After gale-force winds ripped through Vancouver last night, the clouds parted and I set out on foot to do a walking tour of Gastown. I was invited along by Vancouver Urban Adventures to participate in their Gastown & Chinatown tour this afternoon.
Being a local history buff I was pretty curious to see if I would learn anything new during the walk and I’m pleased to say that I did. I won’t share too much (so I don’t spoil the tour for others) but I have a few history post ideas that were inspired by our walk today.
We started out at Waterfront Station and walked along Water Street, stopping into The Landing which used to be the home of Kelly, Douglas & Company (and their Nabob Coffee) at the turn of the last century. From there we continued down water to the infamous steamclock. I admit, I had my camera out for the entire trip but already looking like a tourist I wasn’t about to take any snaps of the timepiece (we have a bit of a history…).
The photos of faces above are sculpted up high on the front of a building along Water Street. It’s funny how we often forget to look up when walking down the street. Mind you, it’s probably not the best idea in the world to head down a bustling sidewalk with your chin up but there were some great building details that our guide pointed out that I had never noticed before.
We rounded the corner at Maple Tree Square (where you can find “Gassy Jack” Deighton) and stopped into the Irish Heather for a sampling of Blue Buck beer. Gastown is the birthplace of Vancouver as we know it. Called Granville before its incorporation as Vancouver, almost everything happened in the area we now know as Gastown.
Making our way over to Chinatown we explored the history of Shanghai Alley. If you have the chance to take a quick stroll down there you’ll find some information placards detailing some of the area’s history.
Looping up across Main Street we stopped for some Oolong and Jasmin tea samples before looping back down through Chinatown and into Dr Sun Yat Sen Gardens. The urban oasis balances water, earth, stones and plant-life against a skyscraper backdrop.
I find that getting out and walking around your City is a great way to rediscover it and explore places both familiar and new.
With regards to Urban Adventures, the walk was about 2 hours long but they broke it up nicely with the pit stop at the Irish Heather, the tea sample, and various other visits to galleries and shops along the way. The guides did supply useful information and I liked having the earpiece so I could hear their narration. They covered history, architecture, great places to catch a bite or lounge about, and the tour ran consistently on schedule.
The end of the stroll is at Tinseltown so you’ll be a bit displaced once it’s all over if you don’t know your way around the city or back to Waterfront. Otherwise, SkyTrain and bus are close-by. I would recommend the tour for friends or couples as the walking time (and alcohol) may not be suitable / comfortable for all ages.
The cost is $25, which is a good value taking into consideration the samples and the history lesson, however it may not be feasible for large families. As an afternoon activity for a group of friends, it’s well worth it and you’ll probably end up back at the Irish Heather or Salty Tongue for a full meal as you’ll work up an appetite.
Nominations for this year’s YWCA Women of Distinction Awards are now open. Since 1984, the YWCA has honored over exceptional 200 women who have been nominated by family, friends and colleagues.
The YWCA Vancouver Women of Distinction Awards encourages nominations that will showcase individuals and organizations who are driving positive change for women and girls either directly or by example. Activities and achievements of all potential nominees must align with the YWCA’s values. Candidate’s participation in employment, recreation or special interests will encapsulate the spirit of women’s equality as outlined in YWCA Vancouver’s mission and vision.
I have partnered with the YWCA to help promote this event and help it reach as many women as possible in the region. Categories in which you can nominate outstanding individuals include: Arts, Culture & Design, Business & the Professions, Community Building, Education, Training & Development, Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Health & Active Living, Non-profit & Public Service, Technology, Science & Industry, Innovative Workplace and the Young Woman of Distinction.
Candidates and nominees should be considered leaders and role models, someone who breaks new ground or busts down barriers, shows vision, guides and supports others, takes initiative, is well-respected by her peers, and makes a sustained commitment or significant difference in her industry or community.
Nominations will close March 15, 2010 and the finalists will be honored at the Awards Ceremony in June (exact date TBD). Proceeds from the Awards Ceremony go to support the YWCA’s many programs and services for women and families in the Lower Mainland. If you nominate someone, know a finalist, are a woman in business, or simply want to take part in an inspiring event for a fantastic cause, please consider joining us for the Awards Ceremony.
For now, be sure to get those nominations in. Note, nominees must live and work (individuals) or operate (businesses or organizations) within the Metro Vancouver region bounded by and including Hope, Pemberton, Sunshine Coast and the United States border. You can get the nomination forms online or by calling (604) 895-5768.
Become a fan of the YWCA of Vancouver on Facebook for links, news, updates, and information about the Awards Ceremony when it becomes available.
This Bombardier Flexity light-rail electric streetcar (on loan from Brussels) will be in operation January 21st until March 21st, 2010.
Running from just outside the Olympic Village Canada Line station (on the False Creek side of 2nd & Cambie), it will shuttle passengers to Granville Island and back in style.
For those of you who love transit talk, this bi-directional beauty’s got a minimum horizontal curve radius of 15m, it will run on 1.8km of track (with 150m of dual track so trains can pass each other), maximum speed 70km/h, 105Km motor power, anti-lock brakes, fits 50 passengers (seated) and 128 passengers (standing), and has two locations for bikes or strollers.
I got the chance to sit in the driver’s seat today (along with John) and have all the fancy levers and buttons explained to me. From touch-screens to security cameras, the operators will have full controls at their fingertips.
According to the Bombardier rep, “for us this is an opportunity to showcase the first, 100% low-floor streetcar in North America.” In partnership with the City they’re inviting folks from across the continent to come up and ride the line during its time in Vancouver.
Hat tips to the Downtown Historic Railway for the use of the track for this trail period for the streetcar. Vancouver has a fine 60+ year history of streetcar systems (such as the Interurban) and I’m sure many would like to see this mode of light transit return to our region.
Passenger button to open the doors
The ribbon cutting will take place January 21st at a public ceremony where all are encouraged to come check out the Olympic Line. Starting at 9:30am, you can ride the streetcar and receive a commemorative first rider certificate. Olympians and Paralympians as well as the Vancouver 2010 mascots will be around while live music entertains visitors.
After the ceremony, the Olympic Line will run 18 hours a day (6:30am – 12:30am), 7 days a week, with zero fares. Once the Games are over, the train will be leaving town but hopefully Vancouverites get a taste of what a light-rail streetcar system would be like if restored in our city.
More information:
Follow @2010Streetcar on Twitter for updates.
View more photos of the preview today in John’s Flickr set.
View more photos of the preview today in my Flickr set.
Stephen Rees was there today as well and he has a post up here.
Update March 13, 2010 The streetcar is one of many attractions staying open during the Paralympic Games. Today at 1:30pm Bombardier and the City of Vancouver will celebrate having its 500,000th rider.
Update April 4, 2010 This post has been republished due to a malware attack on my site and as a result comments have been lost.
Update May 18, 2010 From News1130: The Olympic Line Streetcar has won an award from the Canadian Urban Transit Association, after carrying more than 550,000 passengers during the Games, without a single reported problem. The line–which ran along False Creek between January and March–was a partnership between the City of Vancouver and Bombardier. Two streetcars brought to Vancouver from Brussels made more than 13,000 one-way trips during the demonstration project . Daily ridership during the Olympic Games peaked at 25,400.
The giant red “W” atop Woodwards in Vancouver is make a reappearance tonight as it will be lit up for the first time in a decade.
“W” removal in 2006 – Photo credit: cam in van on Flickr
Woodward’s means far more to Vancouver than simply being a defunct department store. Founded by Charles A. Woodward, he opened his first store in Vancouver on Main Street in 1891. In 1903 it moved and expanded to Hastings & Abbott. This Woodward’s building was indeed a fantastic department store complete with the famous “Food Floor” in the basement, it was the first self-serve food department on the continent. “In a day when grocery stores were small, this gigantic emporium was—the right word—exciting” (source).
It was the first major department store in BC to open for business on Sundays and of course what long-time Vancouverite doesn’t remember the $1.49 Day jingle. The first Tuesday of every month was known as $1.49 Day with store-wide deals for shoppers.
The bright red “W” perched on an Eiffel Tower replica atop the store would act as a beacon for retail shoppers. It guided them in around Christmas time as it soon became tradition for families to come downtown just to peer through the frost-dusted holiday window displays. The “W” was as much of the Vancouver skyline as the old Sun Tower and the North Shore mountains.
In 1993 the Woodward’s chain went bankrupt. Across the Lower Mainland Woodward’s stores turned into The Bay or Zellers stores and the iconic flagship location in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver fell into disrepair. For years it stood untouched, boarded up, and in the middle of a “what do we do with this space now” type of battle. Eventually, squatters moved in — they needed shelter and housing and this building was one mighty appealing location for a base camp. In 2003 the City purchased the building from the Province and the wheels started turning.
The building was emptied and demolished in 2006, leaving only a facade of the old structure standing on the corner of Abbott and Hastings Streets. What has been in the making over the last decade isn’t just a building, it’s a community – with Woodward’s at the centre.
Photo credit: VideoVik on Flickr
The new $400 million Woodward’s project includes 536 housing units, 125 non-market housing units (operated by PHS Community Services), 75 family non-market housing units (operated by Affordable Housing Services), Nesters Food Store (who reintroduced $1.49 day recently), London Drugs, and The National Film Board of Canada. There is also a community plaza, and the Simon Fraser University downtown campus with the School for Contemporary Arts.
The W2 Community Media Arts Centre will also take up shop in the community and act as a centre for communication and arts for the Downtown Eastside, “to produce and present new works of artistic significance and social benefit; to empower individuals and communities (young and old alike); and to engage with technology and interdisciplinary artists as producers rather than consumers.”
The Woodward’s “W” rose to the centre of the development last week and this evening it will be lit up once again. It’s no longer a sign of retail and commerce, it’s a throwback to our City’s past, with a hope for tomorrow — building a sustainable community that is already vibrant and ready to shine in its own right.
The lighting of the “W” will take place tonight between 6:05pm and 6:15pm with help from the Bladerunners. Public can come by the Woodward’s plaza or you can catch a glimpse where you can from around Vancouver. The ceremony will also be broadcast live on several local news stations.
For more history, this great little video by the City of Vancouver explains the sort of ‘love affair’ the city has had with a department store.
Update: I stopped by the lighting this evening and took some photos. The inner plaza at Woodward’s was abuzz with performers, media, and people waiting for the monumental flick of the switch on the “W”. I’m trying to look up the name of the funky marching band – they really reminded my of the band we saw at Surrey’s Winterfest last year (March Forth) but with a much more Vancouver Eastside flare. Update: Thanks to the comments I received on the post, the band is the Carnival Band.
I think it’s really sweet that not only is the new complex located at 149 West Hastings (a tribute to $1.49 Day) but Nester’s Market also include the Woodward’s Food Floor in its logo.
This woman was there with her son, a filmmaker who once used the Woodward’s “W” as a prop in a movie he made. She brought it along for the event and was very proud to show it off, including the hole in the letter where a bowling ball (propelled at a high velocity) went crashing through.
Before the lighting, Chief Ian Campbell performed a beautiful blessing with other members of the Squamish First Nation. They granted permission for Woodward’s to be built on this land and so it was important to have them participate in this ceremony.
Staring up at the Stan Douglas installation Abbott & Cordova, which can be viewed inside or outside at the plaza, the crowd counted down from 10 before clapping the “W” to life.
The new Woodward’s complex is truly a part of our City’s history especially when it comes to community building and nurturing the arts. It’s funky, artsy, it pushes a few envelopes (and maybe a few buttons) but It’s just amazing to see it all come back to life.
Vancouver’s Cultural Olympiad has been taking place over the last two years, gearing up for the main event in February 2010, it features performances, art installations, concerts and more.
From January 22nd until March 21st sub-festivals such as CODE and Juste pour rire, will make sure the Cultural Olympiad is jammed-packed with action.
They have hundreds of events taking place in dozens of venues around Vancouver, including outdoor expositions. If you’re not sure what to search for yet in the event listings, here are just a few highlights.
I have a list of free events in my concerts post but here are a few that are compliments of the Cultural Olympiad specifically…
World Tea Party February 12th to 28th and then March 12th to 21st at the Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art. Free with no reservation required (before 6:00pm).
Vectorial Elevation from February 4th until the 28th it will light up the sky above English Bay with patterns submitted by the public. Free with no reservation required, just find a viewing point somewhere and look up.
Art Under Foot view the creation of more sidewalk mosaics February 1st until the 28th outside Sleep Country on Granville. Totally free to stop by and see the artists at work between 11:00am and 4:00pm.
WhistlerLive! concert series in Whistler Village Square including Blue Rodeo February 28th. All ages, no ticket or reservation required.
Kris Krug summed up some of the Best Media Art Installations around town as a part of CODE (Cutural Olympiad Digital Edition).
Spirit of Squamish 2010 Finale Celebration February 27th from 11:00am until 7:00pm featuring local bands and performers including Radio Karma, The Overcomers, and The Paul Coulture-Brown Band.
This is just a small sampling of the variety of events taking place as a part of the Cultural Olympiad. You can check full listings online and search by venue, date, discipline, or municipality.
After gale-force winds ripped through Vancouver last night, the clouds parted and I set out on foot to do a walking tour of Gastown. I was invited along by Vancouver Urban Adventures to participate in their Gastown & Chinatown tour this afternoon.
From January 22nd until March 21st sub-festivals such as