Apart from the dramatic spurt that coincided with the arrival of the railway, Calgary's growth to the turn of the century was steady but modest. Although the largest community in the Northwest Territories before 1900, the city's rapid development did not come until, like other western centres, it was engulfed in the full rush of prairie settlement during the first decade of the century. The urban consequence of massive rural settlement is evident in this 1915 photograph. The new buildings in the now-substantial commercial core bespeak Calgary's function and newly-established predominance as a service centre for a vast and prosperous agricultural region. The central business district was firmly established on the north side of the CPR right-of-way. Running parallel to the tracks, the district was dominated by the railway's Palliser Hotel (indicated by the arrow) which opened in 1914. The building remained the most imposing structure in the downtown area until the 1940s and confirmed the central role played by the railway in shaping the city's development.
The Centre Street Bridge (under construction in the foreground) was but one reflection of the city's expanding economy and the increasing use of the motorcar which led to a vast expansion of city boundaries before 1912. Planning and expenditure to facilitate motor transport became a major concern of municipal government.
