This is a great little cafe located in the heart of downtown Calgary close to the river. It's called simply '1886 Buffalo Cafe' and it serves great breakfasts.
1886 is actually the date the Eau Claire & Bow River Lumber company was established making this one of the oldest buildings in Calgary. Dwarfed by the tower blocks surrounding it, this little place is a real survivor.
In 1884 (the closest year for which I can find records) Calgary's population was a grand total of 504 souls. Today the city is home to well over 1 million people and still growing. This is an amazing transformation from the Calgary of 1875 the year in which the first settlers (a couple of families only) and the Northwest Mounted police came to town!
It's fascinating to sit in this little cafe and look at the old photographs on the wall and try to imagine the Prairies when they were home to only the First Nations people and the buffalo. I often wonder if all the cahanges in between are really any improvement on what was here before.
Imagine what those first couple of families would think if they could see it today!
ReplyDeleteFascinating post and good question. The shot of course is wonderful, your angle is so much better than an "ordinary" one!
ReplyDeleteIt looks very unique among skyscrapers which I can see in the background! I like this angle very much!
ReplyDeleteGreat urban photo! Sign me up for an 8 am breakfast reservation! Regards from EAGAN daily photo in Minnesota
ReplyDeleteSo what does a Canadian breakfast consist of?`The same as you would find in the US?
ReplyDeleteFascinating post. One cannot beat a great breakfast place! I'd love to join you and look over those old photos. And I also wonder like you do about whether change and growth equal improvement...
ReplyDeleteSo Calgary is quite a young city really. At a million people it has the same population as Auckland, NZ's biggest city.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to join you for breakfast here!