Downtown West Georgia Street was once auto dealership row
From the Sun today -
- so when you look at auto dealers on No. 3 Rd or elsewhere on a main strip, that can certainly change... Quote:
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Most of the big auto dealers on No. 3 Rd disappeared a while ago, when the automall opened (Dennison Chev-Olds, Richport Ford, Richmond Plymouth-Chrysler).
West Broadway is another vanished auto row: Dueck, Plimley, Bow-Mac. |
The strip of auto dealerships that speckle Burrard, from Broadway to Cornwall are all pretty much in the exotic car category. So in that case I wouldn't care if things didn't change. I love looking through the windows of those places.
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Georgia and Burrard ...... back when
Does anyone remember when the NW corner of Georgia and Burrard, where the Royal Centre now stands, was a gas station? There was a big clock over it shaped like a bird. It's very noticeable in pre-Royal Centre photos.
Despite wanting taller towers on some CBD locations, as I and many others do, that hokey old clock and gas station with its small-town "charm" is nevertheless a milestone to show how far Vancouver has come from not-so-very-long ago. |
Based upon this article, it seems that up to the 1970's Georgia was very much a place for auto dealerships to be located. Around this time, relocation of these dealerships occurred to Broadway -- roughly between Kingsway and Granville, and 1970's-1990's.
For example, the Zephyr Ford referred to in Alyn's article ultimately moved to 310 West Broadway (on the site of the now closed Office Depot 1992-2010/No Frills 2011-). BOWMAC on Broadway, as well, anchored this auto strip more to the west. A picture I found in Donald Gutstein's Vancouver Ltd. book shows the BOWMAC dealership on Burrard on the site of the current SkyTrain station: http://images52.fotki.com/v1568/phot...ocentre-vi.jpg Source: Donald Gutstein, Vancouver Ltd., 1975 |
Cool pic.
Thanks. I wonder if the SkyTrain Station would ever be built on top of as a transit oriented development? I think it's called Discovery Park/Square - not sure if it really is a CoV park, though. |
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The same thing is happening just across Lions Gate Bridge on Marine Drive now. It was all auto dealers before the auto mall "island" was built, now the last remaining lots are being converted to condos at a furious pace (although only five story woodframes).
I'm constantly surprised this development is happening now, after the housing crash, when nothing happened during the boom. |
The boom was all about high rise high end concrete construction, much of what you are seeing now is more about proper housing that middle class vancouverites can "afford".
And I agree, I sure hope they dont develop on top of Burrard station, it's by far my favourite station in the city. Not only is it a nice park if you go west, but you get a great view of the office towers as you come out looking east. Anyway love what the automalls have done, clearing up prime development land and concentrating the autodealerships in less conspicuious places. Really a best of both worlds situation. |
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No wonder you have such different cognative images of Vancouver, it would be hard not to, Vancouver must have been a very different place to you growing up than it was to me. |
lengthening shadows ......
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!! Oh no .... I've finally given my age bracket away .... but yes. Vancouver during my very early years was just a "large small town" with a few biggish buildings in it (Hotel Van, Marine Bldg, etc) It wasn't until I was three years old and went to San Francisco with my mom that I noticed a difference. Of course I could not articulate it, but the much larger, busier urban environment of SF was something I perceived somehow, even at that age. |
Photos of this would be awesome...
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Did you mean pics of the old service station at Burrard and Georgia? If not, here's some old pics the site anyway :)
1935: http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/4223/a21849.jpg 1970: http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/5259/a21901.jpg |
Very cool, thanks.
I think that must be the end of the old MacBlo Building at the left edge of the 2nd pic. (the tapered profile of which is supposed to look like the trunk of a douglas fir tree). |
Wow that second picture just blew my mind. That is what Burrard and georgia looked like in 1970?? What a difference a few decades makes!
http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=vancouv...57.72,,0,-3.12 |
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Cool link. I wonder how recent those photos are? Anyway, central Vancouver is morphing for all to see. |
I think google street view was done in 2009...?
Anyway, I forgot to credit those old pics: http://vancouver.ca/ArchivesSearch/SearchPhotos.aspx (Vancouver Archives) |
Not sure if this has been posted yet but if you want to see more old picture go here: http://www.historypin.com/profile/vi...er%20Archives/
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I would be cool to see the Broadway and Cambie area undergo the same transformation - Downtown South.
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