Live in Albert Park/Radisson Heights
A 1910 inner-city Southeast community built around the 17 Avenue SE "International Avenue" corridor, with its own CTrain station and arena inside the boundary.
Albert Park/Radisson Heights began in 1910 as a speculative subdivision promoted with a fake streetcar scheme, and spent decades as part of the separate Town of Forest Lawn before Calgary annexed the whole town in 1961. It sits along the 17 Avenue SE "International Avenue" corridor — over 400 shops and restaurants across a 35-block business revitalization zone — and is still routinely confused with neighbouring Forest Lawn itself, even though it has been its own named community since annexation. At the 2021 census it held 6,740 residents in 2,790 dwellings, one of Calgary's most immigrant-heavy and lowest-income inner-city communities. This is what living here is actually like.
A streetcar scam, a 1961 annexation, and the city's most international main street
Bounded west by the Bow River and Deerfoot Trail, north by Memorial Drive, south by 17 Avenue SE (International Avenue), and east by Forest Lawn around 48–52 Street SE. Ward 9.
Albert Park/Radisson Heights traces back to 1910, when speculators subdivided farmland east of the Bow River and promoted it as an exclusive development with parks, a lake and a race track. When sales lagged, the developers laid their own railway ties and spread a rumour that a streetcar was coming — the scam collapsed within a couple of years, and Depression-era lots that once sold for $300 fell to as little as $5.
The community spent decades inside the separate Town of Forest Lawn, which reached town status in 1953 and was annexed by the City of Calgary on December 30, 1961, with roughly 12,000 residents. It is still commonly confused with Forest Lawn today, even though Albert Park and Radisson Heights have been their own named community since.
Housing mix. At the 2021 census this was 65% renter households against a citywide 31%, with 39% of residents immigrants and median household income at $66,000 — about two-thirds of Calgary's $98,000 median. Over half the dwelling stock, 52%, was built between 1961 and 1980.
The defining feature is 17 Avenue SE, known as International Avenue — a 35-block business revitalization zone with more than 400 shops, restaurants and services spanning cuisines from across the world, forming the community's entire southern boundary.
- 65% of households rent, more than double the citywide rate — this is not primarily an owner-occupier community
- Median household income is $66,000, about two-thirds of Calgary's $98,000 median
- Homes are mostly 45–65 years old — confirm roofs, wiring, windows and furnaces before you buy
- Still routinely confused with Forest Lawn itself, though it has been its own community since the 1961 annexation
- 17 Avenue SE (International Avenue) is a genuine commercial asset — 400+ shops, restaurants and services on the doorstep
- Franklin CTrain station puts the Blue Line and downtown within a short trip, unusual for a community this far east
How Albert Park/Radisson Heights got here
- 1910The hamlets of Forest Lawn, Albert Park and Hubalta emerge within the Municipality of Shepard; developer Albert Smyth begins promoting Albert Park as an exclusive subdivision with parks, a lake and a race track.
- 1912Sales lag for lack of transportation, so Smyth and his partner lay their own railway ties and spread a rumour that a streetcar line is coming. The scam is discovered, the ties are used for firewood, and the developers disappear.
- 1953After the failed streetcar promise and a Depression-era collapse in land values — 25-foot lots once worth $300 fell to as little as $5 — the amalgamated Village of Forest Lawn achieves town status.
- 1961The Town of Forest Lawn, with about 12,000 residents, is annexed by the City of Calgary on December 30.
- 1985Franklin CTrain station opens on April 27 as part of the original C-Train route, giving Radisson Heights–Albert Park a direct line downtown.
- 2006Radisson Park School opens — the first new school built in the greater Forest Lawn area in more than fifty years — replacing two older elementary schools that are closed and merged.
- 2021Federal census counts 6,740 residents in 2,790 dwellings, with 65% renter households and 39% immigrants — one of Calgary's most diverse and lowest-income inner-city communities.
The Bow River pathway system, on the community's own doorstep
There is no private lake or provincial park here, but the community sits directly on the Bow River pathway system: Pearce Estate Park and the Bow Habitat Station, the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, and Fort Calgary all sit within a few minutes west, reachable without ever getting on a freeway.
The resident's angle: Elliston Park, home of the GlobalFest fireworks each August, sits a short drive east along 17 Avenue SE — one of the closer runs to it of any inner-city community on this site.
20 places, with real drive times
Road-adjusted distance and drive time from the centre of the community to each destination, nearest first. Filter by category.
Showing 1–12 of 20 places, nearest first.
Method: distances and drive times are estimated from the centre of the community to each destination using Calgary's road grid, and are rounded to honest ranges rather than presented as precise figures. This is an inner-city address — downtown, the Zoo and the Stampede grounds are all closer here than from almost any other community on this site, and the mountains are a genuine haul at the other end.
Every gym within reach
Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre and Max Bell Centre both sit inside or on the edge of the community, with a commercial gym on International Avenue itself and the city's larger regional facilities a short drive further out.
- Planet Fitness sits on International Avenue itself, a few minutes' drive from most addresses in the community
- MNP Community & Sport Centre (formerly Repsol/Talisman) adds Olympic-calibre pools and a fieldhouse, 12–16 minutes west on Macleod Trail
- Genesis Centre is the northeast's larger anchor hub, 15–20 minutes north
- The community's own streets and Elliston Park are the free option
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre open | City-run pool, weight room and group fitness in neighbouring Forest Lawn. | 5–7 min |
| Max Bell Centre open | Twin ice arenas and community recreation space, inside the community's own boundary. | 2–4 min |
| Planet Fitness — Forest Lawn open | Commercial gym on International Avenue, 17 Avenue SE. | 4–6 min |
| MNP Community & Sport Centre open | Regional multi-sport complex — formerly Repsol/Talisman Centre — Olympic-calibre pools, fieldhouse and courts on Macleod Trail. | 12–16 min |
| Genesis Centre open | The northeast's anchor recreation hub — gymnasiums, fitness centre and indoor courts. | 15–20 min |
| Community pathways & Elliston Park open | Free option: the community's own streets and green space, plus Elliston Park a short drive east. | 1–3 min |
Both Bob Bahan and Max Bell are City of Calgary facilities — check the drop-in schedule before you plan a visit around either.
One school inside the community, and a designated high school next door
Radisson Park School serves the community for public K–6, opened in 2006 as the first new school built in the greater Forest Lawn area in more than fifty years. Forest Lawn High School, on 44 Street SE, is the designated public senior high for grades 10–12.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Radisson Park School | Calgary Board of Education | Public K–6 inside the community; opened 2006, the first new CBE school built in the greater Forest Lawn area in over fifty years. |
| Forest Lawn High School | Calgary Board of Education | Designated public senior high, grades 10–12, on 44 Street SE — serves Albert Park/Radisson Heights along with more than a dozen neighbouring communities. |
| Designated junior high | Calgary Board of Education | Ernest Morrow, Ian Bazalgette, Langevin and Sir Wilfrid Laurier all feed Forest Lawn High School; confirm the current junior high designation for a specific address with the board before you buy. |
| Bishop Kidd Junior High School | Calgary Catholic | Catholic junior high serving the area. |
| Calgary Catholic School District | Calgary Catholic | Alberta funds Catholic education the same way it funds public education, so there is no tuition for a resident student at either board; confirm the current elementary designation directly with CCSD. |
Alberta funds Catholic education the same way it funds public education, so there is no tuition for a resident student at either board. Junior high designations here have shifted with enrolment across the Forest Lawn feeder area — confirm the current designation for a specific address with the board before you buy.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel — the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- Memorial Drive and Deerfoot Trail get priority plowing, so access into downtown holds up well for an inner-city address
- The Franklin Station platform is the most exposed point of a winter commute — dress for the wind off the river
- Max Bell Centre's arenas carry the indoor season
- Open water on the Bow near Pearce Estate Park keeps geese wintering close by
- Family Day programming runs at Radisson Park School and Max Bell Centre
- Chinooks reach this inner-city address faster than the far east — Memorial Drive can be bare within a day
- Planet Fitness and Bob Bahan both see their indoor peak
- Coldest stretches still break with a chinook off the river valley
- Melt and refreeze on International Avenue's older sidewalks
- The Bow River pathway near Pearce Estate Park starts to reopen
- Inglewood Bird Sanctuary sees the first returning waterfowl
- Community pathways and Elliston Park's grounds reopen
- Last hard frosts before the community's older gardens go in
- Migratory birds return in numbers to Pearce Estate Park and the Bow River
- Franklin Station's park-and-ride fills up again with the return of daylight commuting
- Elliston Park's wetlands come back to life
- East Town Get Down, International Avenue's independent music festival, runs on 17 Avenue SE
- Long evenings and community league season starts
- Radisson Park School's playground and fields dry out
- The Bow River pathway system fully reopens
- Peak daylight at the solstice — over 16 hours
- Max Bell Centre's outdoor programming begins
- School year ends at Radisson Park and Forest Lawn High
- Thunderstorm season is fully under way
- Calgary Stampede — ten days, about ten minutes west via Blackfoot Trail
- Best of East Stampede Breakfast runs on International Avenue
- Evening thunderstorms roll in from the west
- Hottest month, and the pavement on 17 Avenue SE holds the heat
- GlobalFest's OneWorld Festival and fireworks light up the sky over Elliston Park, a short drive east
- Emerge Market and monthly food tours run along International Avenue
- Quietest weeks before school returns
- Warmest water at Pearce Estate Park's ponds
- School year restarts at Radisson Park and Forest Lawn High
- First frost typically arrives late in the month
- International Avenue's restaurants are busiest with the last patio weekends
- Migrating geese stage on the Bow River
- First snow is normal, and normally melts fast this close to the river valley
- Snow tires go on before the first real cold snap
- Inglewood Bird Sanctuary's cottonwoods turn
- Shorter evenings noticeable by mid-month
- Dark by 5pm
- Indoor recreation season restarts at Max Bell Centre and Bob Bahan
- International Avenue's holiday retail season begins
- The Bow starts to ice up near Pearce Estate Park
- Zoolights at the Calgary Zoo, a few minutes west along Memorial Drive
- Holiday quiet along International Avenue
- Chinooks arrive with some regularity this close to the river valley
- Franklin Station and Max Bell Centre carry the indoor season through the shortest days
36 photographs of the community and its surroundings
All freely licensed and served from this app — nothing loads from a third party. Filter by category.
Showing 1–12 of 36 photographs.
Honesty note. This page uses only the general Calgary, seasonal, Alberta-wildlife and inner-city photography from the site's shared library — no photograph here is presented as a picture of Albert Park/Radisson Heights itself, and the Fish Creek, Midnapore and southwest-suburban images used on other pages are deliberately excluded, because they are not this community's surroundings.