Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Storyeum
Visitors are treated to a
fascinating, fast-paced journey
through BC's history - from
Native legends to fur trader Hud-
son's Bay Company's westward
drive, to the building of the
transnational railway. Actors and
technology interact, and audi-
ence participation is welcomed
as the “citizens” of a Gold Rush
town bring history alive through
dance and song
(see pp16-17)
.
Triangular Building, at Maple Tree Square
Maple Tree Square
The city of Vancouver has its
roots in this small square. Stand-
ing atop his barrel of beer,
the statue of John “Gassy
Jack” Deighton commemo-
rates Gastown's founder. The
talkative publican built the
city's first saloon with the
help of thirsty sawmill
workers. A maple tree here
was once a popular meeting
place until it was destroyed
in the Great Fire of 1886.
Gaoler's Mews was the site
of the city's first prison,
as well as the home of
the city's first policeman,
Constable Jonathan Miller.
d
Water St at Carrall St
•
Map M3
Chinatown
Stretching from Gore Avenue
west to Carrall Street between
Pender and Keefer streets, China-
town dates back to the
1880s and the building
of the Canadian Pacific
Railway, when as many
as 20,000 Chinese came
to Canada. Today it is
North America's second-
largest Chinatown. Shops
with their vegetable stalls
spill onto the sidewalks.
The Millennium Gate
straddles Pender near
Taylor Street and is the
best place to start a walking tour
of this lively area.
d
Map L4-M4
Chinatown lamppost
Vancouver Police
Centennial Museum
Enter the old city morgue, now
the police museum's forensic
laboratory, and it's not difficult to
imagine the coroner leaning over
the slab, about to start an exami-
nation. Housed in the former
Coroner Court, built in 1932,
the museum has fine exhibits
of counterfeit money, antique
firearms, and street weaponry.
Always popular is the knife room.
Unsolved murders are depicted
in displays complete with dum-
mies and period costumes.
d
240 E Cordova St
•
Map M4
• 604 665 3346 • Adm
An Iron Road, Coast to Coast
The grand saga of Canadian rail-
ways is a tale of power and pain.
In 1886, Prime Minister John A.
Macdonald fulfilled his promise to
build a cross-Canada railway to
unite the new Dominion of
Canada. The first transcontinental
passenger train arrived in Vancou-
ver on May 23, 1887, where
Waterfront Station now stands.
The whole city came out to cele-
brate. Even the ships in the har-
bor were decked out in flags. The
“Iron Road” was completed at
last. Sadly, progress came at the
loss of many lives, including more
than 600 Chinese laborers.
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