Ascend to the summit of Nose Hill Park on a clear, sunny day and you'll have a spectacular vantage from which to survey the city. It's just one of the many parks in the city's northwest that Calgarians know and love.

As a quadrant, northwest Calgary is an area roughly bordered by Deerfoot Trail to the east, the Bow River to the south, Calgary's city limits to the west, and Stoney Trail to the north.

The northwest is diverse, in both demographics and geography. Several new communities now exist farther north and west of Stoney Trail and one of city's oldest neighbourhoods, Bowness, dates back to the turn of the 20th century.

Perched along the shores of the Bow River in Calgary's northwest, the adjacent communities of Montgomery and Bowness share a powerful sense of history.

"Bowness is now 116 years old, with generations of families that still live and work here," said Jacqui Esler, executive director of the Mainstreet Bowness BIA and former main street business owner.

There is something special about living close to the river – waking up in the morning to the sounds of water swishing along the banks and birds singing their morning symphony.

It's that sense of getting away from it all that is attracting people to the riverside communities of Bowness and Montgomery. Both communities boast a deep and storied history – originating as villages and then towns before being amalgamated into the city – which led to the development of a distinctive flavour and culture that is still visible today.

Inhabited by First Nations people long before settlers had notions of calling the banks along the Bow River home, the Bowness/Montgomery area has a history that predates most communities in Calgary.

Bowness would later become one of the city's first satellite communities, complete with its own streetcar line, as part of a scheme by landowner John Hextall to develop an exclusive suburb "in a natural scenic setting of great beauty."

A crash course in Calgary bridges

Most Calgarians probably don't stop to think about the city's bridges every time they cross over them by car, by bike or on foot. However, many of these important structures have interesting backstories or architectural designs that make them special.

City of Calgary Main Streets initiative aims to revitalize streetscapes and bring communities together

In late September, a throng of Bridgeland residents turned out for the first annual community-organized passeggiata, visiting cultural and business stops along the neighbourhood's main thoroughfare, ending in celebration at the street's General Square.

This passeggiata — a leisurely promenade or stroll in the Italian tradition — and other activities like it are exactly what the City of Calgary's Main Streets initiative is designed to encourage across 24 different city streets.

Katherine Moore found the perfect fixer-upper in cozy, mid-century, Montgomery bungalow

Katherine Moore was a "maker" long before the trend became cool. She's into canning (peaches are her delicious specialty), creates soap from scratch, designs clothing (she's a designer by trade) and re-finishes furniture. But perhaps her greatest love is making her garden beautiful.

So, when she and her husband David Foster, who loves to tinker and build things, were searching for a home, they had a small, but significant, wish list. The home had to be a little fixer-upper with huge potential and a big yard for Katherine work her garden magic.

Urban planning experts offer tips on how to shop for your next neighbourhood

Is it a neighbourhood with a lake so you don't need a vacation cottage?

Or an upgraded, older neighbourhood with lots of housing choices?

Perhaps a community with a main street so "you don't have to jump in your car to get a quart of milk?"

When urban commentators weigh in on what homebuyers, first-time or otherwise, should be looking for when they chose a place to live the emphasis is on community amenities – or as Greg Morrow puts it, looking "outside the four walls" of the home, to the DNA of the neighbourhood.

Communities of Bowness, Montgomery retain small town charm, big city amenities

Nestled along the Bow River in the city's northwest, the communities of Bowness and Montgomery each enjoy storied histories dating back to the turn of the 20th century.

Even today, their modern-day transformations from towns to neighbourhoods are far from complete, with ongoing development redefining expectations of life in Calgary.
Before the First World War, Bowness was a "suburb perfect" vision of Englishman John Hextall, the visionary behind Bowness Park.

A handful of early communities in the area helped Calgary grow to the city it is today

More than 130 years ago, Calgary consisted of a fort surrounded by prairie grasses, First Nations tribes and settlers making a fresh start in the new west.

Today, the city is home to more than one million people and represents the industry engine of Canada's thriving economy.

Still, many of the communities founded yesterday remain today. Here's a snapshot of just a few: