Comments on: Pacific Centre

By: Keith Johnston

Keith Johnston — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 21:34:10 +0000

Thanks for this, Eve. Reading this in Australia and having just returned from Hobart and Launceston in Tasmania. It is so striking how those cities (and Sydney) have retained such a volume of heritage buildings. It appears there have been a few bungles, but compared to Vancouver and even Victoria the history and heritage is valued much higher there.

By: Kerry F

Kerry F — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 05:56:36 +0000

oh how i miss the place i used to live there for 10 years and man just so many things that i forgot that were fun.

By: Doug Parks

Doug Parks — Sun, 14 Mar 2021 10:34:03 +0000

Looking at the before and after photos of Vancouver isnt easy. Almost all of the after shots show that mistakes were made and the unbridled development came at a cost. I worked downtown from 1974 until CP Transport was renovicted by EXPO 86. For those 12 years I shopped at Woodwards. We ate out at to many restaurants to list. The Only and the Marco Polo were two faves. We went for beers at the Lotus and the Grand Union and dozens of other bars.
Today we avoid Vancouver . Its dirty, its unsafe and has been proven to be a failed experiment. The social engineers have failed and continue to fail ie Stanley Park being coopted by a cycling lobby group.

By: Angus McIntyre

Angus McIntyre — Sat, 13 Mar 2021 21:18:41 +0000

The roadway in the first photo was paved with concrete, and within a few years cracked and broke up into pieces. Had no one noticed that heavily loaded buses plied Granville Street? The second version had a deep foundation with lots of gravel, and lasted long enough to be replaced with the third and present day roadway.

The first street lights were low-level incandescent post top fixtures, which gave a mellow feel at night. They were replaced with glaring sodium vapour lights, and everything turned orange. We now have vertical fluorescent tubes as accent lights. Lots of colour from neon tubes would have recreated some of the lost history.

By: Scotty Henderson

Scotty Henderson — Sat, 13 Mar 2021 20:03:10 +0000

It is King George High School, not St. George’s. I went to Dawson and KGHS in the late 50’s and early 60’s. I love the aerial archives photo showing the blocks outlined in colour. I already have a copy of it. I lived at 961 Howe St. in block 71, nor the Law Courts. That photo brings back so many memories of my youth, a time when living downtown was both vibrant and exciting, with lots of places to explore.

By: John Hutchison

John Hutchison — Sat, 13 Mar 2021 18:39:58 +0000

Love your stories of old Vancouver. To bad we couldn’t have keep some of it. Keep up the great work you’re doing

By: Brad Williams

Brad Williams — Sat, 13 Mar 2021 18:23:42 +0000

Very good history Eve. This is one of the reasons I prefer the burbs and only come downtown if I have to. Who on earth wants to live in a tower downtown anywhere, not I, not we. I love the Sinclair Centre, not too tall and very rich with history.

By: James

James — Sat, 13 Mar 2021 17:39:04 +0000

The citys shame! What a backwards mind set to think what they did would work. The Black Tower still darkens the street scape, the food trucks belching fumes and noise with the silly chirping intersection things adding to the cacophony. Add the non stop sirens and its become unliveable in the downtown area.

By: Anthony Maw

Anthony Maw — Sat, 13 Mar 2021 17:05:49 +0000

Great article reminds me of my own memories of growing up in Vancouver in the late 1960s and early 1970s witnessing all the changes around downtown Vancouver. My parents worked downtown and my relatives owned a restaurant on Granville Street so I went downtown almost daily. I can recall all the demolitions, excavations and construction activity that seemed unending!!!!