We’re setting out on an offbeat tour of Vancouver and want you to come along! Over the next several weeks self-proclaimed historian, writer, and Vancouver resident, David Look will use a Lonely Planet Vancouver guidebook published in 1999 to embark on a disjointed adventure around town.
Are the remnants of rum running gangsters still in the West End? Can Yaletown still hold its own as an up and coming dining destination? Are there any singing monks left in Gastown? Does the Irish Heather still serve the most pints of Guinness in the Lower Mainland? Is Vancouver a better place now than it was then? Or has it all gone downhill since Steve Francis refused to play for the Grizzlies, David Duchovny complained about the rain, and the non-event that was Y2K forced us into a new millennium without Planet Hollywood?
Look for instalments of this informative, and somewhat ridiculous, essay on Vancouver’s history every Throwback Thursday, where David and his crease-covered friend relive the past, meditate on the present, and theorize the future. With each neighbourhood jaunt you’ll witness a city that never stops changing, but in some respects is always the same, while the staff of local businesses, tourists, and random weirdos on the street have their say about what makes - and made - Vancouver Awesome.
