This is one nighttime excursion thats sure to leave you looking at this modern metropolis in an entirely different light. A history of deviant alleys in vancouver forbidden vancouver. Boyce richardson in his 1972 book the future of canadian cities. Gastowns hidden architectural secrets and mysteries. But arguably the areas best drinkanddine destination is hidden along the insalubriouslynamed blood alley. Blood alley got its name back in the days when most of the shops there belong to butchers in. Over 40 years later, many of the surfaces are in poor condition. It wasnt until the 1960s that the public began to appreciate gastowns distinctive architecture and role in the citys history, and undertook to revitalize the area. Gastown is the one of the oldest areas in vancouver and indeed, the most haunted. The freeway was blocked, and strathcona, chinatown and gastown were saved. Gastowns hidden architectural secrets and mysteries culture trip. The gastown foodie features more than 100 recipes from more than 35 gastown. Look to your left and youll find modern lofts and apartments that cost a pretty fortune.
Butcher explains that blood alley square was part of gastowns rebranding and revitalization in the 1970s, along with the addition of the fake cobblestones and the steam clock. Read for tales of blood alley, market alley and hogans alley. The blood alley project at 33 west cordova street will make a significant contribution to the life of gastown by retaining its heritage facade, providing affordable housing options, reinforcing an active street life through retail, food and performance opportunities, and provide a backdrop for the new blood alley square renovation. Take a short walk and check out blood alley gastown, vancouver. Although you may casually walk by or through blood alley when visiting gastown, its history will captivate you. Ive been to vancouver a few times but have never made it to gastown. Drinking in vancouvers historic gastown district bbc. I have heard of the steam powered clock and it looks so neat.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Nowadays we know gastown as one of the most beautiful and historic neighbourhoods in vancouver. On this evening reverend riddell had gone but a short distance from the door of his apartment building on powell street. With evocative street names such as gaolers mews and blood alley, gastown revolves around the statue of. Centered on the block, the library volume is a sevenstory rectangular box containing book stacks and services, surrounded by a freestanding, elliptical, colonnaded wall featuring reading and study areas that are accessed by bridges. Public executions, also held in blood alley square, reinforced the. Gastown news newspapers books scholar jstor february 2009 learn how and.
The city cut a passage through the hotel at 33 west cordova street to blood alley square, the location of vancouvers first civic buildings. Take a short walk and check out blood alley gastown. They thought that blood alley sounded like a cool, folksy, wild west name, he says. Its historic brick buildings and cobblestone streets hold many secrets. As if gastown isnt awesome enough at halloween with the suitably named blood alley, the weird and wonderful characters, and the monstrous amount of haunted old buildings, now theres every reason to go ahaunting through the shadowed alleys of old vancouver and to stay for the best parties in town. Gastown found new life as the centre of the citys wholesale produce distribution until the great depression in the 1930s. This is one of the earliest photos of gastown, taken in 1886 in maple tree square in the town of granville now called vancouver. In a small group, youll savor gastronomic delights and learn about the neighborhoods storied past from a fun. Gastown is the original settlement that became the core of the creation of vancouver, british columbia, canada. Whether a dark spectral yarn be solid as a rock or fluffy as a feather, one things for sure. Youll hear cultural tips from the foodie tour guide and collect an exclusive printed guide of foodie recommendations and discounts. The blood alley area was gastowns original meatpacking district, the sordid street so named due to the streams of blood that ran between the cobblestones. Book a private function inside of labattoirs new private dining room, situated adjacent to the regular dining space. Take a short walk and check out blood alley tripadvisor.
Trounce alley in 2017, looking west from carrall street. Guide books and tourism websites always include them in their itineraries conjuring visions of. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading blood alley a short story. The lost souls of gastown walking tour vancouver expedia. Gaolers mews the courtyard beside labbatoir, an elegant and aptly named restaurant was reported to house the citys first jail and was the site of public executions. Salt tasting room, gastown district, blood alley, vancouver, canada february 26, 2010 by ladyducayne salt tasting room is a place that i have been wanting to eat at for years.
Whats your overall opinion of the design for blood alley square. Vancouver, karen magill, runkle block, sharp and thompson, gastown,abbott street, history. On your walk through gastown, you get a look at the historic areas mustsee landmarks, including the steam clock, gassy jacks statue, hotel europe, blood alley, and maple tree square. Revitalization of blood alley in gastown on the way urbanyvr. The gastronomic gastown tour is gastowns oneandonly designated canadian signature experience. Gastown has a rich history filled with many a bizarre tale.
Vancouvers oldest neighbourhood, gastown is renowned for its legendary new age feel while still retaining its historic charm. The name gastown came into use because a fraser river pilot turned saloonkeeper with the name capt. Blood covered the wooden planks of the narrow alley. The gastronomic gastown tour combines gastowns 100% locallyowned, totallyawesome restaurants with vancouvers picturesque points and riveting history. With evocative street names such as gaolers mews and blood alley, gastown revolves around the statue of gassy jack deighton, a colorful rogue credited with being one of vancouvers pioneers, and the recentlyrenovated outdoor steam clock. Hogans alley was the local, unofficial name for park lane, an alley that ran through the. Bc poet and hogans alley historian, wayde compton from bc bookworld.
Gastown is one of vancouvers most vibrant and unique areas. Lost souls of gastown tour meanders through the oldest alleys of gastown. After a day of butchering cattle to provide vancouver with the freshest cuts of beef, the butcher would wash the floor flushing bloody runoff onto the planks of what would become known as blood alley. Firstly, it was where people went historically to purchase fresh cuts of meat. The building was eventually converted into the citys main butchery, providing the restaurant with its macabre name slaughterhouse in french. Currently, it is a national historic site and a neighbourhood in the northwest. The provincial government is planning to buy the new fountain shelter and the stanley hotel in. The stanley and new fountain hotels, as seen from blood alley square. Your guide will lead you on a historical walk through gastowns famous blood alley, across picturesque cobblestone streets, and to lesserknown architectural points. As the first downtown core of the city, the neighbourhood has transitioned into a centre of innovation and truly memorable experiences, for locals and tourists alike, while maintaining a strong connection to its history. Truth be told, the history of gastown can be quite scary and sometimes bloody. There would be blood in the alley from the produce. Find premium, highresolution stock photography at getty images. Venture inside the independent boutique and discover the book wall for yourself.
Blood alley square is adjacent to trounce alley, one of vancouvers original roads. Ask any city historian, and youll hear a frustrated sigh over this one. Blood alley while better known for crime, homelessness, and hardcore drugabuse, gastown is also home to a particular alley that gets a lot of play on historic vancouver walking tours blood alley. Blood alley a short story kindle edition by mason, yvonne. After the depression gastown was a largely forgotten neighbourhood of the larger city and fell into decline and disrepair as a. View topquality stock photos of blood alley square gastown vancouver canada. The name trounce alley didnt have the allure they were looking for, so they began calling it blood alley and introduced myths that the name derived from blood. Gastown neighbourhood guide, most instagrammable places in.
Gastown is the old heart of vancouver, where the city got going in the late1800s. Blood alley square and gaolers mews are evocative names. I will have to be certain to go back and get more pictures. The real blood alley was located in shanghai, where fleischman had visited as a sailor on the uss albert t. Boasting legendary items such as the steam clock, 100 year old lampposts, and the classic triangular shaped hotel europe, gastowns history is one that holds vancouver together.
Explore hip and historic gastown sidetracked travel blog. Foursquare uses cookies to provide you with an optimal experience, to personalize ads that you may see, and to help advertisers measure the results of their ad campaigns. Locals called it gastown because the first saloon was started by jack deighton, known as gassy jack because he loved to talk apparently for hours. Blood alley in gastown is set to receive a makeover with the redevelopment of two heritage buildings on cordova street in a unique partnership between a developer and the provincial government. Vancouvers history as a city has its roots in what was a tiny settlement nicknamed gastown. This one block of abbott street between west cordova and water streets is filled with history.
Basked in ample natural light, the new room is an elegant space with old world charm easily suited for any occasion, from private gatherings and. Take a walk down blood alley and youll see what i mean. Through photos, recipes, and stories, the gastown foodie. What most historians settle on, however, is that the nickname blood alley appeared around 1970. Hope to make it back soon and will definitely make note to visit this. To experience gastown like a local, explore vancouvers foodie, boozy, historic neighborhood on 3hour walking food tour. Gastown is known for its cobblestone streets and victorian erastyle streetlamps. John gassy jack deighton was in 1867 the first settler on the site from which vancouver was to evolve. When citizens became developers fifty years ago, two gastown hotels were set to be bulldozed. A historic walking tour of gastown in vancouver smart tips. The name blood alley has stuck and is now part of the citys history. A brief history of how gastown got to where it is today.
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