Page 209 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Pacific Northwest

W A TERFRONT , GAST OWN , AND CHINA T OWN  207

The present-day building Stanley Park, and Mount Baker
was designed by the firm of in Washington.
Barott, Blackader and Webster When it opened on August
and completed in 1914. It was 13, 1977, Harbour Centre was
restored in 1976–7 to make the the tallest building in British
most of its expansive waiting Columbia. Among the guests at
area, arches, and columns. the opening was the first man
Murals circling the upper walls on the moon, Neil Armstrong,
portray romantic versions of who left his footprint in cement
Canadian landscapes. Shops as an official memento of
and cafés now occupy the the opening. A ticket to the
former waiting room. observation deck is valid all
Outside the station is day, so return to watch the
Wounded Soldier, a sculpture sun set over Vancouver Island.
by Charles Marega (1871–1939), Also at the top of the tower
Vancouver’s premier artist of is a revolving restaur ant,
his day. Marega also carved the providing fabulous views. Water Street’s steam clock, drawing a
two stone lions that guard the At street level, in Simon crowd every hour
Stanley Park entrance to Lions Fraser University’s downtown
Gate Bridge. campus, the small Teck Gallery Street was not always so
showcases the work of Pacific well-liked. Having slipped into
Northwest artists. The two lower decline after World War I, it
levels of Harbour Centre house wasn’t until the 1960s that the
a food fair, shops, and a well- area’s potential was recognized
stocked bookstore. and a wave of restoration
begun. By 1971, Water Street
was designated an historic
5 Water Street area. Old-fashioned street
lamps and mews enhance
From Richards to Carrall Sts.
Map 3 B2.  Waterfront. @ 50. its historic flavor.
g SeaBus: Waterfront. The world’s first steam-
operated clock stands 16 ft
Water Street, with its dis- (5 m) tall at the corner of Water
t inctive red-brick paving, is and Cambie Streets. Erected in
Gastown’s main thoroughfare 1977, it strikes its Westminster
and popular with tourists. chimes on the hour and every
Viewing platform at Harbour Centre’s Its turn-of-the-19th-century 15 minutes emits a blast of
Vancouver Lookout buildings house a mix of steam. Other notable sights
restaurants, nightclubs, include The Landing, a seven-
4 Harbour Centre boutiques, souvenir shops, rug story heritage building; the
and Vancouver merchants, offices, and First 1899 Dominion Hotel; and the
Lookout Nations art galleries. Water historically seedy Blood Alley.
555 W Hastings St. Map 3 A2. The Great Vancouver Fire of 1886
Tel (604) 689-7304.  Waterfront.
@ 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 50. g SeaBus: On June 13, 1886, the lethal combination of a powerful westerly
Waterfront. Open 10am–6pm daily. wind and sparks from a Canadian Pacific Railway brush fire near Drake
7 - = ∑ harbourcentre.com and Homer Streets, in what is now Yaletown (see pp224–5), burned
Vancouver Lookout: Harbour Centre. through Vancouver’s motley assortment of 1,000 wooden buildings.
Tel (604) 689-0421. Open Apr–Sep: In 20 minutes, the city was devastated, barely two months after its
8:30am–10:30pm daily; Oct–Mar: incorporation. The raging fire – so hot it not only burned nearby
9am–9pm daily. & 7 8 - St. James’ Anglican
∑ vancouverlookout.com Church but also
Glass elevators glide 553 ft melted its bell –
killed at least 21
(169 m) up the tower of Harbour people; the exact
Centre to Vancouver Lookout, number is unknown.
an enclosed observation deck Within 12 hours,
with a superb 360-degree view rebuilding had
of Vancouver and informative begun. The Burns
plaques to help visitors identify Block in Maple Tree
the sights below. These interpre- Square (see p208) was
tive panels locate, among other built that same year City officials in front of a temporary city hall after the
sights, the distinctive retractable and still exists. devastating fire of 1886
roof of BC Place Stadium,

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