From Heritage Vancouver: “The opening of the Main Post Office in 1958 marked a new phase in Vancouver’s development and growth as a regional centre in the postwar era. Today however, more than 50 years after this complex opened to the public, Canada Post’s operations have changed so extensively that a new Regional Mail Handling Facility is under construction near the airport, leaving the future of this fine building in doubt.” [Read full Endangered Site listing]
We might know the Main Post Office building for its giant Canadian flag, sported during the week of Canada Day, or for its cheap evening parking it’s after hours and you’re heading to the QE Theatre for a show. However this behemoth contains over 600,000 square feet of space, ramps, a helipad, elevators, and a 2,400-foot long underground conveyor belt that used to link the system to the trains coming into Waterfront station.
“In 1954 the federal Minister of Public Works applied to the City for a ninety-nine (99) year lease of lands beneath City streets to construct and operate a mail transfer tunnel from the main CPR station to the newly to be constructed main Post Office. At that time the mail came to Vancouver on the CPR railway. As the Vancouver Charter then read, a lease in excess of thirty (30) years required the assent of the electors… The thirty (30) year lease with the federal Minister of Public Works was entered into October 10, 1957. Shortly after completion of the tunnel, mail began to move by air and so the tunnel was never used.”
The Main Post Office’s future is now uncertain and that is why it’s sitting on Heritage Vancouver’s list: “The federal government plans to sell the building and to date, no potential buyer has agreed to purchase and save this public landmark.”
Update: January 2013: The Main Post Office building has been sold. “Canada Post has confirmed to Global News that their main Vancouver office on Georgia and Homer has been sold to B.C. Investment Management Corporation.”
Bring on the beaches, flip flops, outdoor concerts, and festivals. Our week ends with a new month and I’m ready to take on summer. These events have been submitted by readers and researched for good times this June.
Photo credit: Mark Faviell on Flickr – Submitted to the Miss604 Flickr Pool.
Theatre is a large part of Vancouver’s arts and culture scene, from wandering open air comedies, the marquee show at the Stanley, to brilliant summer sunset performances at Bard on the Beach. There is also one theatre company that helps children discover their talent and passion for the stage early on, and that’s Encore Musical Theatre.
Encore is a 10-month program for children in grades 4 through 9 that culminates in a end-of-season show in the spring. This year’s production will be Oliver, in honor of the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ birth.
The children have been working all year on this show with Encore’s Artistic Director and Choreographer Diana Kaarina as well as Assistant Director and Choreographer Jessica Kelly.
Oliver will take place at the Norman Rothstein Theatre 950 West 41st Ave (at Oak Street) on Thursday June 7th, Friday June 8th, and Saturday June 9th at 7:00pm with a 2:00pm performance on Saturday June 9th as well.
Support the passion that these kids have for the arts and check out their production of the season. Tickets are currently available for just $15 and can be purchased online.
Idina Menzel is coming to The Centre for Performing Arts this week, on Friday, June 1, 2012. This Tony Award-winning actress, singer, and songwriter will be kicking off her North American tour with this Vancouver show.
Idina won her Tony for playing Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked, she has played Maureen in Rent, and she has a recurring role on Glee. Her performance will be comprised of classics, fresh spins on contemporary song, as well as original music.
This March she released a CD and DVD for “Idina Menzel Live: Barefoot at the Symphony” which was led by composer/conductor Marvin Hamlisch, and filmed at The Royal Conservatory’s Koerner Hall in Toronto.
Tickets for Idina Menzel in Vancouver are on sale now for $49.50-$99.50. From here, she will tour through Seattle, Portland, throughout California, the Midwest, and make her way to New York.
If you would like to catch Idina’s performance, I have 2 pairs of tickets that you an enter to win, here’s how:
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RT to enter to win 1 of 2 pairs of tickets to see @idinamenzel live from @miss604 http://ow.ly/bcAat
I will draw 2 winners (who will each receive a pair of tickets to the Vancouver show on June 1st) at 12:00pm on Wednesday, May 30, 2012. This is an all ages show.
The Friends of the Vancouver Public Library are hosting their summer book sale this week with thousands of gently-used items up for grabs along with CDs and DVDs.
Cookbooks, mysteries, non-fiction, children’s literature, and popular trilogies made famous by Hollywood could all be found for bargain prices.
Stop by the Central Branch on Thursday, May 31st, Friday, June 1st, or Saturday, June 2nd between 10:00am and 5:00pm. All items for sale will on display in the promenade and proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Vancouver Public Library.
The Vancouver Public Library’s Central Branch is located at 350 West Georgia. Follow the library on Twitter for more information.
Since 1995, Friends of Vancouver Public Library has raised over $550,000 to support collections of books, CDs, DVDs and electronic resources as well as for special projects like the Writer in Residence and Writing & Book Camp.
