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My Jane’s Walk Revisited

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Last year I enjoyed my Jane’s Walk so much I’ve decided to do it again. On Saturday, May 2, I’ll be leading two 1.5-hour strolls through Calgary’s Balmoral neighbourhood, the main setting for my latest novel, A Killer Whisky. The novel takes place in 1918 and the focus of my walk will be the community’s history. Balmoral developed during Calgary’s real estate boom in the early 20th century. Many buildings of historical significance still stand and serve their original purpose, like Balmoral School, one of 19 sandstone schools build by the Calgary School Board during that time of rapid city growth.  

My walks will essentially be the same as last year’s with added details I’ve learned since then. Last May, during my introductory spiel in Balmoral Circus Park, a long time resident recalled that a home on the square used to be a Scouts Canada meeting hall. I’ve since confirmed this and will add the tidbit to my talk. 

Another resident thought a former mayor of Calgary had lived in a home adjacent to the square. After the walk, she rang the doorbell and chatted with the current owners, who were aware of their home’s illustrious former resident. These kinds of group participation make Jane’s walks engaging and relaxed. This mayor was a colourful character and I’ve researched him for the walks. 

Me talking about the historical Kelly Block (originally Hicks Block) building

 
Balmoral Circus Park, the walks’ beginning and end points, was recently redeveloped as a community meeting place with tables and chairs–heavy and solid so they aren’t easy to steal. This year my walk description ends with an invitation to bring a lunch to eat at the tables after the morning walk or before the afternoon walk if the weather’s fine. Calgary weather in early May can potentially be cold, snowy, hot, rainy, or perfect for a picnic outside. The walks will go ahead unless there’s a blizzard or deluge.

Jane’s Walks happen annually the first weekend of May in cities around the world. The walks are free, but you have to register. Many walks fill quickly. I originally scheduled a morning Balmoral Heritage Walk but, after it filled, I added a repeat walk in the afternoon. You can register here. https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/balmoral-heritage-walk-tickets-1986939846568?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true

For more information and to see if your home city will participate, check out this website: Jane’s Walk – Jane’s Walk is a festival of free, community-led walking conversations.

If you’re in Calgary, have a look at this year’s Calgary offerings: https://janeswalk.calgarycommunities.com/  Last year, Calgarians enjoyed over 80 walks that included bike rides and a two-minute walk to a historic building to make sketches. The majority of the Jane’s Walks range from easy strolls like mine to vigourous city hikes.

 
Something for everyone!   

       

Janes Walks Take Over the World

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Next weekend I’ll do something I haven’t done before — lead a Jane’s Walk. My route will explore part of Calgary’s Tuxedo Park neighbourhood, the primary setting for my historical mystery novel, A Killer Whisky. Heritage Calgary lists six Tuxedo Park sites with heritage value along our twenty-minute stroll. My favourite is a continuous row of workers’ cottages built in 1912-13 and lovingly preserved. I imagined my the protagonist of my novel set in 1918 living in one of these homes.  

Jane’s Walks take place in numerous cities every spring to commemorate the May 4th birthday of American-Canadian journalist, author, and activist Jane Jacobs. When I studied urban planning at Concordia University in the 1970s and 80s, Jacobs was the heroine of my professors. She wrote and acted against the dominant approach to urban renewal of the previous decades — tear down old buildings and replace them with concrete blocks, clear slums, and build expressways through neighbourhoods without regard for the residents. Jacobs espoused the opposite. “Downtown is for people,” she wrote. She advocated for community life on the streets, mixed land use over suburban sprawl and separate residential and commercial zones, and grass-roots city planning. 

Jacobs rose to prominence in the 1960s during the fight to prevent New York City’s Greenwich Village from becoming a high-rise development. She was instrumental in stopping the Lower Manhattan Expressway, which would have cut through the city’s SoHo, Little Italy, and Chinatown neighbourhoods. At a public hearing for the latter, she was arrested for inciting a riot. The charge was later reduced to disorderly conduct. 

Hardcover edition, pub. 1961, possibly the most influential book ever on urban planning and cities. 

In 1968, Jacobs moved with her husband and three children to Toronto, Canada, where she became a leader in the movement to stop the Spadina Expressway. “Cities should be built for people not cars” was a prevailing theme of her work. After her death in 2006, the city of Toronto declared May 5, 2007, Jane Jacob’s Day and offered two dozen free neighborhood walks, which became nicknamed Jane’s Walks. The following year, the event spread to eight cities and towns throughout Canada, and by 2016, Jane’s Walks were taking place in 212 cities in 36 countries and six continents.  

For this year’s Jane’s Walk Festival Weekend (May 2-4, 2025) over 500 cities around the world will be participating. When I applied to lead a walk, I had no idea the event was this huge. To find out if your city is involved, you can search the Jane’s Walk website: https://janeswalk.org/about-us/ 

Walks are led by volunteers and free, although you generally need to register as they fill up. Anyone with a proposal and enthusiasm can apply to lead a walk and will probably be accepted. Despite my research on Tuxedo Park, I still have a fair bit to prepare for the walk. A first step was another field trip to the neighbourhood. Three friends and I “walked the walk,” decided on the best places for me to stand for my talks, and discovered some additional points of interest.

In the spirit of Jane Jacobs, Jane’s Walks go ahead, rain, shine, or snow. I’ll be ready for them all.