The search for oil was really a product of a technological revolution, the centrepiece of which, the motorcar, was already transforming the face of Calgary and every other North American city.
The first car, a steam driven one, appeared on Calgary streets in 1903. By September, 1906 there were ten registered car owners in Calgary. By the early part of the next decade North American technology was producing vehicles of reasonable efficiency and reliability. Moreover, mass production put the price of a standard motorcar almost within the reach of the average citizen and soon Calgary's streets, like those of other North American cities, were filled with the new conveyance. By the 1960s Calgary possessed more automobiles per capita than any other Canadian city.
Shown here is the Charles W. Beale family setting off in their brand new 1912 Ford. Note that the steering wheel is on the right side. This type of car was known as a "touring" model, unlike the "sedan'' which had a hard top. The touring car had a soft buggy top which could be put up in a few minutes if rain threatened and side curtains, usually carried under the seat cushion, which buttoned on. Behind the car is the Beale residence, a typical workingman's cottage of the period.
The widespread acquisition of automobiles meant that after World War I livery stables were quickly replaced with filling stations and garages, and backyard stables were converted to garages. Cars gave their owners a new freedom of movement and this, along with the electric street railways, meant that residential areas could be developed at a much greater distance from the downtown core.
