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| I wondered why one side was old school brick and the other curved glass, The concierge explained that the building resembles a Grand Piano from the air. |
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http://www.vancouverbiennale.com/artworks/lets-heal-the-divide/
Let’s heal the divide is a site-specific work that reflects upon the history and current conditions of Vancouver and addresses the socio-economic, political and cultural points of disconnect present in the area. The use of neon in this work echoes Vancouver’s history. At its height in the 1950’s, our city was home to nearly 19,000 neon signs. Subverting the commercial use of this one-time ubiquitous medium, the artist sends an alternative message through the warm glow. With an environmental consciousness, neon was chosen for its energy efficiency, the sign costs approximately $100 a year to light. |
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| Gastown |
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| Vancouver's history as a city has its roots in what was a tiny settlement nicknamed Gastown. The name Gastown came into use because a Fraser River pilot turned saloonkeeper with the name Capt. John 'Gassy Jack' Deighton was in 1867 the first settler on the site from which Vancouver was to evolve. |
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| Howdy |
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Gassy Jack
Gastown was Vancouver's first downtown core and is named after "Gassy" Jack Deighton, a Yorkshire seaman, steamboat captain and barkeep who arrived in 1867 to open the area's first saloon. The town soon prospered as the site of Hastings Mill sawmill, seaport, and quickly became a general centre of trade and commerce on Burrard Inlet as well as a rough-and-rowdy resort for off-work loggers and fishermen as well as the crews and captains of the many sailing ships which came to Gastown or Moodyville, on the north side of the inlet (which was a dry town) to load logs and timber. |
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| As I walked by this building a strong Familiar smell wafted from the door. I had to stop and walk in the store so I could remember where I had experienced that smell. It was a similar sized neighborhood grocery store that we frequented when my family lived in Galveston in the early 60's |
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| China Town is just a short walk from Gastown. Over the years the most prosperous Chinese have moved out of the neighborhood. |
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| He is using a magnifying glass to burn/etch his art on the walking canes. |
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The phrase "everything is going to be alright" has functioned as anything from a sentiment shared by people in times of crisis to lyrics in many pop songs. Creed’s repetitive use of this text as a neon light sculpture affixed to the exterior surface of various structures mimics the ubiquitous use of the phrase itself.
http://www.renniecollection.org/exhibitions/permanent/martincreed.php |
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| The Zodiac is on tiles located in the plaza just outside the Garden Our tiles, Can you guess who is the Dragon and who is the Rabbit? |
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| It's funny they are located adjacent to each other on the Zodiac |
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| No where does it say they are compatible. |
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| The Hope Tree |
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| The Chinese Cultural Center, we walked in but did not have time to see the exhibits. |
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| No batteries needed |
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| Go Canada! |
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| We did not even think of bringing red. |
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| This is about as wild as Canadians get. |
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BC Place StadiumVancouver (CAN)
21 Jun 2015 - 16:30 Local time
Round of 16
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| Canadian's Going Crazy |
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| Canadian's Overjoyed |
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| Canadian gone Wild |
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| Canadian's Celebration reaches a Feverish Peak |
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| The Celebration continues on the streets as they try to find their way home. |
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| Curious Sign in BC Canada |
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| Sing in Front of the Vancouver Library |
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| I guess the Pool Deck forms the Keyboard with the lounge chairs being the Keys? |
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| That's Mount Baker as seen from the 23rd floor over the BC Place Stadium |
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| BC Place Stadium Glowing at night |
Vancouver - Round of 16 Canada VS Switzerland for Fathers Day
We had several hours before the Game so we decided to stay close and find things to do within walking distance. We wanted to see Gastown and Chinatown so we hoped we could get both in before a late lunch and then making the short 3 block walk from the hotel to the stadium in the afternoon.
Gastown is a mix of shops, restaurants, and bars in historic buildings near the Vancouver's waterfront port. From Wikipedia:
Gastown found new life as the center of the city's wholesale produce distribution until the Great Depression in the 1930s. It was also the center of the city's drinking life: there were 300 licensed establishments the twelve-block area of the former Granville. After the Depression Gastown was a largely forgotten neighborhood of the larger city and fell into decline and disrepair as a continuation of the Skid Row area with cheap beer parlors, flophouse hotels, and loggers' hiring halls.
In the 1960s, citizens became concerned with preserving Gastown's distinctive and historic architecture, which like the nearby Chinatown and Strathcona was scheduled to be demolished to build a major freeway into the city's downtown. A campaign led by businessmen and property owners, as well as the counterculture and associated political protesters, pressured the provincial government to declare the area a historical site in 1971, protecting its heritage buildings to this day. A riot between the hippies and the police in 1971 over marijuana has gone into legend, the incident now made public on the Woodwards building, a throwback to the more serious Post office riot of 1938.
Then on to Chinatown. The railroads brought the Chinatowns to the entire West coast due to importing chinese labor for the railroad construction. Again from Wikipedia:
Chinatown remains a popular tourist attraction, and is one of the largest historic Chinatowns in North America. However, it went into decline as newer members of Vancouver's Cantonese Chinese community dispersed to other areas of the metropolis. It has been more recently overshadowed by the newer Chinese immigrant business district along No. 3 Road in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond, which had been an Anglo-Saxon bastion until the 1980s. Many affluent Hong Kong and Taiwanese immigrants have moved there since the late 1980s, coinciding with the increase of Chinese-ethnic retail and restaurants in that area.
The Chinese Gardens were worth the walk down and offered a glimpse into real China as the Gardens were constructed in the lat 80's by a team of Artisans and materials from mainland China.
Time to make it back for the game. When our daughter bought the tickets for us there was no way to know who would be playing on this date. What a cool opportunity to see one of the Women's Round of 16 World Cup games in BC Place Stadium. Here we were in the Host country getting to see their team play Switzerland and they Won 1-0! The Canadian's Celebrated but they are way more reserved than those just a few miles South on the other side of the boarder. The Canadians are way nice and somewhat reserved compared to Americans. When you ask a BC Canadian a question that I think they feel that everyone should know the answer to, you can get this informative but sarcastic response. Something you might expect a good buddy or a family member to do but not a stranger. Just Different, and that's a good thing. Who would want to go all the way to another Country and find it is just like home?
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