Downtown Waterfront

Proof of Vancouver’s birth as a port city, this photo from the 1960s (top) shows piers B and C for the Canadian Pacific Railway in front of a much-sparser downtown. Built in 1927, the piers received cargo and visitors from all over the world until they closed in 1955. In the 1980s, the buildings came down to make way for the distinctive multi-sailed structure we now call Canada Place (bottom).