a world
energy and financial center. The city's rapid growth, from a North West Mounted Police
(NWMP) post to a large and vibrant metropolis in little more than 100 years, can be cred-
ited largely to the effects of resource development, particularly oil and natural gas.
Once run by gentlemen who had made their fortunes in ranching, Calgary is still an
important cattle market. But the oil and gas bonanzas of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1970s
changed everything. The resources discovered throughout western Canada brought enorm-
ous wealth and growth to the city, turning it into the headquarters for a burgeoning energy
industry. With the city's rapid growth comes all the problems plaguing major cities around
the world, with one major exception—the distinct lack of manufacturing and industrial
sites means there is little pollution.
Downtown is a massive cluster of modern steel-and-glass skyscrapers, the legacy of an
explosion of wealth in the 1970s, with cranes once again making their appearance as new
commercial projects totaling over $1 billion are currently under construction. Set in this
futuristic mirage on the prairie are banks, insurance companies, investment companies,
and the head offices of hundreds of oil companies. But not forgetting its roots, the city sets
aside all the material success it's achieved as a boomtown each July to put on the greatest
outdoor show on earth—the Calgary Stampede, a Western extravaganza second to none.
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