Firehall No.6

Continue up Nicola to Nelson Street. Across us on the left is a lovely example of a well-kept, perhaps 1930's apartment block, one of a fair number of which you'll find in this area. Cross to the opposite side of Nelson, and straight ahead and to our right is 'Firehall No.6.' This beautifully restored brick and stone building was built in 1907 to serve the growing West End community. Designed by Vancouver architect Arthur J. Bird, the firehall claims to be the first in North America built to accommodate motor vehicles. An addition was completed in 1927 and then the whole place was restored in 1988.

Let's keep going up Nicola past the rough-around-the-edges houses on the right...here's one that looks like an artist's studio and another has a chap trying to sell us his bicycle and kitchen table from his balcony. The trees along here are quite unusual, as are many trees in the West End. In fact, most were imported at one time or another - though nobody seems to know exactly when - and you'll find many different series from one street to the next.

Turn right when we get to Comox Street, and perhaps cross to the left side of the street as it provides better views of some of the houses on the right side. Right away there are two early century ones, brightly coloured and in the process of being restored. Again we see a change of tree types here on Comox, with a predominance of plum-coloured leaves and branches stretching across the road. Kids are scampering about, friends are gathering at the youth centre and it certainly has a family-living kind of atmosphere about this part of the street.

As we push past Bidwell on our way down to Denman, still strolling along Comox, we see the result of the 60's building boom in the 'walk-up' apartments on the right. Continue under the canopy of lush foliage at the bottom of the street and make a right turn on Denman Street.

Denman Street

Denman Street is a very popular street for both locals and tourists, night and day and all year-round. It is a quaint shopping and social street dating back to the 1940's (in a state similar to now - Denman has been a business strip since before the 20's) offering a mixture of restaurants (sushi, West Coast, pizza and juice bars), dozens of cafes (coffee, bagels & desserts) and services (dry cleaning, shoe repair, fresh fruit and veggies, bakery, flowers) plus cinema and sports equipment rental. Denman Street derived its named from Admiral Joseph Denman, commander-in-chief of the British Navy's Pacific Station (1864-66). Admiral Denman was the hero of the bloodiest naval scene ever fought on the coast of B.C., with a rebellious Vancouver Island tribe suffering a bombardment of 9 villages and 64 canoes lost.

Proceed up Denman's right side, crossing side-streets Nelson and Barclay on the way, noting the yellow Art Deco-styled building on the left corner of Barclay and Denman. This was formerly the home of the 'Starlight Theatre', a cinema devoted to showing 'art' movies, originally built in 1938. Renovated for its 60th anniversary, the original building was home to a mural of famous actors and was subject to some controversy when the mural was to be removed.

Still on Denman's right side heading north, we see King George High School on the right and then the West End Community Centre and Library just beyond.

King George High School

The second smallest of Vancouver's Secondary schools with 515 students, King George boasts a strong ethnic mix where any of 36 different languages can be heard in its hallways.

West End Community Centre

The Community Centre is jointly operated by the West End Community Centre Association and the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation to provide leisure activities and services sensitive to the needs of this diverse community. "Something for everyone" comes in the form of a wide range of social, educational, recreational, creative, cultural and physical activities.

Joe Fortes Library

Joe Fortes Library, one of the Vancouver Public Libraries, is named after the popular English Bay lifeguard. Joe was an important part of life here in the early part of the century, and his stories can be found in their own section.