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Vancouverama...

G

ganjavih

Guest
Here are some pics from my recent trip to Van City. It was my first trip back in about 8 or 9 years and my impression of the city has changed completely. While I was a bit underwhelmed when I visited in the late 90s, I was completely sold this time around. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe all the shiny new condos have diluted out the ugly slabs that dominated the skyline before. Granville street seems to have been cleaned up quite a bit. The city as a whole is very clean and tidy compared to Toronto. Chinatown is much more attractive than I remember it being. I had some great meals which I wasn't really expecting. The downtown core is a very attractive mix of old and new, and it was bustling despite the daily showers. I looked around for cheap-looking condos, exposed concrete, surface lots, etc. and none were to be found in the downtown core. It's strange, it's a younger city than Toronto yet it feels more mature and established. Perhaps it's the geography that encouraged smart planning and wise use of space... I dunno... but it seems they got their act together. And, cassius, I apologise, but I never got around to getting those townhouse pics you asked for... sorry! Anyhoo, here are the pics...

The Pacific Central Station. I caught the bus to Seattle here (photo tour to come).
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The Burrard Bridge... one of the many bridges linking downtown to the rest of the city.
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Granville Market
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Typical VanCondos from Granville Island
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Heritage District
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Views from the Harbour Centre
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Gastown
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Chinatown
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Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
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Canada Place
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Back up the Harbour Centre tower for some evening shots...

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Hotel Vancouver and friend...
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Inside Waterfront Station
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Urban decay in Vancouver is much worse than anything I've seen in other major Canadian cities.
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The beautiful Dominion Building
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The Hudson, a nice little conversion. This historic building was being renovated and a tower added in this new condo project.
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Vancouver's upscale Shaughnessy neighbourhood. Check out those mossy trees.
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Whoa... check out this weird house. Quite a roof.
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Queen Elizabeth Park... beautiful even in January. I don't think I saw a single poorly-maintained lawn in Vancouver... whether it be a park or front yard.
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Hotel Vancouver by night...
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One of the great meals I had was at this place, Bin 941. If you're ever in town, go there! It was one of the best meals I ever had and very affordable. I enjoyed it so much, I went back the next night.
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The former Virgin Megastore, now HMV.
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The Vancouver Art Gallery
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Clubbing on Granville on a Saturday night
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Downtown retail... including the historic HBC building.
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One Wall Centre... wow, look what nice cladding can do! Paging Harry Stinson...
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Funky old cab...
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Funky old... whatever...
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Hey look! They finish their condos in Vancouver... including cladding the roof elements.
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It wasn't all fun and games though. The daily showers were really annoying... apparently it's been raining daily for the past couple of months or so. Their panhandling problem seems to be as bad if not worse than Toronto's. I was in town for about 2 minutes before I was harrassed for some change. There was also a particularly pushy hooker doing business just outside my hotel which was in a fairly good part of downtown. She would kindly offer her services when I would stroll over to the 7-11 for a late night snack... then offer again on my way back. I also wasn't too impressed with how long it took to get to UBC from downtown. It took me over an hour and I was a bit late for my meeting. The term "B-line", as the route was labelled on the map, was a bit misleading. A fellow at the university I spoke with who was a former Toronto resident was of the opinion that Vancouver's transit system really sucks compared to Toronto's. I didn't use it enough to say but the 30 minute frequencies for some of the lines in North Vancouver in the evenings were not cool... especially when you're waiting in the rain.

All in all, it was a fun trip and I have a new appreciation for the city. Hope you enjoyed the pics...
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I also wasn't too impressed with how long it took to get to UBC from downtown. It took me over an hour and I was a bit late for my meeting.
I found myself shocked at how small downtown was -- very easy to walk the entire peninsula so I tried hoofing it out to UBC via the botanical gardens and back along 10th Ave by foot. Took far longer than an hour ;)

Did you check out Spirit Park while you were near UBC? It was my favorite of their large parks -- far less manicured than most of them seemed to be.
 
Thanks - great pics.

Downtown East Side - it scares the [big city] Americans....

The Hudson is really facadism - just the facades were retained. It used to be the BC Electric headquarters back in the day with a big staircase to a grand high ceiling space. later it was a Zellers, then the predecessor to Science World. I think there will be a high ceiling sace in the new building - either health club or posh seafood restaurant. Their perk to the City, apart from the historical retention, is a new elevator access to the Granville Skytrain Station - the only one not built without an elevator back in 86.

If you knew where to look you'd see some highrise condos with green mesh for the leakage repairs....
 
Thank You for your pictures. Good pictures of a lovely city.

Urban decay in Vancouver is much worse than anything I've seen in other major Canadian cities.

It may be the worst in North America (Canada-US).
 
Nice pics. Vancouver's a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to your assessment of Seattle.

Urban decay in Vancouver is much worse than anything I've seen in other major Canadian cities.

It may be the worst in North America (Canada-US).

Nope, Vancouver's decay on the Downtown Eastside is bad, but lasts only a few blocks along Hastings. Beyond that, further east, it gets a bit gritty, but not so bad (like Barton Street). I've been to Flint, Detroit, even parts of Buffalo are as bad, or worse, for much larger areas.
 
i wouldn't say that vancouver feels more "mature" than toronto, but i always get the impression that it's more polished in terms of street design and street furniture. part of this is simply smart planning, but one factor to consider is the mild climate: in montreal and toronto, infrastructure decays seasonally thanks to salt, snowplows and the freeze-thaw cycle. not so in vancouver.
 
Great pics Ganjavih. I assume you were out that way for residency interviews? Are we going to lose you to UBC?

I know you don’t like exposed concrete but many of the towers in Vancouver do have exposed concrete at the base, even on some of the main tower portion. In fact I noticed that many towers simply had painted the concrete on the tower instead of cladding over it. What I was impressed with was the landscaping in and around the city. I know there is a climatic difference but the developers in Toronto always seem to favour the concrete box with a few shrubs in it to be adequate landscaping (just look at cityplace).
 
Great pics, thanks for sharing these with us.
I was there myself in July. Seeing these pics make me want to go there again.
You photographed some spots I've been to and I've photographed aswell. Vancouver really is an amazing city.
I'm also looking foreward to your shots of Seattle.
 
Thank you all for the comments.

It may be the worst in North America (Canada-US).

Ever strolled through downtown Detroit?

Did you check out Spirit Park while you were near UBC?

No, I didn't see much of the UBC campus this time around.

i wouldn't say that vancouver feels more "mature" than toronto, but i always get the impression that it's more polished in terms of street design and street furniture.

By mature and established, I meant that it didn't look like the perpential "work in progress" that Toronto is. No (or few)surface lots, no derelect wasteland like downtown Toronto south of Front St is. And yes, I agree, it is much more polished and aesthetically pleasing in terms of street design, street furniture, etc.

I assume you were out that way for residency interviews? Are we going to lose you to UBC?

That's up to U of T. ;)

I know you don’t like exposed concrete...

It's not so much that, it's that I dislike cheap, unfinished looking details whether it be Torch or those hideous pillars at 1121 Bay.

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I don't think there was a huge difference in the quality of buildings but there are just too many examples of developers cutting corners in TO that I just haven't seen in other cities. In TO, I see buildings that actually make me mad... doesn't seem to happen elsewhere. :D
 
okay, i see what you mean now. you're right: vancouver has effectively eradicated the bulk of its surface parking downtown. and although surface lots still exist, there are no wasteland areas like you find in toronto or montreal.

that wasn't the case just ten years ago, when most of the outskirts of yaletown (aka "downtown south") were barren and deserted.
 
There are still a few surface lots near BC Place Stadium and one block behind the Orpheum Theatre, but they are rapidly disappearing (yes, all within the past 10 years).

BTW - The short walking distance around the downtown peninsula also shows why there's no push for a rapid transit circle route around the West End.
 
Two things Toronto doesn't have...

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1. An HMV store worthy of being called "super" or "mega."

2. A downtown presence for Canada's largest private broadcaster. I suppose the Masonic Temple sort of counts, but it will be re-branded with the MTV Canada moniker in the next few months anyway.

Great pics Ganj! I haven't been since I was 16 and I'm really itching to go back.
 
Nice pictures! Thank you. Sorry you didn't have time for some of the UBC campus and nearby huge park which is so impressive.
 

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