Yaletown
Encyclopedia
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,...
approximately bordered by False Creek
False Creek
False Creek is a short inlet in the heart of Vancouver. It separates downtown from the rest of the city. It was named by George Henry Richards during his Hydrographic survey of 1856-63. Science World is located at its eastern end and the Burrard Street Bridge crosses its western end. False Creek is...
, Robson, and Homer Streets. Formerly a heavy industrial area dominated by warehouses and rail yards, since the Expo 86
Expo 86
The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, or simply Expo '86, was a World's Fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from Friday, May 2 until Monday, October 13, 1986...
, it has been transformed into one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods in the city. The marinas, parks, high rise apartment blocks, and converted heritage buildings constitute one of the most significant urban regeneration projects in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
History
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
had a huge influence on the shaping of Yaletown. By the 1880s, the line had reached Yale
Yale, British Columbia
Yale is an unincorporated town in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was founded in 1848 by the Hudson's Bay Company as Fort Yale by Ovid Allard, the appointed manager of the new post, who named it after his superior, James Murray Yale, then Chief Factor of the Columbia District...
, a then-large town and the former centre of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush
Fraser Canyon Gold Rush
The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River. This was a few miles upstream from the Thompson's confluence with the Fraser River at present-day Lytton...
150 or so miles (240 km) to the east which served as the location of the company repair shops, and housed a sizeable rail worker population. As the line was extended to Vancouver, these Yale residents followed it to the city, and settled in modest housing close to the yards which was soon dubbed Yaletown.
As the years progressed, the proximity of False Creek and the railway meant that Yaletown became heavily industrial. Many factories, rail buildings and warehouses were built, many of which survive to this day.
After the real-estate boom and bust cycles of the 20th century, the area became shoddy and contaminated, and was bought up by the city. After the 1986 World's Fair (Expo 86), held on neighbouring former-industrial land, the whole area became ripe for development. The site was sold to a Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
-based developer Li Ka-Shing, setting in motion the redevelopment process which continues to this day.
Planning and architecture
While little or no original housing from the 19th century survives, several older buildings from the industrial days still exist. Hamilton Street and Mainland Street are the most significant, comprising two intact streetscapes from that era. They are lined with handsome brick warehouses built on rail platforms, many with cantilevered canopies. These have been converted into loft style apartments and offices, with boutique stores, bars and restaurants at the ground level. During the latter years of the dot com boom
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
, these streets housed Vancouver's "multimedia gulch" similar to the SOMA area of San Francisco.
Roundhouse
A roundhouse is a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to turntables...
has been converted into the Roundhouse Community Centre which uses the old engine turntable as a small outdoor amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
. In another tribute to the rail history of the area, it also houses Engine 374, which pulled the first passenger train into Vancouver in 1887.
Spilling around the central core of Hamilton and Mainland Streets, most other architecture in Yaletown is newly built on the old derelict yards, the vast majority in a uniform glass and concrete high-rise style. Most of these buildings are apartment blocks.
Transportation
The Aquabus and False Creek FerriesFalse Creek Ferries
False Creek Ferries, a division of Granville Island Ferries Ltd, is a privately owned and operated ferry service that operates on False Creek near downtown Vancouver, Canada...
provide passenger service from Yaletown to various stops around False Creek, including Granville Island
Granville Island
Granville Island is a peninsula and shopping district in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is located in False Creek directly across from Downtown Vancouver's peninsula, under the south end of the Granville Street Bridge....
and Science World
Science World
Science World may refer to:*Science World , a magazine for children grades 6–10 published by Scholastic Corporation*ScienceWorld, a science website*Science World at Telus World of Science, a science centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...
. Yaletown is served by the Yaletown-Roundhouse
Yaletown-Roundhouse Station
Yaletown–Roundhouse Station is a SkyTrain station on the Canada Line in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.-Location:The station is located on Davie Street at Mainland Street, approximately 80 metres northwest of Pacific Boulevard. The station is located 17 metres underground...
SkyTrain station of the Canada Line
Canada Line
Canada Line is a rapid transit line in the Metro Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada. Opened in August 2009, it is the third line in TransLink's SkyTrain metro network, servicing Vancouver, Richmond, and the Vancouver International Airport...
.
Education
The Yaletown waterfront is also home to Elsie Roy Elementary SchoolElsie Roy Elementary School
Elsie Roy Elementary is a public elementary school in Vancouver part of School District 39 Vancouver. It's located along the waterfront of Yaletown, and is the first new elementary school to be opened in an inner-city Vancouver neighbourhood since 1975....
, the first new elementary school to be opened in an inner-city Vancouver neighbourhood since 1975. Yaletown is also home to a number of English language schools
ESL
ESL is a common abbreviation for English as a Second Language, see English language learning and teaching.ESL may also refer to:-Companies:...
.