Unspecified/General

Gastown is the oldest neighbourhood in Vancouver, the place where the city began, a district of red-brick warehouses, cobblestone streets and Victorian commercial buildings that has been restored and revived into one of the most atmospheric quarters of the modern city. Its origins lie in a riverside saloon opened in 1867 by a talkative steamboat captain named John Deighton, nicknamed Gassy Jack for his endless stories, around whose establishment a small settlement grew that took the name Gastown; this rough frontier town was incorporated as the City of Vancouver in 1886, only to be almost entirely destroyed by fire weeks later and swiftly rebuilt in the brick and stone that still characterise it. After decades of decline in the mid-twentieth century, when it fell into neglect and was nearly cleared for a freeway, the district was saved by a preservation campaign, declared a historic area and gradually transformed. Today its handsome old buildings house boutiques, galleries, design shops, restaurants and bars, and its streets draw visitors to browse and dine amid the heritage architecture. The neighbourhood's most photographed feature is the steam clock at the corner of Water and Cambie streets, which, despite its antique appearance, was built in the 1970s and marks the hours by releasing puffs of steam and a whistling chime to the delight of onlookers. A statue of Gassy Jack long stood in the small square named for him. With its blend of history, design and street life, Gastown remains a distinctive and popular district. The revival of Gastown is one of the notable conservation success stories of the city, for by the mid-twentieth century the once-thriving district had decayed into a skid-row, and a plan was drawn up to drive a freeway through it and the adjoining Chinatown; the public outcry that defeated this scheme led instead to the area being protected and gradually restored. The cobblestoned streets, the gas-style lamps and the ornate brick facades now form a coherent historic ensemble, and the district has evolved into a fashionable quarter of design studios, boutiques, galleries, coffee roasters, restaurants and bars. The steam clock remains the great curiosity, a crowd-pleaser that hisses and chimes on the quarter hour though it was built only in the 1970s, partly to cover a steam vent. The figure of Gassy Jack, the saloon-keeper around whom the settlement first grew, gave the area its name, and blending heritage, commerce and street life, Gastown endures as one of the most characterful districts of the city.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: Vancouver, Canada