Calgary had a 1920s book scene
Yes, it did, and someone drew a map of it. City of Romance is the Calgary Atlas Project’s guide to the city’s 1920s literary scene. It sits on the same shelf as maps of lost cinemas, alternative art, labour history and the city’s architecture, and the Atlas Project page lists all fifteen of them so far.
Where the paper trail lives
Calgary’s Heritage Triangle is the best place to start digging. The Glenbow Western Research Centre keeps personal records, photographs, maps and newspapers. Calgary Public Library has Calgary’s Story at the Central Library. The City of Calgary Archives holds municipal records like building histories and land use files. The library has a page on the Heritage Triangle that explains how the three fit together.
If you know a name, a publication or an address from that era, send it along through the contact page and it might end up here. Meanwhile, the Atlas Project’s other maps are a fun way to see what else the city has been hiding.
Quick answers
City of Romance is the Calgary Atlas Project’s guide to the city’s 1920s literary scene. It sits on the same shelf as maps of lost cinemas, alternative art, labour history and the city’s architecture, and the Atlas Project page lists all fifteen of them so far.
Calgary’s Heritage Triangle is the best place to start. The Glenbow Western Research Centre keeps personal records, photographs, maps and newspapers, Calgary Public Library has Calgary’s Story at the Central Library, and the City of Calgary Archives holds municipal records.
It holds municipal records like building histories and land use files. The Heritage Triangle also includes the Glenbow Western Research Centre and Calgary Public Library, and the library has a page on the Heritage Triangle that explains how the three fit together.
Sources: Calgary Institute for the Humanities (Calgary Atlas Project), Calgary Public Library.
Related reading from us: W.O. Mitchell made High River a literary address.
