Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
LOST LAGOON
At the time of European settlement, Coal Harbour extended almost all the way across the
peninsula to Second Beach. With the receding of the tides, the water would drain out from
the head of the inlet, creating a massive tidal flat and inspiring native-born Pauline John-
son to pen the poem “Lost Lagoon,” a name that holds to this day. A bridge across the
harbor was replaced with a causeway in 1922, blocking the flow of the tide and creating a
real lagoon. Over the years it has become home to large populations of waterfowl, includ-
ing great blue herons, trumpeter swans, grebes, and a variety of ducks. It is also a rest stop
for migrating Canada geese each spring and fall. In the center of the lake, Jubilee Foun-
tain (erected to celebrate the park's 50th anniversary in 1936) is illuminated each night. A
1.6-kilometer (1-mile) walking trail encircles the lagoon, passing the
Nature House
(604/
257-8544, 10am-5pm Tues.-Sun. July-Aug., 10am-4pm Sat.-Sun. Sept.-June, free) at the
southeast corner, which holds natural history displays and general park information.
Roedde House Museum
Most of the West End's early-1900s buildings are long gone, but a precinct of nine homes
built between 1890 and 1908 has been saved and is preserved as
Barclay Heritage
Square,
which looks much as it would have when the homes were first built around the
turn of the 20th century, right down to the style of the surrounding gardens.
The only one of the nine open to the public is
Roedde House
(1415 Barclay St., 604/
684-7040, tours 10am-4pm Mon.-Sat. June-Aug. and 2pm-4pm Wed.-Fri. Sept. and May,
adult $5, senior $4, child $3). Built in 1893, this Queen Anne Revival-style home is a
classicexampleofVancouver'searlyresidentialarchitecture.FrancisRattenbury,architect
of Victoria's Empress Hotel, designed the two-story residence for Gustav Roedde, Van-
couver'sfirstbookbinder.Typicaloftheera,itfeaturesawideveranda,upstairsporch,and
bay windows. It was restored using historical records to ensure accuracy—right down to
thecolorofthewallsandinteriorfurnishings.Theeasiestwaytogettothehouseistotake
Broughton Street off Robson Street.
JustthreeblockseastofCanadaPlace,Gastownisamarvelousplacetospendafewhours.
It was the birthplace of Vancouver, officially named Granville in 1870 but always known
as Gastown, for saloon owner “Gassy Jack” Deighton.
The Great Fire of 1886 destroyed almost all of Gastown's wooden buildings, but the
district was rebuilt in stone and brick. By 1900 the heart of the city had moved away from
