Live in Forest Lawn
The historic core of 17 Avenue SE's International Avenue — its own town for 26 years before Calgary annexed it in 1961.
Forest Lawn began as a settlement along the original Highway 1 alignment around 1910, incorporated as a village in 1934, reached town status in 1952, and was annexed by Calgary in December 1961. Multicultural 17 Avenue SE — International Avenue — bisects the community and has carried its commercial life since before annexation. At the 2021 census it held 7,230 residents in 2,995 dwellings, 31% of them immigrants, with a median household income well below the city's and rental housing at 68%. This is what living here is actually like.
26 years as its own town, then the corridor that outlasted it
Bounded north by 8 Avenue SE, south by 26 Avenue SE, west by 36 Street SE, and east by portions of 52 Street SE and 48 Street SE. Ward 9.
Forest Lawn was a settlement in its own right well before Calgary reached it — incorporated as a village in 1934, amalgamated with Albert Park in 1935, and raised to town status in 1952. The City of Calgary annexed it on December 30, 1961, ending twenty-six years of independent municipal government. The street grid and the commercial spine along 17 Avenue predate the annexation.
That commercial spine is 17 Avenue SE — International Avenue — which bisects the community and still carries its everyday life: a Business Revitalization Zone of over 425 member businesses, restaurants and grocers from around the world. The MAX Purple bus rapid transit line has run along a dedicated transitway here since 2018, connecting the corridor straight to downtown.
Housing and income. At the 2021 census Forest Lawn held 7,230 residents in 2,995 dwellings, little changed from 2011's 7,313. Median household income was $58,000, well below the city median, with 68% rental housing and 29.4% of buildings condominium or apartment — among the highest rental shares of any community on this site.
Who lives here. 31% of residents were immigrants at the 2016 count, and Forest Lawn has functioned for decades as one of Calgary's primary settlement points for newcomers and refugees. That history is what built International Avenue into what it is.
- Much of the housing predates 1961 — original roofs, windows, furnaces and wiring are well past design life in the oldest blocks
- Rental housing runs to 68%, so owner-occupied stock turns over less often than in newer communities
- 17 Avenue SE carries genuine commercial and cultural life, but it is also a busy arterial — go and listen at different times of day
- Median household income is roughly half what newer southeast communities report — factor that into any comparison
- MAX Purple gives a real transit alternative to downtown that older inner communities further out don't have
- Getting to the mountains means crossing the entire city — budget well over an hour to Kananaskis
How Forest Lawn got here
- c. 1910Settlement begins on the flats east of Calgary, along what was then the original alignment of Highway 1 — today's 17 Avenue SE.
- 1934–35Forest Lawn and Albert Park incorporate as separate villages on July 4, 1934, then amalgamate as the Village of Forest Lawn on August 1, 1935.
- 1952Forest Lawn reaches town status on December 29, with its own council, services and identity distinct from Calgary.
- 1961The City of Calgary annexes the Town of Forest Lawn on December 30, ending 26 years of independent municipal government.
- 1974The Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre opens in October, becoming the community's anchor recreation facility.
- 2018The MAX Purple bus rapid transit line opens on November 19 along the new 17 Avenue SE Transitway, linking International Avenue directly to downtown.
- 2021Federal census counts 7,230 residents in 2,995 dwellings — 31% immigrants, 68% renters, and a median household income of $58,000.
Elliston Park east, the Bow River parks northwest
Forest Lawn itself has no large park, but it sits within easy reach of two very different green spaces: Elliston Park and its lake five to eight minutes east along 17 Avenue, home of the Globalfest fireworks, and the Bow River corridor — Pearce Estate Park, the Bow Habitat Station and Inglewood Bird Sanctuary — nine to thirteen minutes northwest.
The resident's angle: this is an inner-city community without a river valley of its own, so the parks that matter are a short drive rather than a walk. What the community has instead is a commercial corridor doing double duty as public life — 17 Avenue's restaurants and shops are where people actually gather.
22 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 22 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. Forest Lawn's numbers are lopsided toward the close end — it is an inner-city community, so schools, transit and the corridor itself are all within a few minutes, while the mountains are a genuine haul from this side of the city.
Every gym within reach
The anchor facility is inside the community itself, with commercial options along the corridor and larger civic centres a short drive north.
- City-run pool, weight room and group fitness inside the community, the closest full facility to most addresses
- Forest Lawn Outdoor Pool adds a seasonal option a few minutes away
- Planet Fitness Forest Lawn is the closest commercial gym, right on 17 Avenue SE
- Genesis Centre and Village Square Leisure Centre are the northeast's larger civic hubs, eleven to eighteen minutes north
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre open | City-run pool, weight room and group fitness classes, open since October 1974 — the community's anchor facility. | 1–3 min |
| Forest Lawn Outdoor Pool open | Seasonal outdoor pool inside the community. | 1–3 min |
| Planet Fitness Forest Lawn open | 24-hour commercial gym on 17 Avenue SE. | 1–2 min |
| Max Bell Centre open | Twin arenas and community recreation space west along Memorial Drive. | 7–10 min |
| Genesis Centre open | The northeast's anchor recreation facility: gymnasiums, fitness centre, indoor courts and community programming. | 11–16 min |
| Village Square Leisure Centre open | Wave pool, arena, fitness space and a library branch, north of the community. | 13–18 min |
The corridor itself counts. Walking 17 Avenue SE end to end covers real distance, and several fitness studios operate out of storefronts along it — check current listings rather than relying on any fixed set.
A full K–12 set inside or immediately around the community
Patrick Airlie School (K–9) and Forest Lawn High School both sit inside the community on the public side, with Valley View School adding another public elementary. Holy Trinity and Holy Cross serve the Catholic side.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Patrick Airlie School | Calgary Board of Education | Public K–9 school inside the community. |
| Forest Lawn High School | Calgary Board of Education | Public senior high inside the community. |
| Valley View School | Calgary Board of Education | Public elementary serving the community. |
| Holy Trinity Elementary School | Calgary Catholic | Catholic elementary serving the community. |
| Holy Cross School | Calgary Catholic | Catholic elementary/junior high serving the community. |
| 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. |
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 designation for a specific address with the board before you buy — attendance boundaries in the inner southeast have shifted as enrolment has changed.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel — the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- 17 Avenue SE's restaurants and grocers stay open through the cold — the corridor doesn't slow down for winter
- The MAX Purple transitway keeps running on a priority-plowed route into downtown
- Bob Bahan's indoor pool carries the season for residents without a car
- Chinooks arrive with more warning here than at the city's eastern edge, but still break the cold suddenly
- Family Day programming runs at Bob Bahan and the community association hall
- Coldest stretches usually break with a chinook by month's end
- Indoor recreation at both Bob Bahan and Genesis Centre is at its busiest
- Longer light is noticeable by the last week of the month
- Melt and refreeze on the older side streets between 17 Avenue and the rail line
- Elliston Park's pathways start to reopen
- Forest Lawn High School and Patrick Airlie School head into spring break
- 17 Avenue SE traffic builds again as patios along International Avenue reopen early on mild days
- Elliston Park's lake and pathways come back into full use
- Last hard frosts — the community's older bungalow lots are among the first in the city to see garden work resume
- MAX Purple ridership picks up as the weather turns
- Migratory birds return to the Bow River at Pearce Estate Park and Inglewood Bird Sanctuary
- Long evenings on International Avenue's patios
- Community league and school field sport seasons start
- Hail season begins across the city's eastern half
- Sunset past 9pm by month's end
- Peak daylight at the solstice — over 16 hours
- School year ends at Patrick Airlie and Forest Lawn High
- Thunderstorm season is fully under way
- International Avenue's outdoor dining and grocers are at their busiest of the year
- Calgary Stampede — ten days, roughly ten minutes west
- Globalfest fireworks at Elliston Park run through July and August
- International Avenue's East Town Get Down music and food festival draws crowds to 17 Avenue SE
- Evening thunderstorms roll in from the west
- Globalfest continues at Elliston Park
- International Avenue's restaurant and grocery mix is the community's genuine summer draw
- Quietest weeks before school returns
- Hottest month, with little relief on the paved stretches of 17 Avenue
- School year restarts at Patrick Airlie, Forest Lawn High and Holy Trinity
- First frost typically arrives late in the month
- International Avenue busiest with back-to-school shopping
- Migrating geese pass over the Bow River corridor northwest of the community
- First snow is normal, and normally melts
- Snow tires go on
- Elliston Park quiets down for the season
- Shorter evenings noticeable by mid-month
- Dark by 5pm
- Indoor recreation season restarts at Bob Bahan and Genesis Centre
- International Avenue's holiday retail season begins
- First hard freeze locks up standing water in the older parts of the community
- Holiday lights along 17 Avenue SE's storefronts
- Bob Bahan's pool and fitness programming runs through the break
- Chinooks, when they come, still strip the snow and bring it back within days
- Quiet stretch on the residential streets away from the corridor
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 day-trip photography from the site's shared library — nothing here is presented as a photograph of Forest Lawn or International Avenue itself. There is no street-level image of 17 Avenue SE in the shared library, which is the single biggest gap on this page.