Up to Vancouver - August 2nd-6th 2006

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August 6th 2006: Chinatown and Gastown


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Click on images below to enlarge:
Chinatown and Vicinity
A main post office.  Fairly dignified, though not as impressive as, say,
this
one in New York.
Chinatown's main gates.
Inside Chinatown looking out through the main gates.
The Sam Kee Building.  See the seam dividing the building -about six
feet wide- with the neighboring building?  The neighboring building is
new.  The Sam Kee Building is the world's thinnest building.  The Same
Kee company built it to spite the city after the city confiscated all
the other land on the lot.
A main post office. Fairly dignified, though not as impressive as, say, this one in New York.
Chinatown's main gates.
Inside Chinatown looking out through the main gates.
The Sam Kee Building. See the seam dividing the building -about six feet wide- with the neighboring building? The neighboring building is new. The Sam Kee Building is the world's thinnest building. The Same Kee company built it to spite the city after the city confiscated all the other land on the lot.
There was a free calligraphy exhibit at some building in Chinatown.  This 
is a sample of the displays.  To get a sense of scale, each symbol in the 
hanging central banners are about one foot tall.  Hangings on the wall are 
the size of posters.
The Chinese Cultural Centre.  Due to the Chinatown festival, entrance
was free.  Inside was an photo timeline of the immigration of Chinese to
Vancouver and the evolution of Chinatown.  Some panels were neat.  I
didn't spend much time there.
The Chin Wing Chun Society building seems out of place.
One of the larger (i.e., wider and with more vehicles) streets in
Chinatown.
There was a free calligraphy exhibit at some building in Chinatown. This is a sample of the displays. To get a sense of scale, each symbol in the hanging central banners are about one foot tall. Hangings on the wall are the size of posters.
The Chinese Cultural Centre. Due to the Chinatown festival, entrance was free. Inside was an photo timeline of the immigration of Chinese to Vancouver and the evolution of Chinatown. Some panels were neat. I didn't spend much time there.
The Chin Wing Chun Society building seems out of place.
One of the larger (i.e., wider and with more vehicles) streets in Chinatown.
Another example of a Chinatown street.
A sample of the many wares at one of Chinatown's vendors.
The arches near Chinatown's central square.  The Chinese park and garden 
border the square.
The international building (i.e., food court and movie theater) near
Chinatown.  It was clear this mall was for tourists and/or white people
who didn't feel comfortable eating in Chinatown itself.
Another example of a Chinatown street.
A sample of the many wares at one of Chinatown's vendors.
The arches near Chinatown's central square. The Chinese park and garden border the square.
The international building (i.e., food court and movie theater) near Chinatown. It was clear this mall was for tourists and/or white people who didn't feel comfortable eating in Chinatown itself.
A fancy bank by the edge of Chinatown.
Vancouver's first public library, apparently created by a donation from
Carnegie.
A fancy bank by the edge of Chinatown.
Vancouver's first public library, apparently created by a donation from Carnegie.
Chinese Park (Casual)
A hidden gazebo and many lily pads.
Turtles.
Turtles again.  I love the look of the one on the left.
A hidden gazebo and many lily pads.
Turtles.
Turtles again. I love the look of the one on the left.
Classical (Formal) Chinese Garden (Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden)
The pavilion that serves as the focal point of the garden.
The tour guide claimed this rock resembled a famous historical figure
but I don't remember who.
Some of the garden's foliage.
A view back toward the garden's entrance.  The previously photographed
rock is on the right; the previously photographed foliage is on the
left; the previously photographed tall pavilion is off the left side of
the picture.
The pavilion that serves as the focal point of the garden.
The tour guide claimed this rock resembled a famous historical figure but I don't remember who.
Some of the garden's foliage.
A view back toward the garden's entrance. The previously photographed rock is on the right; the previously photographed foliage is on the left; the previously photographed tall pavilion is off the left side of the picture.
I like how the arch accentuates the window's own interior framing.
Another window with nice internal framing.  I also enjoy the way the plant 
shadows play on the wall.
Yet another window with interesting framing.  I only started taking 
pictures of these near the end of my explorations of the garden.  I    
wish I'd have been doing it all along -- then I'd have an impressive 
collection of such windows.  According to the brochure I picked up, there
are 43 in the garden!
A final internally framed window, framed with palm trees!
I like how the arch accentuates the window's own interior framing.
Another window with nice internal framing. I also enjoy the way the plant shadows play on the wall.
Yet another window with interesting framing. I only started taking pictures of these near the end of my explorations of the garden. I wish I'd have been doing it all along -- then I'd have an impressive collection of such windows. According to the brochure I picked up, there are 43 in the garden!
A final internally framed window, framed with palm trees!
Food in Chinatown
My lunch from a popular steam table place.  I was the only English speaker 
in the restaurant.  (There were two other white people but both seemed 
like regulars and spoke Chinese.)  The food didn't excite me.
My dessert: shaved (milk) ice.  I bought this at a booth at the Chinatown
Festival.  It really is shaved: they push a huge chunk of ice against a 
apparatus that looks more appropriate for a machine shop.  The result is 
amazingly light and airy ice, not dissimilar from snow, if snow came in 
ribbons.
My lunch from a popular steam table place. I was the only English speaker in the restaurant. (There were two other white people but both seemed like regulars and spoke Chinese.) The food didn't excite me.
My dessert: shaved (milk) ice. I bought this at a booth at the Chinatown Festival. It really is shaved: they push a huge chunk of ice against a apparatus that looks more appropriate for a machine shop. The result is amazingly light and airy ice, not dissimilar from snow, if snow came in ribbons.
Gastown (Historic District)
Reminds me of New York's flatiron building.
What a nickname!  Still, they named the town after him...
The feel of the gastown as it is today.
A neat fountain.  But why should water come out of a fish's mouth?
Reminds me of New York's flatiron building.
What a nickname! Still, they named the town after him...
The feel of the gastown as it is today.
A neat fountain. But why should water come out of a fish's mouth?
Gastown's famous steam clock, the world's first.  It plays a tune when
it releases steam (every fifteen minutes).  It was originally built not
as a novelty or tourist attraction but as an apparatus to release the
excess steam that built up in the underground steam piping system.
The Sinclair Centre.  At first I thought I had spotted a church.  I
hadn't seen many religious buildings thus far in Vancouver.  It turns
out it's currently a shopping mall.  And it wasn't even religious before
it became part of the mall -- it used to be a post office.
Ah, the universally recognizable architectural style that indicates a
bank.  This building used to be the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
but now is the home to Birks, a major Canadian jewelry retailer.
Gastown's famous steam clock, the world's first. It plays a tune when it releases steam (every fifteen minutes). It was originally built not as a novelty or tourist attraction but as an apparatus to release the excess steam that built up in the underground steam piping system.
The Sinclair Centre. At first I thought I had spotted a church. I hadn't seen many religious buildings thus far in Vancouver. It turns out it's currently a shopping mall. And it wasn't even religious before it became part of the mall -- it used to be a post office.
Ah, the universally recognizable architectural style that indicates a bank. This building used to be the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce but now is the home to Birks, a major Canadian jewelry retailer.