Downtown Eastside Revitalization

DTES Revitalization

Download:
Some items within
these pages are
provided in PDF
format. To view
them, you will need
the Adobe Acrobat
Reader. Click to
Download.

Gastown

Gastown is the historic cobble-stoned tourist attraction on the western edge of the Downtown Eastside. The area started off in 1867 as the location where Captain John "Gassy Jack" Deighton chose to build a saloon. Other businesses followed, and the area flourished into a townsite. In 1886, Gastown and its adjacent lands were incorporated as the City of Vancouver.

Through the decades, Gastown has gone through both prosperous and hard times. In the late 1960's, the City along with local property owners pooled their resources and efforts into restoring the area, adding touches such as the now distinctive brick streets and vintage-style street lamps. Many private developers became involved with renovating and preserving the area's heritage buildings. In 1971 the Province of B.C. designated both Gastown and Chinatown as historic districts. Today, Gastown is a popular area for tourists and is undergoing a resurgence with new businesses and residential units being added to the neighbourhood.

Gastown Revitalization

The Gastown Heritage Management Plan, a City of Vancouver initiative approved by City Council, will create a strong heritage conservation plan with administrative and financial incentives to facilitate building renovation.

Property owners and residents are developing a plan to restore Blood Alley, an important public space, as a focal point for the community. Several major community sponsored public events in the last year have attracted thousands of people to the area to celebrate Chinese New Year, see local fashion and listen to the Bach Choir. Other projects include renovation and improved security in the Gastown Parkade; redevelopment of the Cordova Parkade to accommodate the West Coast Historical Experience, and a proposed major tourist attraction portraying the authentic history of inner city neighbourhoods. Re-paving Water Street with distinctive red bricks has also helped to rejuvenate Gastown: this investment by the Vancouver Agreement partners has sparked the return of the Steamworks Tour de Gastown annual cycle race, cancelled nine years ago because the road was too uneven and unsafe for cyclists.

In 2007, the City of Vancouver submitted an application to the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada for the consideration of Vancouver's Gastown as a National Historic Site of Canada. Gastown was officially designated as a National Historic Site of Canada in April 2009. Read the application package

(2.64 MB).

More info:

Neighbourhoods

Gastown

Gastown Revitalization

More info: