Is Calgary becoming a dead town?

[troutman]

I'm probably too old and out of touch to know what you all mean by nightclubs. I do notice that many venues have very popular DJ nights - so successful that they rarely book live bands anymore. Ex. Commonwealth, Broken City, HiFi Club.


https://theculturetrip.com/north-ame...bs-in-calgary/

[Muta]

Originally Posted by Shazam

There are seven hotels in walking distance of the interesting parts of 17th Ave SW.

(there's a free to use washroom in Hotel Elan btw)

Are there any ON 17th? No. That's the issue.

You might not think so, but there should be hotels right on the damn street for tourists to book into.

[DoubleF]

I don't think it's dead, but as many have said, there's been an evolution. For my group of friends...

The night life thing has always been poor in Calgary. Or at the very least, it is far more decentralized than many other cities, so we've always seen it as make your own entertainment or plug in at a club or bar. But the plugging in aspect is deteriorating.

Many small events are gaining steam. People don't try to just "plug in" anymore. They organize small groups online then go do activities in a bigger group with similar interests and tastes. Board game meet ups, locked room, paint night etc. seem to be growing.

I've noticed the craft brew thing as well as higher interest in quality spirits means that hanging out at a friend's place with cool bottles as the starting point of a conversation is not seen as anti-social as it used to be. Furthermore people no longer seem to be as interested in just drinking to get sloshed. There seems to be far more interest in casual drinking and drinking better drinks. There also seems to be increased focus on saving money, so potlucks and people learning to cook fancier meals (blame sous vide and instapot) seems to be a thing lately.

People like going to breweries over pubs. More chill, more vogue and babies are allowed. Maybe it's just me, but I also feel like pet ownership has increased a lot which could factor into this shift. I feel like craft breweries recently hit critical mass and people are flocking to them vs the traditional pubs lately.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Muta

Are there any ON 17th? No. That's the issue.

You might not think so, but there should be hotels right on the damn street for tourists to book into.

Hotel Elan is on 16th, is that close enough? Another's on 18th.

Well, I guess you have a point. People are lazy and round these days.

[bizkitgto]

Originally Posted by Amethyst

If no Electric Avenue means the city is dead, I'm all for a dead city! I can't imagine the appeal of a night club with 2500 people. If that's what someone is looking for, I can see them being disappointed.

I find no shortage of things to do on the weekends but I prefer other things. During the week, I'm not looking to go out late at night.

You weren't around back then, were you?

[GoinAllTheWay]

Electric Ave was freakin awesome. What a time to be alive.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

Electric Ave was freakin awesome. What a time to be alive.

Yeah I have a lot of fond memories including the celebration the evening the Flames won the Stanley Cup.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Yeah I have a lot of fond memories including the celebration the evening the Flames won the Stanley Cup.

Unfortunately I missed that night but I was there for the first Blue jay's win and it was crazy enough.

[boogerz]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Hotel Elan is on 16th, is that close enough? Another's on 18th.

Well, I guess you have a point. People are lazy and round these days.

Compared to "world-class cities", one hotel on Calgary's premier entertainment street is not conducive to making it vibrant and attracting business owners to the area.

Robson Street in Vancouver is an apt comparable because it's an mixed entertainment-oriented street that's approximately the same length as the busy portion of 17th Ave (4th St to 14th St). It has eight hotels of varying ratings (3-5 stars) allowing visitors to The City to stay directly on Robson and have a variety of interesting things to do and see without having to take a taxi, walk a ton of blocks, uber, rent a car, etc.

By comparison, if you were visiting Calgary and wanted the same experience, you'd need to visit a combination of places along Stephen Ave, 10/11 Ave, and/or 17th Ave, which the average person would not consider walkable.



It all leads back to the density argument, which similar to your response to Muta's comment, opposes the average Calgarian's perspective.

[Shazam]

Not walkable. Yeesh. I walk from 5 Ave to 17 Ave, takes me about 10 minutes.

But yeah, people are truly lazy and weak.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Not walkable. Yeesh. I walk from 5 Ave to 17 Ave, takes me about 10 minutes.

But yeah, people are truly lazy and weak.

Don't get me wrong, I agree - people should walk more. I've done the 5 Ave to 17 Ave walk as well, no biggie; for tourists, it's a bit of a different story though. Hotels should definitely be right in the action on 17th.

[Joborule]

Have to agree with Muta here about hotels should be on the district streets. You want them to have everything, and make it as easy as you possibly can for tourists in the city to engaged in the street life in the downtown area. 17th, Stephen/7th Ave, and 4th street should have more hotels.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Yeah I have a lot of fond memories including the celebration the evening the Flames won the Stanley Cup.

That would have been amazing but was underage at the time. I did, however, get to take part in the Blue Jays Celebration in 92. That still ranks as one of the best parties I've been to.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Muta

Don't get me wrong, I agree - people should walk more. I've done the 5 Ave to 17 Ave walk as well, no biggie; for tourists, it's a bit of a different story though. Hotels should definitely be right in the action on 17th.

Yeah no. I suggest you use Google Streetview and actually go down Robson St. It has very few hotels right on it.

I see the problem now. You don't understand that hotels suck. You end up with a giant lobby that takes up a huge portion of street frontage, and of course you have to have vehicle access - no, not just nasty cars, you have to have a loading dock somewhere. And of course hotel food mostly sucks - no, don't give your one-off example of some dish you had at some hotel, and who the hell wants to hang out in a hotel lobby anyhow?

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Yeah no. I suggest you use Google Streetview and actually go down Robson St. It has very few hotels right on it.

I see the problem now. You don't understand that hotels suck. You end up with a giant lobby that takes up a huge portion of street frontage, and of course you have to have vehicle access - no, not just nasty cars, you have to have a loading dock somewhere. And of course hotel food mostly sucks - no, don't give your one-off example of some dish you had at some hotel, and who the hell wants to hang out in a hotel lobby anyhow?

Won't someone think of the club sandwiches?!?!?

[81MC]

Good hotels should have good hotel bars.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Yeah no. I suggest you use Google Streetview and actually go down Robson St. It has very few hotels right on it.

Robson street has five hotels on it, six if you include the Rosedale. What are you talking about?

[Barnes]

After the show it’s the after party then
After the party it’s the hotel lobby.

Everybody knows this.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by 81MC

Good hotels should have good hotel bars.

only people trying to cheat on their spouses drink in hotel bars

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by nik-

only people trying to cheat on their spouses drink in hotel bars

or if you travel for work. the times I've travelled, I appreciated a good hotel bar.