Gastown

Coordinates: 49°17′05″N 123°06′39″W / 49.284688°N 123.110953°W / 49.284688; -123.110953
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Gastown
Neighbourhood
Metro Vancouver
Coordinates: 49°17′05″N 123°06′39″W / 49.284688°N 123.110953°W / 49.284688; -123.110953
Country Canada
ProvinceBritish Columbia
CityVancouver
Websitegastown.org

Gastown is the original settlement that became the core of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and a national historic site and a neighbourhood in the northwest section of the Downtown Eastside, adjacent to Downtown Vancouver.[1][2]

Its historical boundaries – the waterfront (now Water Street and the CPR tracks), Carrall Street, Hastings Street, and Cambie Street – followed the borders of the 1870 townsite survey, the proper name and postal address of which was Granville, B.I. ("Burrard Inlet"). The official boundary does not include most of Hastings Street except for the Woodward's and Dominion Buildings, and stretches east past Columbia Street, to the laneway running parallel to the west side of Main Street.[3]

History

Water Street in 1886. Named after John Deighton
, Gastown was Vancouver's first downtown core.
Part of the series on
History of Vancouver
History
Gastown(1867–1886)
Granville(1870–1886)
City of Vancouver(1886–present)
Events
Great Vancouver Fire 1886
Komagata Maru incident 1914
General strike 1918
Battle of Ballantyne Pier 1935
Bloody Sunday 1938
Project 200 1968
Gastown riots 1971
Expo 86 1986
First Stanley Cup riot 1994
Winter Olympics 2010
Second Stanley Cup riot 2011
Timeline of Vancouver history

Gastown was Vancouver's first neighbourhood and was named for

seaport, and quickly became a general centre of trade and commerce on Burrard Inlet as well as a rough-and-rowdy resort for off-work loggers and fishermen as well as the crews and captains of the many sailing ships which came to Gastown or Moodyville
, on the north side of the inlet (which was a dry town) to load logs and timber.

In the 1960s, citizens became concerned with preserving Gastown's distinctive and historic architecture, which like the nearby

Strathcona was scheduled to be demolished to build a major freeway into the city's downtown. A campaign led by businesspeople and property owners, as well as the counterculture and associated political protestors gained traction to save Gastown. Henk F. Vanderhorst, a Dutch immigrant to Canadian citizen, opened the 'Exposition Gallery', an art gallery on Water Street which started, flourished and encouraged a flow of other fledgling business startups to boom in the Gastown core. His influence with the revitalization of Gastown was acknowledged in 1976 by being awarded 'The First Pioneer Citizen of Gastown' award by Mayor Art Phillips
. "A key to the city". Vanderhorst's efforts, in part, pressured the civic, provincial and federal governments to declare Gastown a historical site, protecting its heritage buildings to this day.

Gastown was designated a

National Historic Site of Canada in 2009.[5]

21st century

Water Street is presently made up of fashion and interior furnishing boutiques, tourist-oriented businesses, restaurants, and nightclubs.

Gastown is a mix of "hip" contemporary fashion and interior furnishing boutiques, tourist-oriented businesses (generally restricted to Water Street), restaurants, nightclubs, poverty and newly upscale housing. In addition, there are law firms, architecture and other professional offices, computer and internet businesses, art galleries, music and art studios, tattoo parlours, and acting and film schools.

In February 2013, The Gastown Gazette began publishing local news and stories about the ongoing protests against gentrification in the Downtown Eastside and Gastown area of Vancouver. The community paper has since gathered provincial and national attention for reports on the neighbourhood.[6]

Gastown has become a hub for technology and new media. It has attracted companies such as Zaui Software, Idea Rebel, MetroQuest, BootUp Labs Entrepreneurial Society, SEOinVancouver and MarketR.[7]

Popular annual events that take place on the

Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix
international bicycle race.

An image of Lamplighter Pub, the oldest in its historic Gastown.
Gastown in July 2012

In June 2004, Storyeum opened in Gastown. It was a lively theatrical 65-minute show that re-enacted the history of BC using eight sets that were all located below street level. Unfortunately, due to mounting debt, the attraction closed its doors in October 2006.

The

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.[8]

Gastown steam clock

Further information: Steam clock § Gastown steam clock
Built in 1977, the Gastown steam clock is a famous landmark in Gastown.

Gastown's most famous (though nowhere near oldest) landmark is the steam-powered clock on the corner of Cambie and Water Street. It was built in 1977 to cover a steam grate, part of Vancouver's distributed steam heating system, as a way to harness the steam and to prevent street people from sleeping on the spot in cold weather.[9] Its original design was faulty and it had to be powered by electricity after a breakdown. The steam mechanism was completely restored with the financial support of local businesses as it had become a major tourist attraction, and is promoted as a heritage feature although it is of modern invention.

The steam used is low pressure downtown-wide steam

bells to produce the Westminster "chime" and to signal the time
.

In October 2014, the clock was temporarily removed for major repairs by its original builder, and was reinstalled January 2015.[10][11]

References

  1. ^ "Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan" (PDF). City of Vancouver. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Vancouver Neighbourhoods Map". VanMap. City of Vancouver. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  3. ^ Vancouver, Dana Lynch Dana Lynch Dana Lynch is a travel expert specializing in the Pacific Northwest who was a lead blogger for Tourism; on 06/26/19, a writer for CNN's Insider Guide TripSavvy's editorial guidelines Updated. "Guide to Gastown in Vancouver, BC". TripSavvy. Retrieved 2022-03-05. {{cite web}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Kalman, Howard. Exploring Vancouver, University of British Columbia, 1974, page 5
  5. ^ Bellett, Gerry. "Vancouver's Gastown designated national historic site". The Vancouver Sun. Canwest Publishing Inc. Archived from the original on 2009-07-17. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  6. ^ "Pidgin protests in Downtown Eastside concern activist funders". The Globe and Mail. 2013-04-29. Retrieved 2017-09-18.
  7. ^ "Gastown Tech Cluster".
  8. ^ Anderson, Sarah (2022-02-14). "Protesters topple Vancouver's Gassy Jack statue in Gastown". DH News. Vancouver: The Daily Hive. Archived from the original on 15 February 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  9. ^ Robertson, Merv (February 25, 1999). "Administrative Report: RTS MP/ 00474". Former Website of the City of Vancouver. City of Vancouver [B.C., Canada]. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  10. ^ "Gastown Steam Clock undergoes repairs". City of Vancouver. City of Vancouver (B.C., Canada). 2014-10-08. Retrieved 1 January 2015. The mechanical moving parts of the Steam Clock's device for loading the metal balls have worn over the last 37 years and can no longer be reliably maintained. Mechanical failures have been a common occurrence in the past year, and the proposed repairs to the ball loading device will restore reliability to the Steam Clock while maintaining its historical integrity.
  11. ^ Baker, Paula (2014-11-19). "Gastown landmark steam clock getting an overhaul". Global News. Shaw Media. Retrieved 1 January 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gastown.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Gastown-Chinatown.

Archival photos

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