Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
VANCOUVER'S BRICK-BUILT SOHO
Aesthetically unlike any other Vancouver neighborhood, Yaletown has a trendy
warehouse district appearance today because it was built on a foundation of
grungy, working-class history. Created almost entirely from red bricks, the area
was crammed with railway sheds and goods warehouses in the late 1800s after
the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) relocated its main western Canada operation
from the British Columbia (BC) interior town of Yale. Along with the moniker, the
workers brought something else with them: a tough-as-nails, hard-drinking ap-
proach that turned the waterfront area into one where the taverns usually served
their liquor with a side order of fist-fights. But at least the rough-and-ready work-
ers kept the area alive: when the rail operations were closed down a few decades
later, Yaletown descended into a half-empty mass squat filled with rats and
homeless locals. But that wasn't the end of the story.
When plans were drawn up for Vancouver to host the giant
Expo '86
world ex-
position, there were few areas of town with the empty space - and the absence of
other businesses - to host it. But Yaletown fit the bill. The area became part of
the planned Expo grounds along the north shoreline of False Creek, and was
cleared, refurbished and given a new lease on life. After the summer-long fair, its
newly noticed historic character made Yaletown the ideal spot for urban regener-
ation. Within a few years, the old brick warehouses had been repaired, scrubbed
clean and recolonized with a sparkling array of boutiques, fancy restaurants and
swish bars - serving tipples that are a far cry from the punch-triggering beers
that used to be downed here.
Granville Island
GALLERY OF BC CERAMICS
ARTS & CRAFTS
(
www.bcpotters.com
;
1359 Cartwright St; 10:30am-5:30pm; 50)
The star of Granville
Island's arts-and-crafts shops and the public face of the Potters Guild of BC, this excel-
lent spot exhibits and sells the striking works of its member artists. You can pick up
one-of-a-kind ceramic tankards or swirly painted soup bowls; the hot items are the cool
ramen noodle cups, complete with holes for chopsticks. It's well-priced art for every-
one.
