Map of Gastown

Statue of "Gassy" Jack, Gastown.

Gastown is an area of Vancouver, British Columbia, located between Downtown and the Downtown Eastside. Its historical boundaries were the waterfront (now Water Street and the CPR tracks), Columbia Street, Hastings Street, and Cambie Street, which were the borders of the first townsite survey, the proper name and postal address of which was Granville, B.I. ("Burrard Inlet"). Today's official boundary does not include most of Hastings Street except for the Woodward's and Dominion Buildings. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (853x512, 360 KB) Guys found gastown on google earth. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (853x512, 360 KB) Guys found gastown on google earth. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (768x1024, 326 KB) Vancouver - Gastown - Gassy Jack Statue of Gassy Jack in (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) Photographer: Mikano 2003 File links The following pages link to this file: Vancouver ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (768x1024, 326 KB) Vancouver - Gastown - Gassy Jack Statue of Gassy Jack in (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) Photographer: Mikano 2003 File links The following pages link to this file: Vancouver ... This article refers to the city in British Columbia, Canada. ... Location of the Downtown Eastside (in red) in Vancouver. ... The Woodwards building in Vancouver as of June 2005 Woodwards was a pioneering department store in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. ... The Dominion Building in 1915. ...

History

Gastown was Vancouver's first downtown core and is named after "Gassy" Jack Deighton, a British seaman, steamboat captain and barkeep who arrived in 1867 to open the area's first saloon. The town soon prospered as the site of a 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. John Deighton (November 1830 – May 29, 1875), generally known as Gassy Jack, was a Canadian bar owner who was born in Hull, England. ... Tourists sit outside a bar in Chiang Mai, Thailand A Depression-era bar in Louisiana. ... A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Port. ... Indian Arm extends north (to the upper right of the photo) from Burrard Inlet, in this view from the southeast at Burnaby Mountain. ...

In 1886, the town was incorporated as the City of Vancouver. It fell victim to the "Great Vancouver Fire" that same year, losing all but two of its buildings. The area was completely rebuilt and continued to thrive, finding new life as the centre of the city's wholesale produce distribution until the Great Depression in the 1930s and, until the instigation of Prohibition, the centre of the city's drinking life (there were 300 licensed establishments the twelve-block area of the former Granville, B.I.) After the Depression Gastown was a largely-forgotten neighbourhood of the larger city and fell into decline and disrepair until the 1960s. The Great Depression was a worldwide economic downturn which started in October of 1929 and lasted through most of the 1930s. ... The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ... Dr. Seuss Jean Shepherd Ringo Starr John Steinbeck Gloria Steinem Tom Stoppard Hunter S. Thompson Gore Vidal Peter Vincent Kurt Vonnegut Andy Warhol Alan Watts Bob Weir Brian Wilson Tom Wolfe There were six Olympics held during the decade. ...

In the 1960s, citizens concerned with preserving Gastown's distinctive and historic architecture, which like the nearby Chinatown and Strathcona were 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 protestors, some of them American draft dodgers, pressured the provincial government to declare the area a historical site in 1971, protecting its heritage buildings to this day. Chinatown in Downtown Vancouver with Coast Mountains in the background An upscale suburban Chinese mall in Richmond, the new Chinatown. The Chinatown of Vancouver, British Columbia is the second largest Chinatown in North America (after Chinatown, San Francisco, which is arguably the largest). ... Location of Strathcona in Vancouver. ... Their actions were criminal offences and once they had left the country draft dodgers could not return or they would be arrested. ...

Also in 1971, the Gastown Riots broke out when a student-organized marijuana 'smoke in' became violent when the RCMP intervened. In the 1990s this event was referred to as "grasstown" by many locals.^{[citation needed]} This event is a 1990s invention by legalization activists that may or may not have any historical basis. However, the anniversary of this event has been celebrated peacefully on the streets of Gastown every year since the early 1990s. The Gastown Riots occurred in Vancouver, Canada, in 1971. ... Cannabis sativa Look up marijuana in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Royal Canadian Mounted Police heraldic badge. ... This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ... In 1971, there was a smoke-in in Vancouvers Gastown. ... This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ...

Today

Street scene, Gastown.

Gastown is a mix of tourist-oriented business (generally restricted to Water Street), restaurants, nightclubs, poverty and newly-upscale housing. In addition, there are law firms, architects and other professional offices, as well as computer and internet businesses, art galleries, music and art studios, and acting and film schools. Photograph of Gastown, Vancouver by Michael Rogers 2004. ... Photograph of Gastown, Vancouver by Michael Rogers 2004. ...

Gastown's most famous (though nowhere near oldest) landmark is its steam-powered clock, located on the corner of Cambie and Water Street. Long powered by electricity after its previous breakdown the steam mechanism has been completely restored with the financial support of local businesses. The steam used is low pressure district heating steam that powers a miniature steam engine in its base, in turn driving a chain lift. The chain lift moves steel balls upward, where they are unloaded and roll to a descending chain. The weight of the balls on the descending chain drives a conventional pendulum clock escapement, geared to the hands on the four faces. The steam also powers the clock's sound production as whistles are used instead of bells to produce the Westminster "chime" and to signal the time. Tourists are entertained by the Vancouver steam clock A steam clock is a clock powered by steam. ... A whistle is a one-note woodwind instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air. ... A bell is a simple sound-making device. ... The Westminster Quarters is the most common name for a melody used by a set of clock bells to strike the hour. ...

This restored steam clock entertains tourists

Gastown retains few vestiges of its 1970s role as "Haight-Ashbury North".^{[citation needed]}, with the area now mostly coffee shops, galleries, native art and import stores, restaurants and nightclubs. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1536x2048, 351 KB)Image taken and uploaded by User:Leonard G. Tourists are entertained by the Gastown, Vancouver, Canada steam clock. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1536x2048, 351 KB)Image taken and uploaded by User:Leonard G. Tourists are entertained by the Gastown, Vancouver, Canada steam clock. ... Tourists are entertained by the Vancouver steam clock A steam clock is a clock powered by steam. ... Categories: US geography stubs | San Francisco neighborhoods ...

Popular annual events that take place on the cobblestone streets of Gastown include the Vancouver International Jazz Festival and the Tour de Gastown international bicycle race. A cobblestone-covered street Cobblestones are stones used in the pavement of early streets. ... The Vancouver International Jazz Festival is an annual summer event in Vancouver, Canada. ...

External links

• Official Gastown Community Website
• Gastown at Virtual Vancouver
• Vancouver International Jazz Festival
• Tour de Gastown

Archival photos

• View of Gastown from offshore, 1884, prior to announcement of CPR terminus
• View of Gastown from offshore, 1886
• Maple Tree Square, 1886 (six weeks before the Great Fire; Deighton House at left of the Maple Tree)
• View of Alexander Street, Gastown c.1911 (caption says Water Street, but it is behind buildings at right)
• View of Water Street from jct. Cordova Street, c.1890
• View of Water Street from Maple Tree Square, 1887 (Sunnyside Hotel at right)
• View of Cordova Street from above intersection of Carrall; July 1, 1890 Dominion Day celebrations
• View of Cordova Street from above intersection of Cambie; c.1900 when this was still the city's principal shopping district