Georgia Street is an east-west street in the cities of Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

 and Burnaby, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Its section in Downtown Vancouver, designated West Georgia Street, serves as one of the primary streets for the financial and central business districts, and is the major transportation corridor connecting downtown Vancouver with the North Shore

North Shore (Greater Vancouver)

"Vancouver's North Shore" is a term commonly used to refer to several areas adjacent to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:*the District of West Vancouver;*the City of North Vancouver;*the District of North Vancouver; and...

 (and eventually Whistler

Whistler, British Columbia

Whistler is a Canadian resort town in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada, approximately north of Vancouver...

) by way of the Lions Gate Bridge. The remainder of the street, known as East Georgia Street between Main Street

Main Street (Vancouver)

Main Street is a major north-south thoroughfare bisecting Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It runs from Waterfront Road by Burrard Inlet in the north, to Kent Avenue alongside the north arm of the Fraser River in the south.-Route:...

 and Boundary Road

Boundary Road (Vancouver/Burnaby)

Boundary Road is one of the most important traffic corridors in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It runs south from Burrard Inlet to the Fraser River separating Vancouver from Burnaby....

 and simply Georgia Street within Burnaby, is more residential in character, and is discontinuous at several points.

West of Seymour Street, the thoroughfare is part of Highway 99. The entire section west of Main Street was previously designated part of Highway 1A, and markers for the '1A' designation can still be seen at certain points.

Route

Starting from its western terminus at Chilco Street by the edge of Stanley Park

Stanley Park

Stanley Park is a 404.9 hectare urban park bordering downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was opened in 1888 by David Oppenheimer in the name of Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor-General of Canada....

, Georgia Street runs southeast, separating the West End

West End, Vancouver

The West End of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is on the downtown peninsula neighbouring Stanley Park and the areas of Yaletown, Coal Harbour and the downtown financial and central business districts....

 from the Coal Harbour

Coal Harbour

Coal Harbour is the name for a section of Burrard Inlet lying between Vancouver, Canada's downtown peninsula and the Brockton Peninsula of Stanley Park...

 neighbourhood. It then runs through the Financial District; landmarks and major skyscrapers along the way include Living Shangri-La (the city's tallest building), Royal Centre

Royal Centre (Vancouver)

Royal Centre is a prominent signature skyscraper complex located at 1055 West Georgia Street in Downtown Vancouver's Financial District. The primary tenant of the complex is RBC's British Columbia headquarters...

, 666 Burrard tower, Hotel Vancouver and upscale shops, the HSBC Canada Building

HSBC Canada Building

The HSBC Canada Building is a 23-storey office tower in Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. It is located at 885 West Georgia Street. It houses HSBC Canada's headquarters. The skyscraper was originally built, on the site of the former Hotel Devonshire, as the headquarters of the Bank of British...

, the Vancouver Art Gallery

Vancouver Art Gallery

The Vancouver Art Gallery is the fifth-largest art gallery in Canada and the largest in Western Canada. It is located at 750 Hornby Street in Vancouver, British Columbia...

, Georgia Hotel, Four Seasons Hotel, Pacific Centre

Pacific Centre

Pacific Centre is a shopping mall located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is operated by Cadillac Fairview Corporation. Based on the number of stores, many of which are underground, it is the largest mall in Downtown Vancouver with over 100 stores and services...

, the Granville Entertainment District, Scotia Tower

Scotia Tower

Scotia Tower is a prominent skyscraper located at 650 West Georgia Street in Downtown Vancouver.The 12th tallest building in the city, it stands at 138 m or 34 storeys tall and completed in 1977 and is a landmark skyscraper near the end of the central business district...

, and the Canada Post

Canada Post

Canada Post Corporation, known more simply as Canada Post , is the Canadian crown corporation which functions as the country's primary postal operator...

 headquarters. The eastern portion of West Georgia features the Theatre District (including Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Queen Elizabeth Theatre

The Queen Elizabeth Theatre is a performing arts venue in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Along with the Orpheum and the Vancouver Playhouse, it is one of three facilities operated by the Vancouver Civic Theatres Department .Formerly the home of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, which...

 and the Centre in Vancouver for the Performing Arts), Library Square (the central branch of the Vancouver Public Library

Vancouver Public Library

The Vancouver Public Library is the third largest public library system in Canada, with more than 2.5 million items in its collections, 22 branches, approximately 375,000 cardholders, and nearly nine million item borrowings annually...

), Rogers Arena, and BC Place. West Georgia's centre lane between Pender Street and Stanley Park is used as a counterflow lane.

East of Cambie Street

Cambie Street

Cambie Street is a street in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is named for Henry John Cambie, chief surveyor of the Canadian Pacific Railway's western division ....

, Georgia Street becomes a one-way street for eastbound traffic, and connects to the Georgia Viaduct

Georgia Viaduct

The Georgia Viaduct is a twinned bridge that acts as a flyover-like overpass in Vancouver, British Columbia. It passes between Rogers Arena and BC Place Stadium and connects Downtown Vancouver with Strathcona.-History:...

 for eastbound travellers only; westbound traffic is handled by Dunsmuir Street and the Dunsmuir Viaduct, located one block to the north.

East Georgia Street begins at the intersection with Main Street in Vancouver's Chinatown, then runs eastwards through Strathcona, Grandview–Woodland and Hastings–Sunrise to Boundary Road. East of the municipal boundary, Georgia Street continues eastwards through Burnaby until its terminus at Grove Avenue in the Lochdale

Lochdale, British Columbia

Lochdale is a single-family neighbourhood in the north-eastern part of Burnaby, quite near Burnaby Mountain. It lies between busy Kensington Ave to the west and Duthie Ave to the east. Busy Hastings Street marks its northern limits while Halifax Street closes the rectangle in the south...

 neighbourhood. This portion of Georgia Street is interrupted at several locations, such as Templeton Secondary School

Templeton Secondary School

Templeton Secondary School is a secondary school in Vancouver. Approximately 1200 students are enrolled there from Grade 8-12. Located in the Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhood on the east side of Vancouver, it has won the SmartAsk competition in 2004 and is now trying for Reach For The Top. It has won...

, Highway 1 and Kensington Park

Kensington Park (Burnaby)

Kensington Park is a large urban park in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. It is located between major roads running along its perimeter - Hastings Street, Curtis Street, Kensington Avenue and Holdom Avenue....

.

History

Georgia Street was named in 1886 after the Strait of Georgia

Strait of Georgia

The Strait of Georgia or the Georgia Strait is a strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is approximately long and varies in width from...

, and ran between Chilco and Beatty Streets. After the first Georgia Viaduct opened in 1915, the street's eastern end was connected to Harris Street, and Harris Street was subsequently renamed East Georgia Street.

The second Georgia Viaduct, opened in 1972, connects to Prior Street at its eastern end instead. As a result, East Georgia Street has been disconnected from West Georgia ever since.

On June 15, 2011 Georgia Street became the focal point of the 2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot

2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot

The 2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot was a public disturbance that broke out in the downtown core of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on Wednesday, June 15, 2011. The riots happened immediately after the conclusion of the Boston Bruins' win over the Vancouver Canucks in game seven of the Stanley...

.