Westwood

With a street network based on the grid pattern and a central school site, the physical layout of Westwood is typical for a community established in Edmonton before 1950. The City of Edmonton included the area that is now Westwood by 1910, but most homes were only built between 1945 and 1970. It remained a quiet, somewhat insular residential neighbourhood with most structures being single family homes until the 1970s.

Westwood stretches from 118 Avenue to Yellowhead Trail, and 97 Street to 107 Street. The Beechmount Cemetery, established in the early 1900s, is the first cemetery founded by the City of Edmonton rather than a private company. It lies within Westwood, bordering Yellowhead Trail in the northern part of the community that was called Northcote in earlier times. The Edmonton Municipal Airport, first called Blatchford Field when it opened in 1927, was the first licensed airfield in Canada. It is Westwood’s neighbour to the west. Until 1970, 107 Street between Westwood and Blatchford was only a lightly travelled, unpaved road, and the Canadian National Railway tracks and yard were Westwood’s only neighbour to the north until Yellowhead Trail was completed past the airport in the early 1980s.

NAIT’s popularity when it opened in 1962 on the eastern border of the Municipal Airport led to the technical school’s early and steady expansion. Much of Westwood was redeveloped at this time, coinciding with the growth of the institution. Houses south of 120 Avenue were replaced with walk-up apartments, and the community lost some of its commercial space when the Park Plaza Shopping Centre was converted for use by NAIT. Residences along the west side of 97 Street were also removed when that major road was widened. The opening of Kingsway Mall in 1976 added further interest in the area. Now, along with the central single family homes, the apartments and rental units have led rise to a high proportion of people in their 20s making Westwood their home.