HomeDiagramsDatabaseMapsForum About
     

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Regional Sections > Canada > Alberta & British Columbia > Vancouver > Arts, Culture & Entertainment


Reply

 
Thread Tools Display Modes
     
     
  #41  
Old Posted Feb 13, 2009, 3:52 AM
CameronT120's Avatar
CameronT120 CameronT120 is offline
Perpetual I.A.
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: North Vancouver
Posts: 88
The theatre venue looks like it will be a good one. I really miss the old days of the Gandy Dancer, The Castle, Shaggy Horse, Graceland and the old Luv-a-fair (back when it was mostly gay and drag queens).
__________________
Heredity is a strong factor, even in architecture. Necessity first mothered invention. Now invention has little ones of her own, and they look just like grandma. - E.B.White
The physician can bury his mistakes, but the architect can only advise his clients to plant vines.- Frank Lloyd Wright
http://northvancouvermodern.blogspot.com/
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #42  
Old Posted Mar 19, 2009, 4:38 AM
jlousa's Avatar
jlousa jlousa is offline
Ferris Wheel Hater
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 8,371
Meeting for the relocation proposal is next week, staff state they would normally recommend the proposal due to a good history by the operator, but due to a very large opposition by the immediate residents they have decided to remain neutral in their recommendation to council.

Figure this one could go either way, I'd like to think it'll pass but with the current new council it's still to early to know how'll they vote. I would've been less worried with the old council.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #43  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2009, 3:32 PM
Locked In's Avatar
Locked In Locked In is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Vancouver
Posts: 1,974
Quote:
The end of The Odyssey?
April 10, 2009
by geoff

Yesterday’s council vote to deny The Odyssey, one of Vancouver’s most important gay nightclubs, the right to relocate to 911 Denman St., was much closer than the 10-1 vote implies. (See the report at item 1 here.)

With the club’s lease at its Howe St. location due to terminate April 30, there is almost no time for the owners to find suitable new premises, although council directed staff to make every effort to do so. With the door closed on the new site on Denman, it could be the end of The Odyssey.

As several councillors noted, this was one of the most balanced and difficult debates this council has yet experienced, with passionate, legitimate and overwhelmingly respectful presentations on both sides.

During debate on the motion to reject, Councillor Suzanne Anton said she agreed with my analysis but arrived at an opposite conclusion, a sign of the difficult choice councillors faced. (She ultimately was the sole supporter of the proposed move.)

I concede that I started the hearing leaning to approval as well, but found myself increasingly swayed by the representations of Denman neighbours, who were overwhelmingly opposed. Supporters were overwhelmingly from outside the neighbourhood. Council heard more than 40 speakers, including a memorable juxtaposition of drag queen Joan E. (for the Odyssey) with a prim, tartan-clad Scots grannie (against).

It was a collision of two communities. On the one hand, council heard from The Odyssey’s patrons, the loyal supporters of a business that has operated successfully for more than 20 years with an exemplary record of good management and community relations. On the other hand, we heard from dozens of residents of the Denman community, including many gay men who themselves were Odyssey patrons, but didn’t believe the club was a good fit in the more residential setting of the 900-block of Denman.

Given the strong representations by gay men on both sides, the issue was more about the suitability of the location for a night club than it was about an institution in the gay community.

Here the Odyssey took a blow from the Vancouver Police Dept., which sang the praises of the club’s management, but predicted serious, continuing conflict with the community at the new location, on the second floor of a former movie theatre beside dense residential development. It was clear the Odyssey needed six-day a week operation with late, late hours to meet its patrons’ expectations, a recipe for continued friction with neighbours.

Why must The Odyssey move? The city owns the current location and is tearing the building down to create supported housing, a desperately-needed addition to community services. The fate of the site was sealed about a year ago as funding became available.

A simple night club approval? Not really. Just Google “gay village decline” and you’ll see that many cities are facing conflict over the future of their gay communities.

The number of gay nightclubs in our town is declining steadily. There are virtually no suitable locations available within the gay-friendly and safe atmosphere of the Davie Village. Even elsewhere in the downtown core, an area the Odyssey management believes is less suitable, there is a shortage of new club locations. Let’s hope this Odyssey is not over.
Source: Geoff Meggs Blog
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #44  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2009, 6:13 PM
rather_draconian rather_draconian is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 192
Yet another nail driven into the coffin of Vancouver's nightlife.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #45  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2009, 7:33 PM
SpongeG's Avatar
SpongeG SpongeG is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Coquitlam
Posts: 39,083
ah well - maybe they could move to granville? I don't know how welcome they would be there
__________________
belowitall
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #46  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2009, 8:31 PM
dreambrother808 dreambrother808 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Vancouver
Posts: 3,998
this city is one big fucking ridiculous old folks home.

so we lose the best gay bar in town, thanks granny et al.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #47  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2009, 9:31 PM
mr.x's Avatar
mr.x mr.x is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Stockholm
Posts: 12,805
I couldn't help but laugh at this comment at CBC:

Quote:
Denman street isn't downtown.

It's rather unfortunate NIMBY's won this round. According to a CBC article, the City will help the club find a new home. I've always wondered what was happening at the northwest corner of Burrard and Davie, for some reason it's now a community garden?


Quote:
classic vancouver attitude -
sure we want culture, but we want to have pure quiet form 11pm on....oh and lets put housing everywhere so that is is nowhere where one is even allowed to make noise in the whole downtown.

If you live downtown, quiet is not to be expected.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #48  
Old Posted Apr 13, 2009, 4:38 AM
paradigm4 paradigm4 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Surrey, BC
Posts: 688
Quote:
Originally Posted by mr.x View Post
I've always wondered what was happening at the northwest corner of Burrard and Davie, for some reason it's now a community garden?
A tower proposal. The City was quietly working with the developer to incorporate a replacement building for The Centre (the glbt community centre), currently located at Bute and Davie. I think it fell through, or is on indefinite hold, due to the economy.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #49  
Old Posted Apr 13, 2009, 8:53 PM
SpongeG's Avatar
SpongeG SpongeG is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Coquitlam
Posts: 39,083
they also have to wait a few years since it was a gas station site - is it 5 years or 8 or something they have to let the land sit?
__________________
belowitall
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #50  
Old Posted Apr 14, 2009, 3:45 AM
jlousa's Avatar
jlousa jlousa is offline
Ferris Wheel Hater
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 8,371
As far as I know there is no time limit, only until the readings from the site are in an acceptable range, could be less then that a few years could be longer. In fact you can remove all soil from the site and start building right away, the problem is again as far as I know the only place that can treat the soil offsite is in Alberta.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #51  
Old Posted Apr 14, 2009, 3:53 AM
osirisboy's Avatar
osirisboy osirisboy is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Vancouver BC
Posts: 6,039
i think the denman location was stupid and i am glad that it got voted down
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #52  
Old Posted Sep 3, 2010, 9:20 PM
SpongeG's Avatar
SpongeG SpongeG is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Coquitlam
Posts: 39,083
Drag elite honour end of Odyssey

Popular nightclub will close doors Sept. 5


Standing backstage at the Odyssey nightclub on Howe Street, drag queen Raye Sunshine carefully applied makeup prior to making his final performance as one of the stars of the weekly Faux Girls show.

"Last night at our Frequeency show we were bawling our eyes out," said Sunshine, who alongside fellow drag queen Kamelle Toe, has raised funds for non-profit charities by performing at the Odyssey for eight years. "We've worked here for so long."

This week is the final curtain call for the popular nightclub, which opened more than two decades ago and closes its doors Sept. 5. The city and provincial government are building social housing on the Howe Street property. To mark the closing, the Odyssey held special final events all week.

Long time doorman Dale MacCalder, who's worked at the club for more than 10 years, calls the closure the end of an era.

"There's been a lot of reminiscing this week," said MacCalder. "It's been open for almost 25 years and some people literally grew up here. A lot of people who haven't been here for a long time have been dropping in to say goodbye. It's bittersweet."

The mood in the packed nightclub Wednesday night was indeed bittersweet and almost reminiscent of a wake, with hugs and tears shared between staff members, drag queens and party-goers. And while the hair on each drag queen was piled high, their heels towered even higher as each of the performers dressed in their show-stopping best for the final performances.

The glitter-filled evening was a who's who of the local drag elite, with performances by Joan-E, Carlotta Gurl, Willie Taylor, Iona Whipp and Ann Margaret look-alike Robyn Graves. Joan-E, aka Robert Kaiser, has raised money for charity alongside other performers at the Odyssey for more than 16 years at the weekly Feather Boa show. This Sunday is the final production of Feather Boa, the same night the Odyssey closes its doors.

Longtime gay community organizer Barb Snelgrove was at the Odyssey Wednesday night to pay her respects to staff and performers. Snelgrove, a grand marshal in last month's Pride Parade, said the Odyssey has been a part of her life for 20 years.

"I can't put it into words," said Snelgrove of the club's demise. "Even as a writer I can't find the words to describe what this closure means to me and the community."

Odyssey manager Will McGuire said the sense of loss has been real in final days leading up to the closure.

"When you think of a nightclub, you don't really think of it affecting people like that, but it really has," he said. "I can't imagine what that final night will be like and where we're going to put everybody."

McGuire is not rushing out to find a new job because the club's owners, Calverton Holdings Ltd., want to relocate the Odyssey. McGuire added a suitable location has been found, but couldn't provide any more information because the deal isn't final.


...

Read more: http://www.vancourier.com/news/Drag+...#ixzz0yVI9hK5M
__________________
belowitall
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #53  
Old Posted Oct 15, 2010, 9:50 AM
Islandguy Islandguy is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: North Van
Posts: 6
Quote:
Originally Posted by mr.x View Post
Well it's like the only gay club in the whole city.
Which seems strange considering the size of Vancouver's gay community.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #54  
Old Posted Oct 15, 2010, 10:16 AM
Phil McAvity Phil McAvity is offline
BANNED
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Victoria
Posts: 3,618
^understatement of the year.

"........"has been there as a gay venue since 1985," Levy continues. "We've always catered to the gay community, and it is our intention to be able to provide the same venue very soon."

Just take out the word "gay" in that statement and replace it with "straight" and then try to imagine the public uproar.
Reply With Quote
     
     
End
 
 
Reply

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Regional Sections > Canada > Alberta & British Columbia > Vancouver > Arts, Culture & Entertainment
Forum Jump


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 10:23 AM.

     
SkyscraperPage.com - Archive - Privacy Statement - Top

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.