We used to live close to Balmoral Circus. We walked or drove by this beautiful and unique inner-city green space, daily. We knew that this was the perfect place for our first hide.
Originally designed by William Reader, superintendent of parks for Calgary. Originally, a circle of trees planted with four annual flower beds, one in each "pie piece", with well over 5000 annuals planted. Over the years residents planted various random trees throughout the 4 greenspaces, drastically changing the original look of the Circus. After moving into our home, we, and other neighbors attended a focus group to help return the Circus to its original condition. Unfortunately there was not a budget for annuals, weeding, or watering, so we agreed to plant flowering trees in the flower beds, for easier ongoing maintenance.
An article by Marc Mitanis, from Sky Rise Cities, December 12, 2017.
The corner of 19th Avenue and 2nd Street NW is one of the most unorthodox in the city. It might not be immediately extraordinary from the street, but from above, the landscape resembles four pie slices that join to form a circle. Its shape is not an accident, but a byproduct of a push for social order and civic harmony, the leftovers of urban planning's City Beautiful movement.
Balmoral Circus, image retrieved from Google Maps
Serving as Calgary's Superintendent of Parks and Cemeteries from 1913 to 1942, William Roland Reader was tasked with developing Calgary into a major western destination. His tenure came at a time of great growth in the city, and Reader sought to show the world a "civilized" Calgary by creating public parks, open spaces, recreational facilities, ornamental gardens, and tree-lined streets. Central Memorial Park and Riley Park are perhaps his most famous works, but his pedigree would also take him to smaller locales, where he would beautify neighbourhoods with vibrant floral arrangements.
Plan of Balmoral Circus, image via City of Calgary Archives
Balmoral Circus was originally a traffic circle that evolved into the quartered intersection that exists today. Reader's vision for Balmoral Circus was heavily inspired by the City Beautiful movement, which saw urban grandeur and formality as a means towards social order and increased quality of life. By the late 1930s, some 5,000 annuals were planted here every year.