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Thursday, January 23, 2003
Short Trips: Gastown visit is always illuminating
By JEFF LARSEN
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER PHOTOGRAPHER
VANCOUVER, B.C. -- The thick layer of fog that rolled in gave downtown Vancouver an almost surreal look. The city was outlined by shards of late-evening light glancing off the fog bank that worked its way up and down the sides of the skyscrapers. As soon as the reddish glow subsided, the heavy fog settled into Burrard Inlet for the night, with only the towers of the Lions Gate Bridge defiantly spiking through the layer.
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As a photographer, that visual experience from the Lookout, a Space Needle-like structure perched high atop the Harbour Centre building adjacent to Gastown, only amplifies how special the city of Vancouver is.
Still, regardless of how many times you circle the Lookout and how spectacular the city is under those conditions, the true character and personality of the town is under the fog, on the streets of downtown.
Gastown, named after a cantankerous 19th-century saloon owner, John "Gassy Jack" Deighton (nicknamed for his gift of gab), has seen its position in the fabric of downtown Vancouver change over the years.
Once a bawdy, hard-drinking part of Vancouver, where lumber workers blew large portions of their weekly paychecks, it all changed when most of the area burned down in the great fire of 1886. Completely altered by the fire, though still tagged with the name Gastown, the area was rebuilt mainly with warehouses, some hotels and permanent residences. Close to Vancouver's harbor, the area was a natural to become a vibrant merchant and business center.
But when the worldwide depression hit in the late 1920s, the economic base of the prospering area nose-dived and Gastown once again changed, but this time it slid to the downside of the economic spectrum and became the town's infamous skid road.
It wasn't until the 1960s that the mostly brick-and-mortar historical elements were considered important enough to be salvaged and the area was declared a historical district. Major renovations and cleanup eventually turned Gastown into one of the premier tourist attractions in downtown Vancouver.
Today Gastown could be considered the area in Vancouver where glass and steel meet the brick. Directly adjacent to it, on the northeast side, are some of Vancouver's most spectacular modern buildings, including the landmark Canada Place with its familiar sails that highlight the part of the Vancouver waterfront on Burrard Inlet. The building originally served as the Canadian Pavilion for Expo '86. In 1987 it became the Vancouver Trade and Convention Center.
Today the versatile structure is also the centerpiece for Vancouver's cruise ship terminal, which during a single year hosts as many as 2,800 dockings. The spectacular multilayered Pan Pacific Hotel is part of the complex.
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 | Jeff Larsen / P-I | |
| For a postcard evening view of downtown Vancouver, check out the Lookout, a Space Needle-like structure atop the Harbour Centre adjacent to Gastown. | ||
Across the street from Canada Place is Waterfront Centre, which has a variety of gift shops and restaurant arcades on the lower level and opens up to a lovely courtyard with a view tucked in between all the nearby towering buildings. The centerpiece of the complex is the elegant Fairmont Waterfront Hotel. And when you step out on the West Cordova Street side of Waterfront Center, you're about two blocks from Gastown.
The cobblestone-and-brick Water Street, considered the main artery of Gastown, is just a short block from Pacific Central Station , the original Canadian Pacific Railroad Station on West Cordova Street, built in 1912. Besides undergoing several name changes, the waterfront station has been renovated and restored several times over the years to accommodate train, Seabus and transit riders. Its lofted ceiling with intricately carved representations of the railroad's journey west is worth a look, and if you need a quick bite or cup of coffee, there is a variety of shops inside.
With the period lighting along Water Street, and all the original brick and cobblestones from years gone by, you get a sense of what the area felt like at the turn of the century. Modernization through renovation and restoration continues almost daily as construction presses forward along the three-block stretch of Water Street that constitutes most of Gastown. Also considered part of Gastown is a comparable stretch of West Cordova Street, which is one block east of Water Street.
For seven years, street merchant Tiffany Bromley has parked her umbrella and card table near the Old Spaghetti House, where she can put "your name and a picture on a grain of rice" (in almost any language in five minutes or less). She said Gastown is a great location for street merchants because of its close proximity to Canada Place and the cruise ship terminal. During the season, cruise ships, she said, can cut loose 2,000 paying customers at once.
This time of year, because of the unpredictable weather and lack of cruise ship visits, street merchants frequent their designated sidewalk positions only when the sun comes out -- or tries to come out.
Outside the Black Cat coffee shop in Gaoler Mews (pronounced "Jailer"), a couple of local police officers told me that Gastown is a neat place to visit for three reasons, besides its proximity to the cruise terminal -- age, architecture and its interesting mix of people.
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| Jeff Larsen / P-I | |
| You don't have to be a cowboy or a John Wayne fan to admire the boots and hats at Fred Cook's O.K. Boot Corral in Maple Tree Square. Cook, standing next to the Duke cutout, calls himself the sheriff. | ||
As we chatted, the age and architecture parts were pretty apparent. We were standing in the brick-strewn cobblestone courtyard of one of the oldest parts of Gastown and the site of the original 1886 downtown Vancouver pokey. Revamped over the years, the Mews now is a quaint little off-street courtyard with several shops, Victorian street lamps, benches and plants. The cobblestone walkway leads to the original Blood Alley Square, one of the first heritage restoration projects in Gastown. It was named Blood Alley because originally there was a row of butcher shops in the square.
The interesting mix of people the officers talked about included a number of panhandlers, so I revved up my best no-eye-contact, Seattle Pioneer Square-style body posture, and fended off the spare-change and bowl-of-soup requests with little trouble. Packing expensive cameras made me a bit of a target, but I'm relatively used to it.
In his shop adjacent to the Gaoler Mews, Cigar Connoisseur owner Francois Gauthier fumbled with his keys for a second before he proudly popped open the doors of his walk-in humidor, where he stores his valuable stash of Cuban cigars. Unlike the United States, Canada still imports cigars from Havana.
For $75 Canadian (about $50 U.S.), Gautheir would gladly sell you one of his finest Cuban imports -- a Hoyo De Monterrey Particulres, a giant cigar with its own little wooden box. Glad I quit smoking.
Thai food, Vietnamese food, traditional Canadian and American food, Italian food, and much more -- all are represented at various bistros up and down Water Street. Gift shops, T-shirt shops and other specialty shops line both sides of the famous street. I didn't get to eat there, but a lot of folks I talked to recommended the Water Street Cafe, an attractive little corner restaurant with fairly traditional cuisine situated across the street from the steam clock. The cafe is noted for its excellent seafood pasta.
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| Jeff Larsen / P-I | |
| Fog blankets Vancouver as seen from the Harbour Centre Lookout in downtown. | ||
A little out of place, but interesting nonetheless, just behind the well-photographed sculpture of Gastown's namesake, Fred Cook (who calls himself the sheriff) pedals cowboy boots and hats at his O.K. Boot Corral. You can't miss the store in Maple Tree Square with the life-size cutout of John Wayne propped up near the front entrance.
I'm not a cowboy at heart, but most of the hats are very good quality and were quite comfortable, even if I didn't look like John Travolta wearing one. For just a second I was tempted to buy one of the hats -- a black number with a neat feather kind of arrangement in the front. But where or when would I ever wear it? Oh, by the way, when you park your cowboy hat after you come into the house, Cook says to be sure to set it upside down so the "wings" don't start to sag.
Beside the sculpture of "Gassy Jack," the most photographed feature of Gastown is the street clock. Situated at the corner of Cambie and Water streets, the clock looks like any other antique street clock except for the steam coming out of its upper extremities. It supposedly is the world's first steam-operated clock. It looks old but it actually was built in 1977 by an innovative clock designer and sculptor who decided to use an 1875 design as well as the steam that already powers heating systems in many of the local buildings.
And not to be outdone by the silly clock, the Steamworks Brew Pub uses the same to steam to brew 15 varieties of beer. Familiarity breeds confidence, and I'd enjoyed a previous meal there, so I had dinner there again this year, and again the service and food were excellent. It's a comfortable spot to stop with friends or by yourself -- always a friendly atmosphere.
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P-I photographer Jeff Larsen can be reached at 206-448-8150. For personal e-mail contact: jefflarsen@seattlepi.com. For general releases: shorttrips@seattlepi.com.
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