From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Balzac is a hamlet in the southern portion of the Canadian province of Alberta, in the Municipal District of Rocky View. It is located immediately west of Queen Elizabeth II Highway, 24 km (15 mi) north of Calgary city centre and 12 km (7 mi) south of Airdrie.
As of July 31, 2007, Balzac is now located immediately adjacent to Calgary's newly expanded northern city limits.[1] Balzac is also directly west of the Crossiron Mills shopping mall development, construction of which was underway as of early 2007.
[edit] History
A Canadian Pacific Railway station began operating at Balzac in 1910. It was named by William Cornelius Van Horne, then president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, after one of his favourite authors, Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) a noted French novelist. The post office here was opened in April 1, 1912 under the name “Beddington” and was changed on July 1, 1925. Pronunciation: 'ball' 'sack'
[edit] Infrastructure
- Balzac General Store (with restaurant and gas station)
- Recent announcements include a horse racing facility, an equestrian college campus and the multi-million dollar Crossiron Mills regional shopping centre - scheduled to be the largest in the Calgary Region.
Due to its close proximity to both Calgary and Airdrie, Balzac receives most media (television, radio, newspapers) from those two cities. It is also mention and the T.V. network razor due to its odd sounding name.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 51°12′47″N 114°00′28″W / 51.21306, -114.00778
Balzac 
