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From our
magazine's office overlooking "Maple Tree Square,"
and the statue of Gassy Jack, our staff and
visitors witness this magical transformation daily,
as Gastown continues to amaze and delight. By day
it's a magnet for hordes of tourists and locals,
who flock to the art galleries, antique stores and
native crafts shops, bistros and sidewalk cafes.
Want the name of one of the neatest card shops in
town, where you can find something unique for any
occasion? Visit Kim
Prints on
Powell Street in the lower floor of the famous
Europe Hotel, opposite Gassy Jack's statue (in
above photo).
This
display of 75 to 100 Classic and heritage cars took
place from on Saturday Sept 04, 2004 in the Gastown
district of Vancouver. Water Street was closed off
for the day and cars were displayed from the Gassy
Jack statue all the way to Granville Square. There
was celebrity judging of the vehicles with awards
for six categories of which "Most Elegant Car" will
be the pièce de
résistance. At
last, the Pacific Northwest has a concours to rank
with the best. Steamworks Concours
d'Elégance in Vancouver BC's historic
Gastown district. Similar to New York's prestigious
Louis Vuitton concours, this is an "invitation
only" event with up to 100 rare and beautiful
classics on display, competing for the title of
"most elegant car." The Steamworks is a brew pub
adjacent to the famous steam clock, a 9-foot tall,
antique sidewalk-mounted clock that announces the
hour by a whistle and huge puff of steam. Gastown's
streets are paved with bricks, its buildings dating
back to Vancouver's wilder days when it was first
established as a major west coast port. A wonderful
locale for what will surely become a prime stop on
the vintage car calendar.. Web
site:http://vintagecars.about.com/b/a/2003_08_26.htm
My
early impressions of Gastown were much different.
Each Saturday, I worked as a swamper, loading cases
of grocery items from its busy warehouses and those
of nearby Yaletown, the newest trendy district. As
a youngster, Gastown was already an exciting place
to visit, as the North Van ferry docked at the foot
of Columbia Street. Woodward's Department store
stood like a glorious beacon, the Army & Navy
store was a Mecca for kids shopping for war
surplus, Chinatown was where we renewed our arsenal
of fireworks, and East Hastings Street was a blaze
of neon. Gastown
springs to life each evening, with ethnic fare,
gourmet dining, live entertainment and a variety of
bars, pubs, and comedy acts. This diversity has
prompted many young, upwardly mobile Vancouverites
to consider our new urban hotspot as a unique place
to live. It's a generation that seeks what Monty
Python calls "something completely different"...
which they're discovering right here in Vancouver's
Gastown. If
you have an item on Gastown or any other BC
Community. Send it to Airways BC Scene:
airhwy@dowco.co Add
your link to this list by email to:
Air
Highways Links |
Have
you recently arrived for a cruise or convention?
Just steps from Canada Place, where Alaska-bound
cruise ships berth, the West Coast Express Train
rolls in, and float planes take off for BC's
Adventure Islands, historic Gastown begins. Its
cobblestone streets and ornate lampposts mark this
piece of history a living museum ... an area of
charm, character and curiosity. 