Live in Glendale
A 1955 bungalow community around Optimist Athletic Park, where 69% of the homes were built in 1960 or before and 84% are single-detached.
Glendale was established in 1955 and annexed to the city the following year. The City's boundary polygon covers 1.36 km², and the 2021 census counted 2,715 residents in 1,075 private households, 23% of them renting against 31% across Calgary. Optimist Athletic Park and its two arenas sit at 5020 26 Avenue SW on the community's southern edge, Sarcee Trail forms the western boundary, and 45 Street station on the CTrain's Blue Line sits on 17 Avenue SW along the north. Sixty-nine per cent of the occupied stock was built in 1960 or before and 84% of it is single-detached, both far above the city. Median household income was $117,000 in 2020 against $98,000 citywide.
A 1955 community that stayed exactly what it was built to be
Bounded by 17 Avenue SW to the north, 37 Street SW and Killarney to the east, Sarcee Trail and Signal Hill to the west, and on the south by a stepped line the association traces along 26 Avenue, 43 Street, 28 Avenue and 40 Street, taking in Glendale Meadows Park. Ward 6, in the City's West sector, classed Established with a 1950s community structure.
Glendale was established in 1955 and annexed to the city the following year. The City's boundary polygon covers 1.36 km², and the 2021 census counted 2,715 residents in 1,075 private households. Just 23% of those households rent, against 31% across Calgary.
Old stock, and very little of anything else. 69% of the occupied dwellings were built in 1960 or before, against 9% citywide, and none at all went up between 2001 and 2010. 84% are single-detached, against 55% across Calgary, with no semi-detached houses and 2% row houses. Median household income was $117,000 in 2020, against $98,000 citywide.
Optimist Athletic Park, nine diamonds and four fields at 5020 26 Avenue SW, sits on the community's southern edge, and the City runs two arenas at the same address, Optimist and George Blundun. Sarcee Trail forms the western edge, and 45 Street station on the CTrain's Blue Line has sat on the north side of 17 Avenue SW since 10 December 2012. It is walk-on only, with no park and ride.
One figure cuts against the picture. Median monthly shelter costs are $1,220 for owners and renters alike, well under the citywide $1,720 and $1,350, and 34% of the community's renter households are in subsidized housing against 9% across Calgary. A high-income community with cheap shelter costs and a concentrated pocket of subsidized rental is an unusual combination, and it is worth understanding street by street.
- 69% of homes were built in 1960 or before, against 9% citywide. The era's full inspection list applies
- Nothing at all was built here between 2001 and 2010, so a new interior means a renovation
- 23% of households rent and 77% own. Expect a long wait for a specific address
- Sarcee Trail forms the western boundary, carrying real arterial noise for those blocks
- 84% single-detached, 2% row house and no semi-detached: this is not the community for a townhouse search
How Glendale got here
- 1955Glendale is established, and the Glendale/Glendale Meadows Community Association registers on 8 August.
- 1956The land is annexed to the City of Calgary. The curvilinear street pattern is the common form of the late 1950s.
- 201245 Street station opens on 10 December, on the CTrain's Blue Line west leg, on the north side of 17 Avenue SW at the community's northern boundary. It has no park and ride.
- 2019The City's last civic census counts 2,765 residents in 1,128 dwellings, 1,075 of them occupied and 819 owner-occupied.
- 2021The federal census counts 2,715 residents in 1,075 private households, with a median household income of $117,000 in 2020 against $98,000 across Calgary, and 23% of households renting.
Nine diamonds and an arena, inside the community
Optimist Athletic Park at 5020 26 Avenue SW carries seven baseball and softball diamonds, two little league diamonds, two field hockey and lacrosse fields, a soccer field and a sport field, with the City's Optimist and George Blundun arenas at the same address. It is the community's real recreational anchor rather than a borrowed one.
What the map does not show: nine diamonds and two sheets of ice at one address means league play and tournaments most weekends, which is either a selling point or a reason to check the schedule before you buy nearby. The community association also runs outdoor rinks and sports fields of its own.
Elsewhere in Calgary, not Glendale
14 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 14 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. Sarcee Trail runs straight to the Trans-Canada Highway from the community's western edge.
Every gym within reach
No paid recreation centre sits inside Glendale, but Optimist Athletic Park and its two arenas cover most of the daily need, with Killarney Aquatic & Recreation Centre the nearest City pool.
- Nine diamonds, four fields, and the City's Optimist and George Blundun arenas at 5020 26 Avenue SW
- Killarney Aquatic & Recreation Centre at 1919 29 St. S.W. adds a pool, dive tank, teaching pool and fitness floor
- Signal Hill Centre's commercial clubs sit west via Sarcee Trail, though nobody publishes a list of them
- 45 Street station puts the Blue Line on the community's northern edge, walk-on only
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Optimist Athletic Park & Arena open | Free option: nine diamonds and four fields at 5020 26 Avenue SW, with the City's Optimist and George Blundun arenas at the same address. | 3–4 min |
| Killarney Aquatic & Recreation Centre open | City aquatic and recreation centre at 1919 29 St. S.W.: pool, dive tank, hot tub, teaching pool, steam room, weights and cardio, fitness studio. | 4–6 min |
| Signal Hill Centre district clubs open | Commercial gyms around the Signal Hill Centre plaza. No publisher this audit opened lists them. | 5–7 min |
The park does the daily work. The paid options are mainly for a pool or a weight room.
Two board elementaries inside the community
Glendale School runs kindergarten to grade 6 and names Glendale and Glenmeadows as the communities it serves. Glenmeadows School is a Spanish Bilingual school over the same grades, 50% English and 50% Spanish, with entry at kindergarten and grade 1 only. Wikipedia also names St. Gregory Junior High among the schools serving Glendale.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Glendale School | Calgary Board of Education | Kindergarten to grade 6 inside the community, serving Glendale and Glenmeadows on the board's own page. |
| Glenmeadows School | Calgary Board of Education | Kindergarten to grade 6 and a Spanish Bilingual school, 50% English and 50% Spanish, with entry at kindergarten and grade 1. |
| St. Gregory School | Calgary Catholic School District | Wikipedia names St. Gregory Junior High among the schools serving Glendale. The district's site refuses automated clients, so nothing here was read from it: confirm the grades and the designation directly. |
| Central Memorial High School | Calgary Board of Education | Senior high with Advanced Placement, a Spanish Bilingual Program and the Centre for Performing & Visual Arts. Its own page names no attendance area, so confirm the designation for a specific address. |
Alberta funds Catholic education the same way it funds public education, so there is no tuition for a resident student at either board. The Catholic district's site refuses automated clients, so nothing on that side was read from the district itself, and no board page names an attendance area. Confirm the designation for a specific address with both boards 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.
- Optimist Athletic Park's outdoor diamonds sit frozen and empty behind the arena
- The Optimist and George Blundun arenas at 5020 26 Avenue SW run ice through the coldest stretch of the year
- 45 Street Station's platform, on the community's own northern edge, catches the wind off Sarcee Trail
- Sixty-nine per cent of the homes here predate 1961, and the January heating bill says so
- A chinook can clear Optimist Athletic Park's outfield down to bare turf in an afternoon
- Glenmeadows' Spanish Bilingual cohort pushes through midwinter assessments
- The association hall at 4500 25 Avenue SW carries the winter programme calendar
- February, not January, usually delivers the year's coldest snap on this stretch
- Meltwater pools on Optimist Athletic Park's infield weeks before it is playable
- Driveways heave with the freeze-thaw on the community's oldest blocks
- Cleats are the right footwear on the walk to 45 Street Station
- The arena ice season winds down as the outdoor thaw sets in
- Optimist Athletic Park's diamonds get their spring grooming for the coming season
- Glendale School's field sports move outdoors for the term
- Garden centres along 37 Street SW open for the season
- The perennial beds on the older blocks come back reliably after the last frost
- Optimist Athletic Park's ball leagues start their season on the diamonds
- The mature canopy on the curvilinear 1950s streets fills back in
- The association's sports fields fill up in the evenings as the days lengthen
- Sunset holds past 9pm by month's end
- School lets out and Optimist Athletic Park's diamonds book out most weeknights for league play
- 45 Street station's platform trades ice for shade. It serves Glendale, Rosscarrock, Westgate and Glenbrook
- Thunderstorms building over the foothills are visible from the community's open ball fields
- Glenmeadows wraps its Spanish Bilingual year, and a quiet summer follows
- Weekend tournaments fill every diamond at Optimist Athletic Park
- Stampede traffic is a distant problem. Glendale's own streets stay quiet
- Hottest month, with the original bungalows' mature trees keeping most yards shaded
- The two arenas at Optimist Athletic Park switch over to summer programming
- League play at Optimist Athletic Park tapers off before the September return
- Wildfire haze from the west can settle low over the community
- Quietest weeks of the year on Glendale's low-turnover streets
- Back-to-school preparation begins in the last week at both board schools
- The nine diamonds at Optimist Athletic Park close out their league season
- Glendale School and Glenmeadows both restart, and the morning drop-off traffic returns
- September brings the morning crowd back to the 45 Street Station platform
- First frost typically holds off until the last week of the month
- Peak colour runs through the mature canopy on the curvilinear 1950s streets
- Optimist Athletic Park goes quiet once its diamonds are put away for the winter
- The arena ice season opens ahead of the first real snowfall
- Snow tires go on across the community's oldest blocks
- The floodlights over Optimist Athletic Park go dark for the season
- Dark commutes mean 45 Street Station's platform lights come on well before five
- The association hall's holiday bookings are among the community's few crowded nights
- The original 1950s roofs start showing frost each morning
- A chinook arch over Optimist Athletic Park can turn a −20 morning into a +5 afternoon
- The Optimist and George Blundun arenas run through the holiday break
- The association's outdoor skating rinks open once the freeze holds
- Quiet, low-turnover streets through the holidays: most of Glendale has stayed put for years
6 more photographs of the community and its surroundings
All freely licensed, via Wikimedia Commons. Filter by category.
Showing 1–6 of 6 photographs.
About these photographs. Openly licensed images geotagged in or near Glendale, 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.