The West End and Davie: How a City Got Dense by Accident
Vancouver's smallest peninsula is the most quoted residential density case study in North America. Two hundred and twenty high-rises in fifteen years, and a civil-rights district built in the same blocks at the same time.
4.69|70 minutes|3.6 km|8 Stops
Start
Davie and Burrard: The Threshold
1
Davie and Burrard: The Threshold
The corner where both stories begin. Look west down Davie at the 1960s and 1970s RM-3 towers and one block north to St Paul's Hospital.
2
St Paul's Hospital: The Medical Record
Sisters of Providence 1894 founding, the 1912 Burrard Building heritage façade, and the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS where Dr Julio Montaner presented HAART to the world in 1996.
3
Davie and Bute: The Rainbow Crosswalks
Canada's first permanent rainbow crosswalks, installed 29 July 2013, and Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium at 1238 Davie, plaintiff in Little Sisters v Canada.
4
Jim Deva Plaza: The Civic Monument
Vancouver's first pavement-to-plaza conversion, opened 28 July 2016, named for Jim Deva, co-founder of Little Sister's and lead plaintiff in Little Sisters v Canada.
5
Mole Hill: The Block the High-Rises Did Not Get
Twenty-eight Victorian and Edwardian houses built 1888 to 1908, the only surviving pre-WWI residential block in the West End, converted to non-market affordable housing 1999 to 2003.
6
Robson at Bidwell: The Spine of Vancouverism
The West End's commercial spine and the precursor to every 1990s and 2000s podium retail strip in False Creek and Coal Harbour. Larry Beasley codified what worked here.
7
English Bay at Denman and Davie: The Public Bookend
The public-amenity edge that made the West End's density tolerable. The Sylvia Hotel (1912) north along Beach Avenue, the bandstand, and the beach.
8
Joe Fortes Memorial Fountain: The Closer
Charles Marega's drinking fountain in Alexandra Park, dedicated 24 June 1927 to Joseph Seraphim Fortes (1863 to 1922), Vancouver's first official lifeguard.
Best Time to Visit
Weekday late morning. Tuesday through Thursday, ten to noon. The Davie corridor is busy from late afternoon onward, particularly Fridays and weekends in summer. The plaza and the fountain are quietest in the morning. Heritage façades at Saint Paul's and Mole Hill are readable in all weather. The English Bay stop benefits from clear weather for the sightlines north to the Sylvia Hotel and west across the water.
Pro Tips
- •Start at the Burrard SkyTrain station and walk two blocks south to the Davie and Burrard corner. The closing stop is one block from the Davie and Denman bus terminus
- •Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium at 1238 Davie is an active retail bookstore. You can step inside if you want; the narration does not require it
- •Jim Deva Plaza hosts community events most summer weekends. The plaza is busiest from late morning onward. Early morning is the quietest time to read the megaphone sculpture
- •Mole Hill is non-market affordable housing with active tenants. Photograph the block from the public sidewalk on Pendrell. Do not approach windows or front porches
- •The Sylvia Hotel at 1154 Gilford has a public ground-floor café and bar. If you want to extend the tour after the fountain, walk back along Beach Avenue and step inside
- •Larry Beasley's book Vancouverism (UBC Press, 2019) is the most accessible primary source on the planning regime named at Stop 6. John Punter's The Vancouver Achievement (UBC Press, 2003) is the academic reference
Safety & Precautions
- Burrard Street north of Davie is a major arterial. Stand back from the curb at the Saint Paul's stop; the emergency-room entrance is active twenty-four hours and ambulances enter from Burrard
- The Davie and Bute intersection is a signalised crossing with heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic on summer evenings. Cross with the light
- Jim Deva Plaza is a public space with twenty-four-hour access. The plaza occasionally hosts protest events; if a gathering is in progress, observe from the perimeter
- Beach Avenue between Denman and Alexandra Park has a separated bicycle lane on the seawall. Stand on the pedestrian side of the divider, not the bike lane
- Alexandra Park is open at all hours but the fountain inscription is most legible in daylight
Gallery
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