Vancouver’s Gastown, with its cobblestone streets, is a popular tourist destination for visitors. As a local, I also like dropping by to check out the independent shops in the area. Years ago, I had interned at an architecture firm, located near the steam clock. So it has special memories for me.
Gastown
Vancouver is part of unceded Coast Salish territory. In 1871, the Canadian Pacific Railway station was built close by and Gastown became the centre of today’s Vancouver, which was incorporated in 1886. By then Yorkshire seaman Jack “Gassy” Deighton had already opened the first saloon of the settlement, which came to be known as Gastown.
This area of Vancouver has seen tremendous growth and change. In 1886, a fire destroyed nearly all of the buildings. After the Great Depression, Gastown was pretty much forgotten until a movement began in the 1960s to preserve its history and architecture.
Declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 2009, Gastown is a trendy neighbourhood with great restaurants, upscale furniture stores, independent clothing retailers, and unique art shops. Some people may remember large department stores such as Woodward’s. Other stores I’m not familiar with include Spencer’s, Fairbanks Morse, Malkins, and Kelly Douglas. (The Old Malkin Warehouse is where Old Spaghetti Factory is now located. This restaurant is reportedly the site of several hauntings. Resident ghosts include one that is said to have come with the vintage trolley that is part of the restaurant decor. The others are young children – a girl with a balloon, a red-headed boy often found in the women’s bathroom, and another boy.
Not far from the Steam Clock is the Waterfront Station, another famous haunted spot, perhaps one of the most active places downtown. Vancouver’s got a lot! The station, even when busy, feels eery. This heritage building must have witnessed quite a past since 1915, when it was built. According to Ghosts of Vancouver, night security guards have reported a woman dancing in a flapper dress, a glowing old woman reaching out to them, moving furniture, footsteps, and more. Check out The Lost Souls of Gastown Tour and Ian Gibbs’ Vancouver’s Most Haunted. This book consists of thirty stories about the Waterfront Station, the Orpheum Theatre, and private homes. Based in Victoria, he is a ghost-walk guide, podcaster (Ghosts ‘n Bears), and the author of an earlier book, Victoria’s Most Haunted: Ghost Stories of BC’s Historic Capital City. Victoria is supposed the most haunted city in British Columbia.
To learn more about the origins of Gastown, check out this walking tour.
Water Street Café
At the corner of Water and Cambie Streets stands a 1906 heritage building that was once Edward Hotel. Opened in 1988, Water St. Café is a landmark and institution. This year, I decided to celebrate my birthday here.
I sat at a table facing Water Street. It was a damp gray day, quite normal for Vancouver in the winter months. The Steam Clock across the street was built in 1977 as a monument by horologist Raymond Saunders and metalwork specialist Doug Smith. It was set over a steam grate. Beneath the ground was a network of underground pipes that heats the downtown core.
Gastown’s 16-foot Steam Clock is only one of few working ones in the world. Its name is misleading as it implies that steam powers the four-faced clock, when it is actually a gravity and steam system. Steel balls drop, moving the chain that keeps the hands in time while a steam engine delivers the balls back to the top via a chain lift. Every fifteen minutes, the clock whistles and blows out steam.
My seat was perfect for people watching. People gathered near the Steam Clock for photographs and selfies.
Pop up to 2nd Floor Gastown for tapas. Happy hour is all night on Thursdays. Their tapas menu looks so delicious – burrata, grilled halloumi, West Coast crab cake, mini duck spring rolls, butternut squash ravioli, and roasted mushrooms. All my favourites. 2nd Floor Gastown, Water St. Café’s not-so-secret secret speakeasy, was launched in 2019, two years after co-owners Eli Brennan and chef Alan Tse took over the restaurant from Dominique Sabatino. When I was having my birthday lunch, upstairs was still under renovation. Above the winding staircase and behind the bookcase door food, drink, and live music.
And oh yes, 300 Water Street, the building that houses Water St. Cafe is a known hot spot. Above the restaurant’s two floors are commercial spaces. Unexplained sounds have been heard from the vacant fourth floor. It kinda adds to the atmosphere to your Gastown experience. Right?
