Image by subactive photo

Image by Andrew_Sayers

The Lions’ Gate Bridge connects the cities of Vancouver and North Vancouver. Driving over it offers a spectacular view of our busy seaport, Stanley Park, the mountains, and the islands in the Georgia Straight.

Image by jmeeee

Image by mezzoblue

#1007 – 1723 Alberni Street

Enjoy views of Bayshore Marina, Stanley Park, and the North Shore Mountains from this luxury corner suite, located on Alberni and Bidwell, steps away from Robson Street, restaurants, shops, transit, Stanley Park, and the Seawall.

This suite is 840 square feet with 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bathrooms, plus a den. This suite has fabulous features; hardwood floors in the kitchen, dining and living room, natural gas fireplace, granite-topped kitchen island. It has all the essentials; dishwasher and fridge with panels matching the wood kitchen cabinetry, built in microwave, and Jenn-Air gas range with Jenn-Air downdraft venting.

This corner suite offers panoramic views of the mountains, water & city. For ease and convenience, a storage locker & private locked separate garage for 1 vehicle are available. The building offers a common area, with a billiards table. Cats will be considered.

This suite is available August 1st. Contact us at www.downtownsuites.ca for viewing, and to see many more luxurious suites.

Isabella J. Mori sent us this interesting article on some of Coal Harbour’s history:In 1859, British Royal Navy Captain Richards of the H.M. “Plumper” surveying vessel reported to Governor Douglas that Francis Brockton, his chief engineer, had found coal seams in the sandstone around Stanley Park.

And that’s how the name Coal Harbour came about.

The coal turned out to be of low quality and uneconomical to exploit but it, together with the lumber mills in and around Burrard Inlet, made the area interesting enough to be settled by non-Natives.

Of course this seafood rich area with its mild climate had already been inhabited by the Coast Salish, who are reported to have come from Asia somewhere around 12000 BCE. Earliest archaeological evidence of dwellings go back to the middle ages, 400 years before the Spanish first visited Vancouver.

Once the Pacific West started booming in the latter part of the 1800s, immigrants came from all over the world. An immigrant group that is lesser known are Hawaiians who, together with other non-Caucasian immigrants such as African Americans and people coming up from the West Indies, were referred to as “Kanakas”. A few Hawaiian families, earlier employed in the fur trade, settled at a ranch right in Coal Harbour, shortly after Captain Richards had given it that name in 1860. That ranch was called “Kanaka Ranch.”

The Hawaiian families grew fruit and vegetables, they fished and hunted, and they made coke from the local coal. This they sold to Hastings Mill, located near Gastown. The children trekked daily along a shore path to school at the Mill.

The story of these families is quite interesting. Jean Barman tells it in Stanley Park’s Secret: The Forgotten Families of Whoi Whoi, Kanaka Ranch, and Brockton Point, a book that won a 2006 City of Vancouver Book Award.

The book is replete with fascinating historical photographs that show neat cottages and float homes, picket fences and pocket gardens, and lots of healthy children. More soberly, the book also reveals Vancouver’s unwelcoming stance towards non-Anglo families at that point in history.

As history rolled on, thankfully, Canada evolved to the fascinating and so much more inclusive multicultural society that we have today.

Next time I go for a stroll around coal harbour, when I get to a quiet little spot, I’ll imagine the children from Kanaka Ranch laughing and playing by the water, and offer them my thanks for playing their not always easy part in the growth of this beautiful city.

Thanks for the article, Isabella.

There are some great views of the Harbour as seen from some of the Vancouver Webcams.

The first is the Port of Vancouver’s site, which features the Harbour view as first in its list of webcams. Looking west, this view includes Granville.

Next is the ongoing expansion of the Convention Centre. This complex webcam shows the expansion of the site out over the water, as well as many user-selected views. And don’t forget the zoom capability. What I like about this realtime webcam is its revelation of the exquisite setting in which this construction is taking place, and the urban way of life which it reveals. This setting is Coal Harbout, and it reveals a new Vancouver, excitingly placed between the natural beauty of Stanley Park, the mountains and ocean and the busy intensity of the downtown urban centre.

One of the most stunning new luxury residential developments in the works is the Laguna Parkside. Nested between Lost Lagoon and Coal Harbour, at the end of Alberni Street, it is in a highly-prized location.

Featuring visionary architecture, the Laguna Parkside is planned to be comprised of a Tower, a Mansion House and five exclusive 2-storey villas. At the ground level, all the condos and villas will be surrounded by lush landscaping, and the kind of innovative water features that have become a trademark of Coal Harbour development.

The 360 panorama on the Laguna website shows a remarkable overview of the spectacular views to be available from these luxury residences.
It will feature many amenities, such as a resort-style pool and fitness centre.

The anticipated Laguna Parkside will offer urban living at its finest.