From Catholicism to Judaism, Time to Worship

If you are downtown and happen to be near Richards and Dunsmuir then a stop at the Holy Rosary Cathedral is in order.

This cathedral is built in the french gothic style and was designed by architect T.E. Julien of the firm Julien and Williams, architects. It was started on July 16, 1899 when the first cornerstone was laid and 490 days later, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception - December 8, 1900 - the church opened. It was regarded by many to be the finest piece of architecture west of Toronto and north of San Francisco.

A statue of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception looks over the entrance and watches over those entering the church.

The cathedral is constructed of sandstone from Gabriola Island on a foundation of local granite. It is built in the form of a cross that is 161 feet long, 104 feet across at the transepts and 217 feet to the top of the tallest steeple.

In 1916 this Church of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary was declared a cathedral.

I don't know what this piece of granite says but it looks important!

In the 110 years that the cathedral has been there it has gone through a few updates and upgrades but the Roman Catholic church has managed to always keep the essence of the past intact. From my research I am told that the interior is fantastic as well, including the church organ. I did enter the front part of the church but there were people sitting in the pews so I just looked through the glass doors, I didn't want to disturb them.

This church hold special memories for me. I am not Catholic but many years ago - around thirty to be precise - I was going to Barbizon Modelling School. I lived in Langley and each Saturday I would board a bus that would take me into the city. At fifteen years old I felt pretty important. At that time there was a bus depot down the street and I would have to walk by the Holy Rosary Cathedral to get to my classes. Sometimes I would quietly walk in and take a seat in a back pew. There I would sit for a few moments, taking in the peace and beauty around me. I can still close my eyes and remember how I felt, how settled it made me.

This building is, or I should say was, the  First Schara Tzedeck Synagogue. The original building was built in 1911 and is located at East Pender and Heatley Avenue. (across the street from the house where Vancouver's first undertaker lived.)  The name was originally Benei Yehuda which means Children (sons) of Judah. On June 14, 1917 the congregation was incorporated as Schara Tzedeck - Gates of Righteousness.

In 1948 the synagogue moved into new, larger quarters in the south Cambie neighbourhood.

The building is now home to condos. Some purists may find that offensive but in my opinion it is a great way to make use of a building that isn't being used as it was once intended and to give it new life. And the building gets to stay and be admired for many more years to come.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

TAGS:Vancouver, Karen Magill, First Schara Tzedeck Synagogue, Holy Rosary Cathedral,East Pender,Richards Street,walk,history,

Gassy Jack and Other Monuments

There he is, Gassy Jack also known as John Deighton. This man, the Father of Gastown, earned his nickname due to his ability to talk and weave stories.

Deighton was originally a man of the water, coming to Canada from his home of Hull England as he worked aboard a ship. He then became a steamboat operator but swelling of his feet and legs forced him to find other employment. He ran a saloon in New Westminster that was quite popular due to the Cariboo Gold Rush of 1862 but five years later business was slow so he closed it.

In September of that year Deighton and his native wife stepped off the boat with a barrel of whiskey. He told the idle millworkers that if they built him a saloon he would serve them all whiskey. The saloon was up and running within a day.

Present day Gastown was just a wilderness back then. And the nearest non native settlement was a nearby lumber mill where the owner didn't allow alcohol on the grounds. This area was ready for a man like Gassy Jack and his saloon.

Three  years after that the area was named Granville in an attempt to make it sound more distinguished but everyone still referred to the settlement as Gastown after the colorful saloon owner.

This statue of John Deighton stands at the corner of Water and Powell Street or Carrall and Powell Street - the three streets merge there.

If you can read the plaque that is below the statue it says that this monument was placed at the site where once an old maple tree stood and it was under that tree that early  pioneers met in 1885 and decided that the name for their soon to be incorporated city was to be 'Vancouver'.

Say you have come to see the statue of Gassy Jack and you turn around. You will see the Hotel Europe. This building was built on a triangular lot and is shaped like a triangle. I thought I had a photo of it but I guess it was one of the ones that didn't transfer properly yesterday. I do have these other photos though.

This hotel was the first reinforced concrete structure to be built in Canada and the earliest fireproof hotel to be built in Western Canada. Workers had to be brought in from Cincinatti, Ohio since they were the only ones with the necessary expertise to build the beauty.

Hotelier Angelo Calori had this hotel built close to the old steamship docks and there was a bus that transferred passengers from the docks to the hotel. In 1983 it was redone for affordable housing units.

And thanks for gastown.org I have a photo for you.

When I walk somewhere I like to duck in behind buildings and such to see what might be there, what the general public may not be likely to see. Gastown is great, the developers have mixed the old with the new and tried to keep the new in the same style. But I found this on my wanderings and it looks pretty old to me.

Another thing that Gastown is known for is our steam clock.

This is actually the most photographed location in town.  I know it is difficult getting the right shot with all the people around. That's okay though, it is great to see so much interest. The clock is located at the corner of Cambie and Water Streets and was put there for a logical reason.

Under the clock is a steam grate that was part of our distributed steam-heating system. The clock was put there to prevent an eyesore - the grate - prevent the homeless from sleeping on the grate and to make use of the escaping steam. Every fifteen minutes the clock chimes and steam billows. Quite a sight and one that wouldn't show up well with my little camera.

This area of town, a very important part of Vancouver's history, was almost lost to us. After the Depression of the thirties it became a forgotten area, allowed to fall into disrepair. Then a group of concerned citizens started campaigning in the sixties and in 1971 the provincial government declared it a provincial historical site which has provided protection for the buildings that show our past. The federal government declared Gastown a national historic site in 2009.

I hope you enjoyed the little trip through the Vancouver's first settlement. I will have to go back another day when the weather changes and take more photos so you can see more. I did see something interesting on the Inlet though.

 Isn't that cruise ship something else? They are so huge!

I hope you find the beauty around you.

TAGS:Vancouver, Karen Magill, Vancouver, Gassy Jack,Gastown,Hotel Europe,walk,history,

Here's the Sun and other oddities

Okay so the sun hasn't been that much of an oddity around Vancouver lately and I am referring to the newspaper, the Vancouver Sun. (Not that it is odd) The newspaper got its start in February of 1912. Then it was located at 125 West Pender Street, around the corner from the competition, the Province. In 1924 the Sun purchased the Vancouver World newspaper which was going through difficult financial times.

The paper was still located at 125 West Pender until a fire broke out in the editorial and business offices in 1937. Then they packed up and moved across the street to the building where the World had been published. The building was renamed the Sun Tower.

This building stands majestically at 100 West Pender. It is 17 stories high (82 metres, 270 feet). It was completed in 1912 and was designed by the architect W. T. (William Tuff) Whiteway who also designed the original Woodwards building. In 1918 Henry Gardiner, 'the human fly' scaled the outside of the building.

Can you make out the nine maidens and nine muses supporting the cornice line? One of the unique features of this building. As is the green dome that was painted green to simulate weathered copper cladding.

The terra cotta that was used in this building was made in Staffordshire England. Something about it makes me feel like a newspaper should be in that building but alas the Vancouver Sun does not publish out of the Sun Tower any longer.

In 1958 old rivals the Sun and the Province joined forces. In 1965 they moved to the Pacific Press Building. The offices since 1997 have been at 200 Granville Street.

Even if you have never been to Vancouver this building may look familiar. Parts of it were used in the television series The Crow, Stairway to Heaven as well as serving as the Watchtower in Smallville.

Here are a couple of other buildings nearby. The lower one I managed to find a photo of it from 1913  but I don't know much else.

Since I started this blog I have noticed that I see more than before. Or perhaps I just register it. Like this sign outside an apartment building on Broadway. (A special message for one of my readers who I know reads my blog every morning.)

And one that was at the entrance to a bank's parking lot.

The things that I see when I actually take a moment.

So I hope that you find the beauty around you. Even if it is something odd that makes you smile.

TAGS:Vancouver, Karen Magill, Vancouver Sun, Sun Tower,the Province,W.T. Whiteway,walk,history,

Cruising Along

Today Vancouver shone and glittered with late summer sun. I wore jeans for my walk and was actually too warm by the time I started to head home.

I was going to walk to Gastown and take some photos there but I didn't make it. While strolling down Powell Street I caught a glimspe of a building on the next street - Railway Street.

So I walked around the corner and started taking photos.

Looks like there is a bit of history here but I have been unable to find out anything. So you get to look at the pretty buildings. And the amusing sign:

I kept heading towards Gastown but my interest was peaked by the bypass leading to Crab Park.

Burrard Iron Works Limited has been in business since 1912. The company is involved with the shipping industry by supplying, servicing and manufacturing engine room and deck machinery. That company has been operating for close to one hundred years. Imagine the changes they have seen.

Just as I climb the stairs to the bypass I see this gift that was given to Vancouver by our sister port, Shanghai Port Authority.

This is one of a set. Very majestic looking I thought. The Port of Shanghai is a deep sea and river port. Since 2005, it has been the world's busiest port by cargo tonnage.

Port Metro Vancouver, as it is now known, is the largest port in Canada, in the Pacific Northwest and on the West Coast of North America according by metric tons of total cargo.

The port has 25 major marine terminals, three container, seventeen bulk cargo and five break bulk cargo terminals. Over 30,000 direct jobs are linked to the port in a variety of areas including the cruise ships. The port is home to the Vancouver - Alaska cruise which runs from May to September.

When the Panama Canal opened in 1914 Vancouver's seaport was able to compete with major ports since we could be an alternative route to Europe. In the 1920s our provincial government fought against freight rates that discriminated against products transported by rail through the Rockies. They were successful in getting rid of the excessive rates and thereby opened up the door for more business from the prairies. Instead of  shipping the product east, companies found it less expensive now to go west.

I watched a television special on the port one evening and I have to tell you it is a maelstorm of activity. Everyone that is working there knows their job and every person is so important to keep everything moving smoothly.

(That weird looking thing in the forefront of the photo is part of the chain link fence. I was trying to put my little camera through it to avoid the 'behind bars' effect.)

I didn't go right into Crab Park, rather just took a few photos from the bypass.

Those white sails belong not a ship but Canada Place just to let those of you who are not Vancouverites know.

Crab Park is actually called Crab Park at Portside. And it is not named for those delectable creatures that scurry along the sand. Rather the name is an acronym for Create a Real Available Park.

I still intend on making it to Gastown and fillng you in on the stories of Gassy Jack and Granville and show you lots of pictures. As long as I don't get distracted I hope to do that soon.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

TAGS:Vancouver, Karen Magill, Port Metro Vancouver, Shanghai Port,Crab Park,cruise ships,walk,history,

Catch up and Fill ins

In past posts I have missed a few photos and information. Today I will try to fill some of those in.

This is part of the roundhouse that was built in 1888 to service steam locomotives. Engine 374, the first train to cross Canada to Vancouver in 1887, is located within the Roundhouse complex. I didn't get in to see that, I didn't realize it was there, but what I did see was interesting.

This is important. Because without the arrival of the railroad Vancouver would not have been incorporated. Or at least not when it was. So the residents owe a debt of gratitude to those metal machines that roll through our city. When I did my piece on Yaletown I missed this so I went back.

Remember when I showed you this?

This sign is at the top of the art gallery owned by real estate guru Bob Rennie. Rennie apparently started collecting art at a young age. The building is at 51 East Pender and was built in 1889 by Yip Sang, a Chinatown legend. Sang made his fortune hiring Chinese labourors to build the railway.

The front part of this building was used for Sang's business, Wing Sang an import-export company.Originally it was only two stories but a third was added in 1901. Eleven years after that Sang added a six storey building at the back so he could house his family - four wives and twenty-three children.

From what I have read Rennie did a lot of work on this property. It had been empty since the 1970s and was in need of some tender loving care. Many people would have just torn the building down and built new but Rennie, thankfully, preserved this piece of Vancouver heritage.

Oh and the sign I showed you at the beginning? It was designed by Martin Creed from Britain. Some may think that displaying the slogan in an area of town that is so inflicted with those who are less fortunate may seem inappropriate but I don't think so. I feel if someone can look at those words and believe them then can start on the road to recovery.

The other day when I was out walking I noticed this. It is a manhole cover and I had to take a photo of it. In Vancouver even our manhole covers are stylish!

When I wrote on the end of summer I meant to feature this photo of a beautful sunflower. But I forgot then so here it is now.

And here is something you don't see that often. Clothes hanging on the line. In this age of electric dryers we seem to have lost that. Yet there is something special about clothes that have been hung on the line and smell like fresh air.

Until next time, probably tomorrow, I hope you find the beauty around  you.

TAGS:Vancouver, Karen Magill, CPR, Bob Rennie,Roundhouse,Yip Sang,walk,history,