.jpg)
Sailboats on False Creek
Vancouver is a city of stylish high-rises, waterways dotted with expensive yachts, and lush urban parks.
One of the things I love about travel is the opportunity to get new perspectives on familiar places.
On several occasions over the course of my life, I have lived, studied, and worked in and around Vancouver – that densely populated metropolis on Canada’s west coast. But that was a long time ago, and on our more recent trips into the country we have spent next-to-no time in the city.
I was mapping out my first trip back to Canada in six years (thanks to Covid and other barriers) when I discovered that renting a car in Vancouver was about half the price of renting one at the airport. So, instead of whizzing through the city enroute to relatives and destinations elsewhere, as was our norm (e.g.: On the BC Ferries), I gave myself a few days downtown to recover from the fifteen hour flight and to explore.
I was thrilled to have the opportunity to play ‘tourist’ in a city I knew from the point of view of a child, an adolescent, and a young university student. So much has changed. So much was the same!
Naturally, the weather was awful. Spring on Canada’s West Coast is always wet – and this spring was wetter than usual. I ruined a pair of shoes and an umbrella! But, I did manage to get out and revisit some familiar sights.
Because of the rain, I was less inclined to pull out the big cameras, and mostly relied on the phone as I walked and bussed around some of the highlights downtown.
.jpg)
Lawn Daisies – Bellis Perennis
These little flowers always say Vancouver to me! They remind me of childhood visits to parks in the city.
.jpg)
Cherry Blossoms
Vancouver is home to 40,000 cherry trees, which make for beautiful spring displays. Everywhere I went, blooms were overhead – and fallen petals were on the sidewalks underfoot.
Granville Island Public Market
The slums, shacks, and factories that once occupied Granville Island, a peninsula in False Creek, were razed by fire in 1953. With substantial government investment between 1973 and 1982, the area was redeveloped and now houses an extensive fully enclosed food market, as well as shops, restaurants, a marina, a hotel, and other businesses.
Burrard Street Bridge
Granville Island is a great place to have coffee and watch the activity on False Creek. The art-deco style steel-truss Burrard Street Bridge makes a great backdrop for the many False Creek Ferries which are kept busy shuttling passengers back and forth across the water.
Queen Elizabeth Park
Vancouver has the highest population density in Canada, and the fourth highest in North America. In spite of this, it is easy to find green spaces and a feeling of quiet distance from the madding crowd.
Magnolia Blossoms
Although some species of magnolias are native, I suspect this is a cultivated import.
Pacific Dogwood – Cornus Nuttallii
This flower is the floral emblem of British Columbia, and always reminds me of childhood.
Quarry Gardens
This is an iconic Vancouver view that I remember from school visits. In Australia in the 80s, when I took my children to see ‘The Boy Who Could Fly’, I was very excited to recognise this location from a key scene.
Mighty Cedars
Another iconic symbol of the Pacific Northwest, the evergreen coniferous western red cedar (Thuja plicata), used to cover this whole region.
Photo Session
This delightful life-size cast-bronze sculpture by American artist Seward Johnson (1930 – 2020) was installed at the lookout here at the Bloedel Conservatory in 1984. This is the highest point in Vancouver (125 m /410 ft above sea level), allowing great views of the city, and the North Shore mountains beyond.
Tree-Scape
As tempting as it might be to cut across the lawns to shorten my walk back to my accommodation, that grass is sodden!
Gastown Trolley Car
The next day I set off on a bus, arriving in Gastown – the historic centre of what would later become the City of Vancouver – in time for lunch. Established in 1867 by English Captain John “Gassy Jack” Deighton, Gastown was originally a diverse community of saloons, a brothel, a Chinese laundry, a butcher shop, a missionary church, and several stores and hotels. Over a long and colourful history, the area fell into poverty and disrepute, but was recovered and transformed into a historic tourist precinct in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Tiffany Lamps
With its decor designed to reflect Gastown’s historic past, the Old Spaghetti Factory was first opened in 1970. I was so thrilled to see that the interior hadn’t changed since my Saturday evening visits in the 70s! Prices have gone up, but the menu was familiar, tasty, and great value. I think my waiter was wondering why I was so emotional.
Gastown Steam Clock
The old neighbourhood is a mix of real history and reconstruction. This faux-Edwardian steam clock, was designed and built by local clockmaker Raymond Saunders in 1977 to conceal a steam vent. It whistles a tune every 15 minutes.
Steam Clock and Electric Lights
Of course, the antique street lamps are no longer gas-lit, and the original maple that marked the gathering place for the first settlers burned in the Great Fire of 1886. But, the cobble streets are charming, and plenty of new maples are sending out spring shoots.
High-Rises and Green
My next stop was to one of my favourite places: Stanley Park, where luxury high-rises sit near the entry of the a 405-hectare public space.
Vancouver Rowing Club
Another prime piece of real estate on Vancouver Harbour is occupied by the heritage-listed VRC clubhouse, built in 1911.
High Rises and Lost Lagoon
Pine Needles in the Rain
Nature’s Sculpture
Major windstorms have reclaimed thousands of trees over the years in what is still a largely forested area. Some have been replanted, and some lay where they have fallen.
Vancouver Rowing Club on the Seawall
The park is on a peninsula, and the 8.8-kilometre (5.5 mi) seawall and walkway around it makes for a lovely walk – even in this inclement weather.
Bouquet Found
Someone has left behind a small posey of spring flowers – I can’t help but wonder what the story is!
Totem Poles
One of my favourite places in the park is the meadow at Brockton Point, where a number of First Nations cedar totem poles have been erected. Although they are seen everywhere now, totem poles are culturally unique to the northwest coast of BC and lower Alaska.
Thunderbird House Post
A totem pole is like a coat of arms: it tells the story of a person or family. The thunderbird is often described as the most powerful of spirits, and represents power, protection, and strength. House posts were raised to support the huge roof beams in traditional longhouses. Carved by hereditary Kwakwaka’wakw chief and artist Tony Hunt in 1987, this is a replica of one crafted by artist Charlie James in the early 1900s; the original is in the Vancouver Museum.
Chief Skedans Mortuary Pole
Mortuary poles house the remains of a chief – and tell stories of his life. This particular pole was carved in 1964 by the renowned Haida artist Bill Reid (1920 – 1998) and his assistant Werner True. The original pole honouring the Raven Chief of Skedans was raised in the Haida village of Skidgate around 1870.
The Rose Cole Yelton Memorial Pole
Another thunderbird tops the tribute to Rose Cole Yelton, member of the Squamish Nation and – at the time of her passing in 2002 – the last surviving resident of the Brockton Community who lived on this site until 1935.
Brockton Point Lighthouse
A lighthouse was first established here in 1890; this iteration was built in 1914, but has been officially inactive since 2008.
Girl in a Wetsuit
The tide is out, leaving the intertidal granite boulder on the north side of Stanley Park fully exposed. The Girl in a Wetsuit, a life-size bronze sculpture by Elek Imredy, was installed in 1972 as a nod to the (then) new popularity of scuba diving in these waters.
It was a relief to find aspects of the city as beautiful as I remembered them –
Sometimes you can go back!
Until next time …
Pictures: 03-04May2022
