Welcome to the West End! To begin our tour, we’ll be visiting the Davie Village. This neighbourhood has been an accepting place and a safe haven for Vancouver’s queer folk for many years. It’s home to the Vancouver Pride Society, Qmunity, and the West End Business Improvement Association. (Fun Fact: A lady that lived down the street from me, Lyn, was in the WEBIA and is the reason that the defining street lamp flags of the West End exist! There’s purple for Davie Street, green for Robson Street, and blue for Denman Street. You may spot some of these flags in the photos to come.) Written and Shot byEsmé D.
The Sandman Hotel
A community garden on Davie Street.
Many community amenities are painted pink on Davie Street, such as bus stops, benches, and trash cans.
Davie St.
Apartment buildings just off Davie St.
Colourful murals painted on the outside of businesses
Here we come to the famous Rainbow Crossing! Canada’s first permanent rainbow crosswalk was unveiled at the intersection of Davie and Bute on Monday, July 29th 2013 to kick off the Pride season of that year.
The Rainbow Crossing
Mary's Diner
Beautiful Tree Root
People Crossing the Rainbow
Closeup of the Rainbow Crossing
XYYVR Gay Bar
Monument in Jim Deva Plaza
The Jim Deva Plaza, across from the Rainbow Crossing
Now we slip off of Davie Street and into the residential blocks, which are very calm and tranquil compared to bustling Davie.
Traffic calming and garden spaces are well-implemented into the residential West End
Houses downtown? Who would’ve guessed?
That’s where my older brother lives!
Comox Street
Towers looming over little apartments
The Lauren on Comox
More apartments! Wow!
A courtyard between Comox and Nelson streets
A charming three storey walk-up
Fire Hall No. 6 West End
Small businesses on Nicola street
Houses with bushes in full bloom
Barclay Manor (with the Revolving Restaurant lurking over its shoulder)
Friends for Life Society beside Barclay Manor
The Roedde House Museum
My dad in the courtyard between Barclay Manor and the Roedde House
So many types of architecture so close together!
Welcome to Robson Street! The western end of this busy road, is mainly made up of hotels and restaurants, but the eastern end is basically an outdoor mall, packed with small and big name brands and boutiques.
Consulate General of The Republic of Indonesia on Alberni street
Très moderne architecture near Georgia street, the border between the West End and Coal Harbour
Weird little businesses near Denman street
Welcome to Denman Street! This road is a smoothie of all kinds of cuisines with the great assortment of restaurants that its sidewalks host. It is a very busy street, especially since it leads directly down to the beach. King George Secondary School and the Joe Fortes library are also on Denman Street.
The Blind Sparrow and Motomachi Shokudo Ramen.. Just a taste of what Denman Street has to offer for meals
Vancity! Those rainbow stripes are not just for pride month, they are a year-round deal.
The Joe Fortes Library! Named after the beloved and heroic English Bay lifeguard of the early 1900s.
A high school downtown?? Now this is getting crazy.
Left: An old sign on what used to be a movie theatre but has not been converted into small restaurants. Right: Intersection of Denman St, Davie St and Beach Ave.
Tourists love to come and pose by these laughing statues.
We’ve come to our last major street: Beach Avenue! This lovely boulevard follows the sealine of English bay and has endless beautiful views. Watching over the waves are famous buildings such as Eugenia Place and the Sylvia Hotel. Across the water, Kitsilano and the North Shore Mountains can be seen. English Bay is host of the Celebration of Light fireworks in July and the Polar Dip in January.
Eugenia Place Left: October 10th, 2016 Right: June 3rd, 2016 They removed the tree!!!
Screwdriver of Eugenia Place
The sprawling English Bay
The Sylvia Hotel! This building was the tallest in The West End from 1912-1957.
The entrance to the Sylvia
An old photograph of English Bay and the Sylvia Hotel, located in the lobby of the Sylvia
Bathroom mini-tour time! The women's bathroom in the Sylvia Hotel is very nice. It has big windows that are covered by ivy, which creates cool shadows.
Architecture by English Bay
The border between the West End and Stanley Park
And that concludes our tour! Thank you for coming along and I hope you enjoyed viewing the many wonderful aspects of this neighbourhood. :) Narrated and shot by Esmé D.