Connaught Community Information

The Beltline is a region of central Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The area is located immediately to the south of Calgary's downtown (south of 9th Avenue and the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks), and is sometimes considered part of downtown. The neighbourhood is bound on the south by the popular 17th Avenue, on the west by 14th Street West and on the east by the Elbow River.

The first established district in the neighbourhood was Connaught in 1905, followed by Victoria Park in 1914. When the region and its redevelopment plan were formally established in 2003, it amalgamated the inner city neighbourhoods of Victoria Park and Connaught.[3] As of 2006, there were 16,662 people residing in the Beltline and its districts.

The City of Calgary officially recognizes four separate "neighbourhoods" in the Beltline: West Connaught, Connaught Centre, Victoria Crossing Centre, and East Victoria Crossing. They are communities of equal north-south orientation and divided by Eighth Street SW, Fourth Street SW, Macleod Trail (1st Street SE), and the Elbow River

The Beltline contains a number of less formal city districts within its boundaries. These include Midtown, the Design District, Victoria Crossing Business Revitalization Zone[5] (Victoria), the 4th Street BRZ (located mostly within Mission), the Uptown 17th BRZ, the Warehouse District, and a portion of the Rivers District.

17th Avenue, which is on the southern extremity of the Beltline district has already established itself as a vibrant mixed-use area. Uptown 17th is one of Calgary's Business Revitalization Zones.[6] With a dense concentration of bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and shops, the street is effectively Calgary's primary "party street". Behind this lively commercial development are residential areas. The street also "dead-ends" at the Stampede Grounds on its east side, and is thus central to the party-like atmosphere that overtakes the city during the Calgary Stampede festival. 17th Avenue was nicknamed the "Red Mile" in 2004 during the playoff run of Calgary's NHL team, the Calgary Flames. During this time, it was not uncommon to see over 100,000 fans crowding the street and its bars and pubs on game nights.

Connaught was established in 1905, and comprises the western part of the Beltline, west of 4th Street W.

One public school is located in Beltline, the Connaught Community School. Western Canada High School is located along the 17th Avenue boundary of the community, and serves the area. One block outside the Beltline is St. Mary's High School which serves most of the Roman Catholic high school students in the area. The Calgary Chinese School is located close by along 18 Avenue SE, and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic school provides Congregated Special Program.