Gastown by night
Need an excuse to hit the trendy bars and restaurants on Vancouver’s Gastown? Tell yourself you’re on a historical research mission. It was here, after all, that the city of Vancouver was born.
In 1867, a chatty Yorkshireman named “Gassy” Jack Deighton arrived in what was then a sawmill camp known as Granville. He opened the first saloon in the town, which soon became a sort of rowdy port of call for loggers, fishermen and sailors.
Boom times followed when the Canadian Pacific Railway built its cross-Canada terminus there in 1886 and the town became a major shipping centre. That same year, it was incorporated as the City of Vancouver and saw the great fire that destroyed all but two of its buildings. (One of the few to be saved, it is said, was the brothel.)
As Vancouver entered a new century, Gastown continued to be the place locals came to drink, and by the 1930s, there were some 300 licensed establishments in its 12-block area.
After the Great Depression, though, Gastown fell into decline and became little more than a seedy Skid Row of beer parlours and flophouses. It got so bad that, in the 1960s, the city was planning to demolish it to build a freeway. Then an unlikely alliance of business owners, hippies and preservationists joined to save and restore it.
Today, of course, Gastown is a major tourist draw, a centre for creative businesses, and a lively entertainment district that includes top restaurants and stylish cocktail bars.
One of the best ways to discover its fascinating past of bootleggers, blind pigs and bawdy houses is to join one of Forbidden Vancouver’s nightly Prohibition City walking tours. For tickets and info, visit forbiddenvancouver.ca.
Celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday in B.C. Parks Canada is offering free admission to all national parks and historic sites all year. More info at pc.gc.ca.