Vancouver has many places with great architecture. In this article you will learn about interesting facts about Vancouver’s architecture. More at vancouver-future.
1. Main Street is on the list of the best streets in North America
The legendary street is one of the 15 best in North America. It is rated this way for its huge variety of restaurants, vintage shops and good cycling space.
2. Vancouver has the longest swimming pool in Canada.
“Kitsilano Pool” is a record-breaking beach. This pool is over 137 metres long. It is special for having slides, being accessible to groups with limited mobility and, importantly, open until the 10th of September!
The pool also has great views over the city centre on one side and the mountains on the other. The beach has both a playground and a beach volleyball court.
3. Stanley Park is bigger than Central Park in New York
The park is an interesting natural attraction. It covers almost 410 hectares and is about 10% larger than New York’s famous Central Park. The main feature is that it combines both urban and unique forest space.
The trees are more than two centuries old. There are plenty of playgrounds, beaches and lakes on site. Curiously, the total length of all the paths is 250 kilometres.
There is also a huge aquarium. On a vast area of 9 thousand square kilometres a large number of fish are swimming: dolphins, seals, guinea pigs, reef sharks, octopuses and sea urchins, and there are also African penguins and birds.
4. National Park on the highest spot of the city
The territory of Elizabeth Park covers 50 hectares. The green magnificence is divided into two parts: summer and winter. In summer there are all types of local trees, plants and a garden with a beautiful waterfall. The winter part is located on the top of the mountain and has the shape of a hemisphere. The hemisphere was made of 1.5 thousand bubbles made of plexiglass.
Also in the park there is a golf course, tennis courts, cafes and restaurants.
You need to spend the whole day to see such a huge area of green object.
5. Botanical Park with its stunning illumination
The Botanical Garden has a large number of ornamental plants, including rare specimens. The green oasis has beautiful ponds, small bridges and fountains, as well as various interesting sculptures. A variety of birds and animals can also be found in the garden.
6. The Gastown area is the place where Vancouver was founded
Vancouver was founded in 1867 in what was then the Gassy district, but 19 years later there was a fire and the district was renamed Gastown. There are many historic buildings in the area, which fortunately have been saved. Both locals and tourists love to stroll here.
The main symbols of the area are the steam clock and the statue honouring Gussie Dayton.
7. Vancouver Art Gallery – world renowned art museum
It was built back in 1931 and is located in the heart of the city. There are around 10,000 paintings and photographs, various sculptures and engravings in the museum. The gallery hosts worldwide exhibitions several times a year.
A large part of the museum’s collection consists of works by Emily Carr, which number 160 pieces.
8. Vancouver City Museum – the largest in the country
It is one of the oldest museums in the city; it was built in 1894. But in 2008 it was decided to change the concept of the historical institution altogether.
It was constructed so that the visitors of the museum could imagine the population of different years and “immerse” themselves in the history of the city. The museum vault contains a lot of historical as well as cultural artefacts.
The museum also hosts the unique Macmillan Space Centre, named after the philanthropist and industrialist. For those who decide to visit the space centre, an exciting programme awaits: they can ‘visit’ Mars to save the Martian colony.
There are also various presentations, exhibitions and video games related to space. There is an observatory nearby, where you can admire the sky through a telescope.
9. Over 53,000 archaeological artefacts are held in the Museum of Anthropology
The museum is owned by the University of British Columbia. The museum was founded in 1976. The museum’s collection contains works of art from the ancient inhabitants, the Indians. There’s also a textile exhibition of 6,000 objects, featuring Asian art, the inhabitants of Oceania and Africa, and of course, the Northwest populations of America.
10. Vancouver Maritime Museum – the best in North America
It is the oldest maritime museum in the country. It tells the story of the city’s maritime exploration.
There’s the popular schooner ” St. Roch”, which sailed around the mainland for the first time in history, and the submarine ” Ben Franklin”. There are also various geographical charts of James Cook and models of ships that were made from unique materials such as cardboard, paper and even fine bone. There is also a lot of maritime paraphernalia and an in-house workshop where new ships are made.
11. Science museum with a unique spherical shape
It is one of the most fascinating sights in the city. It is unique in its cute spherical shape. Each visitor can perform many thrilling experiments: blow soap bubbles, play with his or her shadow and outrun it, or visit the inside of a large-format camera. This makes it fun for adults and children alike.
12. Vancouver’s tallest building, Harbour Centre
The height of the skyscraper is 175 meters, it is the tallest in the city. For locals and tourists it is an interesting observation deck, it rotates 360 degrees! Going up on a special glass elevator, you can see the magnificent cityscapes, islands, glaciers, mountains and the Bay of Berrard.
The construction of the library has become one of the largest projects in the history of the Canadian city. The building has 9 floors, an area of 37 square kilometers, more than a million books are stored, and the library has 1200 seats, as well as a good capacity of car parking and racks for cycling fans.
13. Almost 7 million visitors to Vancouver’s main library
14. Enormous marketplace on the island
Granville Island was once a centre for shipbuilding. After the late 1970s, the island became an interesting place for walking. There is not only a market, but also a water park, a playground and other attractions. If you want to stroll around the island, don’t forget to visit the restored streets as well.
15. Canada Place, a unique port
This gorgeous palace is one of Vancouver’s landmarks and was built for Expo 86.
Its roof is made up of five huge sailboats. From the grounds of the complex you can watch the interesting harbour life and seaplanes take off.
The marina can accommodate four cruise liners at a time and also houses hotels, a cinema, a conference centre and a gallery tunnel.
16. Stadium with a huge dome
The sports venue was also built specifically for Expo 86. The arena was opened in 1983. It is unique for its roof dome, which supports 36 steel masts and consists of a large system of hubs and spokes. It can hold up to 200 kilograms of snow per square metre. A special inflatable layer keeps the shape and sheds the snow.
The roof is formed of 3 parts: a fixed fabric over the seats, a glass ring and a translucent fabric over the pitch, which takes just under 20 minutes to open.
