Downtown Vancouver
Downtown Vancouver | |
---|---|
Neighbourhood of Vancouver | |
Downtown | |
Skyscrapers of Vancouver's Financial District, taken from Harbour Centre tower. | |
Location of Downtown Vancouver shown in red. | |
Coordinates: 49°17′03″N 123°07′16″W / 49.28417°N 123.12111°W / 49.28417; -123.12111Coordinates: 49°17′03″N 123°07′16″W / 49.28417°N 123.12111°W / 49.28417; -123.12111 | |
Country | Canada |
Province | British Columbia |
City | Vancouver |
Named for | Central Business District |
Communities | List of Communities
|
Area | |
• Total | 3.75 km2 (1.448 sq mi) |
Population | |
• Total | 54,690[1] |
• Density | 11,577/km2 (29,983/sq mi) |
Website | vancouver.ca/community_profiles/downtown/index.htm |
Downtown Vancouver is the southeastern portion of the peninsula in the north-central part of the City of Vancouver. It is the main city centre and central business district of the city, Metro Vancouver, and the Lower Mainland regions.
Contents
1 Geography
2 Architecture
2.1 Sports
3 Transportation
4 References
5 External links
Geography
The downtown area is generally considered to be bounded by Burrard Inlet to the north, Stanley Park and the West End to the west, False Creek to the south, and the Downtown Eastside to the east. Most sources include the full downtown peninsula (adding the West End neighbourhood and Stanley Park) as downtown Vancouver, but the City of Vancouver defines them as separate neighbourhoods.
Besides the readily identifiable office towers of the financial and central business districts, Downtown Vancouver also includes residential neighbourhoods in the form of high-rise apartment and condominiums, in Yaletown and Coal Harbour. Other downtown neighbourhoods include the Granville Mall and Entertainment District, Downtown's South, Gastown, Japantown, and Chinatown.
Architecture
The downtown area includes most of the remaining historic buildings and many of the larger notable buildings in the region.
Sports
There are two major sporting facilities in the downtown core, Rogers Arena (formerly GM Place) and BC Place Stadium. The NHL's Vancouver Canucks play at Rogers Arena, while the CFL's BC Lions and the MLS's Vancouver Whitecaps FC use the neighbouring BC Place Stadium. SkyTrain Stadium-Chinatown station provides easy rapid transit access to the district.
Transportation
The presence of water on three sides limits access to downtown Vancouver. There are four major bridges: the Lions Gate Bridge, connecting to the North Shore municipalities and the Trans Canada Highway, the Burrard Street Bridge, Cambie Street Bridge, and Granville Street Bridge provides access to the commercial and residential areas south of False Creek.
The historic Waterfront station is the principal transit hub for the downtown core. There are six subway stations located in downtown Vancouver running on two SkyTrain lines: the Expo Line and Canada Line. The Expo Line travels from Waterfront station at the foot of the central harbor and through Dunsmuir Tunnel to the east. The Canada Line travels from Waterfront station and tunnels south under Granville Street and Davie Street, linking downtown to central Richmond and Vancouver International Airport. SeaBus is a passenger-only ferry that connects from Waterfront station to the North Shore in 10–12 minutes. The West Coast Express commuter rail system travels from Waterfront station to the eastern suburbs and exurbs. Terminals are also available near Waterfront station for float planes and helicopters.
Most north-south Vancouver bus routes serve Downtown Vancouver, in addition to suburban routes from the North Shore and Burnaby. The bus rapid transit line 98 B-Line had eight stops in the downtown core, primarily along Seymour Street and Burrard Street. This service was replaced on August 17, 2009 by SkyTrain's Canada Line. The 95 B-Line started service in December 2016 in conjunction with the opening of the Evergreen Extension, connecting downtown to Simon Fraser University along Hastings Street.
There are two private passenger water taxi operators (False Creek Ferries and The Aquabus), providing service between several downtown neighbourhoods, False Creek, and Granville Island.
The city is planning to extend the downtown streetcar from its current route of Granville Island to the Main Street SkyTrain station, with future plans extending it to Chinatown and then to Stanley Park.
References
^ "Vancouver Neighbourhood Population Census 2011". City of Vancouver. Retrieved November 18, 2012..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Downtown Vancouver. |
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Vancouver/City Centre. |
- City of Vancouver Community Profiles: Downtown
Downtown page, Vancouver Then and Now website, comparisons of old photos with modern locations