On May 16 the walk got off to a different and late start but turned out to be very satisfying as we visited Chinatown and three highly interesting parks
The group was a small one: Deborah, Maria, and brother-and-sister newcomers Marilyn and Ken. Maria led us on foot out the back of the Britannia Centre and up to Union Street. We followed this quiet, mostly residential street straight through to Main St then walked north to Keefer and the heart of Chinatown. At Keefer and Columbia we entered Dr. Sun Yat Sen Park, which along with the private classical garden was hosting an Asian festival. As we admired the flowering bushes, vines and trees -- only one of which we could name (wisteria) -- the sound of a flute wafted from the garden.
We then walked back to Main and up to its north end, went over the overpass and down into Crab Park, a new destination for some of us. This little gem is right on Burrard inlet and has gorgeous views in all directions. First from a log on a sandy beach and then from a new wooden pier we watched the Seabus approach from the North Shore and observed operations at the container port. Canada Place and a cruise ship were to our left. This park contains several memorials and markers of historic events and sites. Mosaics mark the site of the North Shore Ferry and remember the Komagata Maru incident. Plaques provide First Nations information and tell of Vancouver's sister ship with Yokahama and Yokahama's gifts to our city. A large granite stone stands as a memorial to the women murdered on the downtown east side. A stylized First Nations mural of raven, crab and dolphins appears in two places in the park. Next we hit the Sunrise Market at Powell and Gore where Deborah bought a little produce and Maria bought a lot. So while Maria took her heavy load home by bus, Deborah, Marilyn and Ken continued to Oppenheimer Park, a gritty but history-packed park bordered by Powell, Cordova, Dunlevy and Jackson streets. The objective was a large totem pole carved as a memorial to people who died too young on the downtown eastside, and to those who survive. The roughly etched plaque which accompanies the pole is poignant. In the SE corner of the park we noted a sign in a tree designating that corner "Seniors Corner." This park, known in the past as Powell Ground was in the heart of Japan town. It was the home of the Asahi baseball team, and appears in Wayson Choy's novel Jade Peony as the park where, during WWII kids from Chinatown came to watch the Asahi team play, and sometimes got into territorial fights with the locals. A mosaic in the sidewalk at the southeast corner commemorates the March to Ottawa, another at the NW corner, Powell Ground, and a history of the Asahi is attached to a utility pole on Powell Street near the NW corner. From here we walked two blocks south to Hastings and caught the #20 bus to Commercial Drive.
The group was a small one: Deborah, Maria, and brother-and-sister newcomers Marilyn and Ken. Maria led us on foot out the back of the Britannia Centre and up to Union Street. We followed this quiet, mostly residential street straight through to Main St then walked north to Keefer and the heart of Chinatown. At Keefer and Columbia we entered Dr. Sun Yat Sen Park, which along with the private classical garden was hosting an Asian festival. As we admired the flowering bushes, vines and trees -- only one of which we could name (wisteria) -- the sound of a flute wafted from the garden.
We then walked back to Main and up to its north end, went over the overpass and down into Crab Park, a new destination for some of us. This little gem is right on Burrard inlet and has gorgeous views in all directions. First from a log on a sandy beach and then from a new wooden pier we watched the Seabus approach from the North Shore and observed operations at the container port. Canada Place and a cruise ship were to our left. This park contains several memorials and markers of historic events and sites. Mosaics mark the site of the North Shore Ferry and remember the Komagata Maru incident. Plaques provide First Nations information and tell of Vancouver's sister ship with Yokahama and Yokahama's gifts to our city. A large granite stone stands as a memorial to the women murdered on the downtown east side. A stylized First Nations mural of raven, crab and dolphins appears in two places in the park. Next we hit the Sunrise Market at Powell and Gore where Deborah bought a little produce and Maria bought a lot. So while Maria took her heavy load home by bus, Deborah, Marilyn and Ken continued to Oppenheimer Park, a gritty but history-packed park bordered by Powell, Cordova, Dunlevy and Jackson streets. The objective was a large totem pole carved as a memorial to people who died too young on the downtown eastside, and to those who survive. The roughly etched plaque which accompanies the pole is poignant. In the SE corner of the park we noted a sign in a tree designating that corner "Seniors Corner." This park, known in the past as Powell Ground was in the heart of Japan town. It was the home of the Asahi baseball team, and appears in Wayson Choy's novel Jade Peony as the park where, during WWII kids from Chinatown came to watch the Asahi team play, and sometimes got into territorial fights with the locals. A mosaic in the sidewalk at the southeast corner commemorates the March to Ottawa, another at the NW corner, Powell Ground, and a history of the Asahi is attached to a utility pole on Powell Street near the NW corner. From here we walked two blocks south to Hastings and caught the #20 bus to Commercial Drive.
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