Gastown: Vancouver's most fun spot

AN arty vibe, native Canadian galleries, trendy boutiques and talkative locals make Gastown an interesting suburb.

gastown Vancouver Escape

WHEN it comes to founding fathers, there's one Vancouver neighbourhood that boasts a particularly colourful character.

Gastown, the suburb on the southern bank of Burrard Inlet where Vancouver was born back in the 1860s, was named after John "Gassy Jack" Deighton, who made his mark when he motivated local sawmill workers to build a pub in what was then a wilderness on Canada's wild west coast.

Gassy Jack during Victorian times "to gas" meant to talk, so the nickname referred to his penchant for conversation rather than a gastro-intestinal complaint arrived in 1867 with a barrel of whisky and told sawmill staff they could consume the beverage while constructing the rooms of a watering hole.

The mill was dry at the time and the nearest pub was 40km away, which encouraged the men to build the Globe Saloon in just 24 hours, with the establishment becoming the heart of the compact hamlet that was bordered by the waterfront, Columbia St, Hastings St and Cambie St when declared a town in the 1870s.

The name was changed to Granville, but everyone still called it Gastown, with that label continuing to appear on nautical charts, and today that original title is worn with pride by a neighbourhood that's only grown a couple of blocks since Gassy Jack's Globe Saloon stood on what is now the intersection of Carrall and Water streets.

"You and I may never see it, but this inlet would make a nice harbour," Gassy Jack told a gold-mining patron during Vancouver's earliest days, and he was right.

Not only has the spot become a thriving port but it's Canada's third-largest metropolis and Gastown has survived boom and bust over the decades to again be the place where people congregate "to gas".

"Each Vancouver neighbourhood has distinct characteristics and personality," the Shangri-La Hotel Vancouver's chief concierge, Stephane Mouttet, said when I was deciding which part of town to explore during my stay in the agreeable British Columbia city.

"Gastown is among my favourites, it's definitely a tourist area but it has a great local vibe.

"Gastown was the original heart of Vancouver and it's retained its character with cobblestone streets and older buildings, but now it's populated with little local restaurants, native Canadian art galleries and trendy one-off clothing and decor boutiques."

It's a living museum residents rallied to save Gastown's historic buildings from demolition in the 1960s after the enclave was left to decay in the wake of the Great Depression and there are still 114 structures built in the boom years between 1886 and 1914 when the Canadian Pacific Railway was the local money magnet.

Today's visitors come to hear the world's first steam-operated clock toot every 15 minutes and take in the panoramic view from the Vancouver Lookout, but they stay to browse the boutiques where local artisans showcase creations and to linger over good food and drink.

When it came to shopping, my Shangri-La Hotel hosts suggested Fluevog for shoes and Obakki for clothes, said I should browse the chic home-wear stores and First Nation galleries that sit between souvenir shops and recommended three culinary hot spots to visit at mealtime.

L'Abattoir was once a dishevelled Irish pub that's been transformed into an eatery showcasing regional and seasonal ingredients, Meat & Bread is where residents buy lunch and Chambar is set inside a vintage warehouse on the edge of Gastown offering "great local cuisine and an exceptional collection of beer on tap".

Gassy Jack would be proud. 

The writer was a guest of the Shangri-La Hotel Vancouver.

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VANCOUVER

- Getting there

Air Canada (aircanada.com) flies from Sydney to Vancouver daily.

- Staying there

The Shangri-La Hotel Vancouver (shangri-la.com/vancouver) is a 20-minute walk from the Gassy Jack statue between several Big Bus (bigbus.ca) stops.

- More

See Vancouver's website, tourismvancouver.com or the Canada tourism page, canada.travel