Live in Dover
A 1971 inner-southeast community built around Valleyview Regional Park, with one of Calgary's higher rental shares.
Dover's land was annexed by the City of Calgary in 1961 and the community itself was established in 1971, named after Mary Dover, a historic alderman and environmentalist and the daughter of A. E. Cross, one of Calgary's original Big Four businessmen. It is one of the Greater Forest Lawn communities in the city's inner southeast, built around the 10.5 hectare Valleyview Park it shares with neighbouring Southview. Two thirds of its occupied dwellings went up between 1961 and 1980, 36 per cent of households rent, and median household income was $69,000 for 2020 against $98,000 across Calgary.
An inner-city southeast community, named after Mary Dover
Wikipedia puts the boundaries at 26 Avenue SE to the north, Peigan Trail to the south, 24 Street SE and Deerfoot Trail to the west and 36 Street SE to the east. The community association gives the eastern edge as the CNR mainline and the western as the irrigation canal and 24 Street. Ward 9.
Dover's land was annexed by the City of Calgary in 1961, and the community itself was established in 1971. It is named after Mary Dover, whom the Federation of Calgary Communities describes as a historic alderman and environmentalist and the daughter of A. E. Cross, one of Calgary's initial "Big Four" businessmen. The community association registered as a provincial society that same year, on 2 November 1971.
It is one of the Greater Forest Lawn communities, well inside the city rather than at its edge: 26 Avenue SE forms the northern boundary, Peigan Trail the southern one, 24 Street SE and Deerfoot Trail the western one, and 36 Street SE the eastern one. The association's own description differs at the edges: it gives the CNR mainline to the east and the irrigation canal to the west.
Housing mix. Dover is genuinely mixed rather than uniform: 41% single-detached houses, 30% apartments in buildings under five storeys, 12% each row houses and semi-detached, and 5% apartments in duplexes. 36% of households rent, one of the higher shares of any community on this site. Median household income was $69,000 in 2020, well under the city's $98,000, and 27% of households spend 30% or more of income on shelter, against 23% city-wide.
Who lives here. 25% of residents were immigrants at the 2021 count, in a population of 10,795 across 4,735 private households, a density of roughly 2,570 people per km². Two thirds of the occupied stock was built between 1961 and 1980, and 11% of commuters take transit, above the city's 9%.
- 66% of occupied dwellings were built between 1961 and 1980. Check roofs, furnaces, wiring and plumbing before you buy
- At 36% rental, this is one of the higher rental shares of any community on this site
- Only 41% of occupied dwellings are single-detached houses, and 30% are apartments under five storeys. A more mixed stock than the uniform 1970s suburbs further out
- Median household income was $69,000 in 2020, well under the city figure, and 27% of households spend 30% or more of income on shelter
- Deerfoot Trail and Peigan Trail bound two sides of the community. Expect road noise near those edges
- No CTrain station inside the community. Franklin station, 2826 Memorial Drive SE, is the nearest at 4.7 km from downtown
How Dover got here
- 1961Dover's land is annexed by the City of Calgary.
- 1971The community is established, named after Mary Dover, a historic alderman and environmentalist and daughter of A. E. Cross of Calgary's Big Four. The Dover Community Association registers as a provincial society on 2 November.
- 1961 to 1980The bulk of the community goes up. Sixty-six per cent of the dwellings occupied in 2021 date from these two decades.
- 1985Franklin station opens on 27 April on what is now the Blue Line, 4.7 km from the City Hall interlocking, at 2826 Memorial Drive SE.
- 2019The City's last civic census counts 10,351 residents in 4,866 dwellings, 4,574 of them occupied and 2,669 owner-occupied.
- 2021The federal census records 10,795 residents in 4,735 private households, 36 per cent of them renting, with a median household income of $69,000 for 2020.
Valleyview Park, and the Bow River valley across the western edge
Valleyview Park is Dover's defining open space: 10.5 hectares at 3224 26 St. S.E., separating Dover from neighbouring Southview, with beach volleyball courts run by the Calgary Beach Volleyball Association, ball diamonds, a seasonal spray park, playgrounds, an artificial pond and pathways. The City lists it as open daily from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., with views of downtown.
What the map does not show: there is no private lake here, but the western boundary backs directly onto the Inglewood golf course in the Bow River valley, with the river pathway system, Pearce Estate Park and the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary all a short drive away: genuine river access that many newer, farther-out communities on this site do not have.
Elsewhere in Calgary, not Dover
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. Dover's numbers are shaped by its inner-city position: downtown, Stampede Park and the Bow River valley are all close, while the mountains are still a genuine haul.
Every gym within reach
A city-run aquatic centre, the community's own association facility and a regional park cover most of what residents actually use day to day, with the larger civic hubs a short drive north.
- Village Square Leisure Centre, 2623 56 St. N.E., adds a wave pool, water slides, a gymnasium and arenas
- Genesis Centre is the quadrant's other large hub. Its facility list was not read from a publisher in this audit
- The Dover Community Association's hall at 3133 30 Avenue SE, its rink and its sports fields are the closest facilities
- Valleyview Park is the free option: volleyball courts, ball diamonds, a spray park, a pond and pathways
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre open | City facility at 4812 14 Ave. S.E.: pool, dive tank, hot tub, steam room, weights and cardio and a fitness studio. | 6–10 min |
| Dover Community Association open | Outdoor skating rink and sports fields, plus a 240-capacity hall with a games room at 3133 30 Avenue SE. | 2–4 min |
| Valleyview Regional Park open | Free option: beach volleyball courts, ball diamonds, a seasonal spray park, playgrounds, an artificial pond and pathways at 3224 26 St. S.E. | 1–3 min |
| Village Square Leisure Centre open | City facility at 2623 56 St. N.E.: wave pool, dive tank, hot tub, steam room, water slides, weights and cardio, a gymnasium and arenas. | 11–16 min |
| Genesis Centre open | The northeast's recreation hub. Its facility list was not read from a publisher in this audit. | 14–21 min |
Check membership terms. The Dover Community Association's facilities and programming typically require a community membership rather than a drop-in fee. Confirm current rates before you plan around them.
Six schools inside or on the edge of the community
Wikipedia names six schools for Dover: West Dover Elementary and Valley View Elementary on the public side, Ian Bazalgette Junior High for public junior high, Forest Lawn Senior High for senior high, and Holy Cross Elementary & Junior High and Saint Damien Elementary on the Catholic side. That is an unusually complete set for a community this size.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| West Dover School | Calgary Board of Education | West Dover Elementary, one of the public schools Wikipedia names for Dover, inside the community. |
| Valley View School | Calgary Board of Education | Valley View Elementary, the other public elementary Wikipedia names for Dover. |
| Ian Bazalgette School | Calgary Board of Education | Ian Bazalgette Junior High, the public junior high Wikipedia names for Dover. |
| Holy Cross Elementary & Junior High | Calgary Catholic | Catholic elementary and junior high, as Wikipedia names it. The district's own site refuses automated clients, so nothing here was read from the district. |
| Saint Damien School | Calgary Catholic | Saint Damien Elementary, the Catholic elementary Wikipedia names for Dover, with the same caveat. |
| Forest Lawn Senior High School | Calgary Board of Education | The public senior high Wikipedia names for Dover. No publisher this audit opened names a Catholic senior high designation. Confirm the current designation for a specific address before you buy. |
Alberta funds Catholic education the same way it funds public education, so there is no tuition for a resident student at either board. The Calgary Catholic School District's site refuses automated clients, so the two Catholic schools here are named from Wikipedia rather than the district, and no publisher this audit opened gives a Catholic senior high designation. 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.
- Dover Community Association's outdoor rink is open for skating and shinny
- Chinooks come through and go, and the community sits at 1,055 m at its reference point
- Deerfoot Trail and Peigan Trail carry the community's traffic in and out
- Valleyview Park's pond and pathways sit under snow
- Indoor recreation at Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre is at its busiest
- Skating continues at the community rink through Family Day weekend
- MAX Purple runs the 17 Avenue SE Transitway between City Centre and East Hills
- A chinook can strip the snowbanks within an afternoon
- Melt and refreeze on side streets away from the priority routes
- Valleyview Park's ball diamonds and volleyball courts start drying out
- The Bow River pathway past the Inglewood golf course reopens as the ice clears
- Spring break fills the Dover Community Association's hall with programming
- Last hard frosts: planting waits until the long weekend
- Valleyview Park's soccer fields reopen for the season
- All five community schools resume outdoor programmes
- Migratory birds return to the Bow Habitat Station and Inglewood Bird Sanctuary
- Valleyview Park's beach volleyball courts and playgrounds fill on warm weekends
- Community league sport seasons start across the schools
- Long evenings: sunset past 9pm by month end
- Hail season begins in earnest
- Valleyview Park's spray park opens for the season
- The Calgary Beach Volleyball Association runs the courts at Valleyview Park through the season
- School year ends across all five community schools
- Peak daylight at the solstice: over 16 hours
- Calgary Stampede: ten days, about 10–14 minutes northwest via Blackfoot Trail
- Valleyview Park's picnic tables and artificial pond are busiest of the year
- Dover Community Association hosts multicultural and outdoor events
- Evening thunderstorms roll in from the west
- Valleyview Park's spray park runs through the last hot weeks
- Back-to-school preparations pick up at Marlborough Mall
- Hottest month of the year
- Quieter streets as families take late-summer trips
- School year restarts at West Dover, Valley View, Ian Bazalgette, Holy Cross and Saint Damien
- Fall sport leagues take over Valleyview Park's soccer fields
- First frost typically arrives late in the month
- Migrating geese stage over the Bow River corridor
- First snow is normal, and normally melts within days
- Snow tires go on
- Valleyview Park's playgrounds and pond quiet down for the season
- Shorter evenings noticeable by mid-month
- Dark by 5pm
- Dover Community Association begins prepping the outdoor rink
- Indoor recreation season restarts at Bob Bahan Aquatic & Fitness Centre
- Holiday retail season begins at Marlborough Mall
- Dover Community Association's rink opens for the season, weather permitting
- Holiday programs run out of the community hall
- Chinooks come through the inner southeast on their own schedule
- Zoolights at the Calgary Zoo, a short drive northwest
4 more photographs of the community and its surroundings
All freely licensed, via Wikimedia Commons. Filter by category.
Showing 1–4 of 4 photographs.
About these photographs. Openly licensed images geotagged in or near Dover, found on Wikimedia Commons and served from there with full attribution. Inline photos elsewhere on the page may still come from the site's shared Calgary library.