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| Granville
Island |
| Public Market
Stroll the celebrated Public Market.
It is always humming with activity and provides a feast
for both the eye and the palate. Take in a street musicians
performance while enjoying the waterside setting with
city and mountain views. |
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| Theatre
Granville Island is home to some of
Vancouver's finest theatrical talents. Year-round productions
at the Arts Club, the Waterfront Theatre, and Performance
Works, are sure to satisfy any taste. |
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| Emily Carr
The Emily Carr Institute is the creative
engine for the Islands art design & media. Three
galleries display progressive work from new generations
of artists. Visit the Charles H. Scott Gallery, the
Concourse Gallery or the Media Gallery right next to
the hotel. |
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| Aquabus
These charming little shuttles will
whisk you from the Island, across the False Creek inlet,
to the sights and shopping of the downtown core. When
the bags are full–they'll bring you right back.
Departures are every 15 minutes, all
day long. |
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| Kids Market
At the entrance to the Island is a Mecca
for children. The Kid's Market is adjacent to a water
park, a pond with geese and ducks, and Sutcliffe Park,
with open fields winding paths, and places to explore. |
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| Seawall
Joggers and walkers will love the seawall.
Choose your pace and take in the city. Start from the
south side of False Creek, or take a Ferry to pick up
the seawall on the other side of the inlet. English
Bay and Stanley Park are gems at slower speeds. |
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| Hotel Our
Island retreat is in the heart of the action, but not
overwhelmed by it. Easy to get to, but hard to leave,
The Granville Island Hotel is ideally located for business
travelers, vacationing families and couples on a romantic
getaway. |
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News Article in the
Vancouver Sun on December 2, 2004
Granville Island named best neighbourhood
in N. America
By Joel Baglole |
Vancouver's Granville Island
has been named North America's best neighbourhood by a
New York-based community development organization.
In achieving its first-place status, Granville Island
beat out other well-known and popular North American neighbourhoods
such as New York's East Village, the Lower Garden District
of New Orleans, South Beach in Miami, California's Venice
Beach, and Kensington Market in downtown Toronto.
The honour was bestowed by the Project for Public Spaces,
a non-profit organization based in New York City that
is dedicated to "creating and sustaining public places
that build communities," says the group's website.
The Project for Public Spaces, which was founded in 1974,
receives funding from the Kellogg Foundation and the Ford
Foundation in the U.S.
The organization recently ranked the 20 best neighbourhoods,
districts and downtowns in the U.S., Canada and Mexico,
and singled out Granville Island as North America's best
public space.
"Granville Island is a great destination,"
Fred Kent, president of the Project for Public Spaces,
said Wednesday from his home in Brooklyn. "We picked
Granville Island because of the whole neighbourhood and
the island itself. Granville Island is all local entrepreneurs,
local artists and local businesses. It's become a focal
point for the whole neighbourhood around False Creek."
City hall says Granville Island is the region's second
most-popular tourist attraction after Stanley Park.
"Granville Island is the jewel in the crown
of False Creek," said Michael Gordon, the city's
senior planner for downtown. "What's unique about
Granville Island is that it's not just tourist-driven.
Vancouver residents can go to Granville Island and visit
a park, play with their kids, shop at a market, have dinner.
Do whatever they want, really."
Lino Siracusa, director of Granville Island, said he was
"honored" by the recognition. "We're quite
proud and humbled to be named with such a great group
of spaces in North America," he said.
Regarding what makes Granville Island unique, Siracusa
said: "It's the diversity of activities. We have
activities during the day in the evening. We don't have
the large commercial uses, so people can relate to Granville
Island in a very intimate way."
Granville Island, owned by the federal government, was
an industrial site until 1978, when Vancouver city council
and the federal minister of urban affairs Ron Basford,
Liberal MP for Vancouver Centre, decided to develop it.
Ottawa invested $25 million into the island's redevelopment.
Private sector investors also contributed, said Siracusa.
Today, Granville Island is managed by the Canada Mortgage
and Housing Corporation on behalf of the federal government.
A Granville Island Trust advises CMHC on future development
of the site and to "ensure we remain connected to
the community," Siracusa said. |
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