DISCOVER VANCOUVER
Vancouver is a city located in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is named after Captain George Vancouver, a British explorer. Vancouver is located between the Strait of Georgia and the Coast Mountains. Its economy has traditionally relied on it's rich resources: forestry, mining, fishing and agriculture. The 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver and nearby Whistler.
Vancouver was first settled in the 1860s as a result of immigration caused by the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, particularly from the United States, although many immigrants did not remain after the rush. The city developed rapidly from a small lumber mill town into a metropolitan centre following the arrival of the transcontinental railway in 1887.
The Port of Vancouver became internationally significant after the completion of the Panama Canal, which reduced freight rates in the 1920s and made it viable to ship export-bound prairie grain west through Vancouver. It has since become the busiest seaport in Canada, and exports more cargo than any other port in North America.
The economy of Vancouver has diversified over time, however. Vancouver has a growing tourism industry, for example, and has become the third-largest film production centre in North America, after Los Angeles and New York City, earning it the nickname Hollywood North. Vancouver has had an expansion in high-tech industries, most notably video game development.
Vancouver is consistently ranked one of the three most livable cities in the world.
 ARCHITECTURE AND CITYSCAPE
Notable buildings within the city include Christ Church Cathedral, the Hotel Vancouver, the Museum of Anthropology (Arthur Erickson, architect) at the University of British Columbia, and the Vancouver Art Gallery. There are several striking modern buildings in the downtown area, including the Harbour Centre, Vancouver Law Courts and surrounding plaza known as Robson Square (Arthur Erickson) and the Vancouver Library Square (Moshe Safdie, architect), reminiscent of the Colosseum in Rome.
The original BC Hydro headquarters building at Nelson and Burrard Streets is a modernist high-rise, now converted into the Electra condominiums. Also notable is the "concrete waffle" of the MacMillan-Bloedel building on the north-east corner of the Georgia and Thurlow intersection. A prominent addition to the city's landscape is the giant tent-frame Canada Place, the former Canada Pavilion from Expo '86, which includes the Trade and Convention Centre as well as a Cruise Ship Terminal and the Pan-Pacific Hotel. Two modern skyscrapers that define the skyline looking south are the city hall and the Centennial Pavilion of Vancouver Hospital, both by Townley and Matheson (1936 and 1958 respectively).
A collection of Edwardian buildings in the city's old downtown core were, in their day, the tallest buildings in the British Empire. These were, in succession, the Province Building, the Dominion Building (1907, both at Cambie and Hastings Streets), and the Sun Tower (1911) at Beatty and Pender Streets. The Sun Tower's cupola was finally exceeded as the Empire's tallest by the elaborate Art Deco Marine Building in the 1920s.
Inspired by New York's Chrysler Building, the Marine Building is known for its elaborate ceramic tile facings and brass-gilt doors and elevators, which make it a favourite location for movie shoots.
Another notable Edwardian building in the city is the Vancouver Art Gallery building, designed by Francis Mawson Rattenbury, who also designed the provincial Legislature and the original and highly decorative Hotel Vancouver (torn down after WWII as a condition of the completion of the new Hotel Vancouver a block away).
Topping the list of tallest buildings in Vancouver as of June 2006 is One Wall Centre at 150 metres (491 ft) and 48 storeys, followed closely by the Shaw Tower at 149 metres (489 ft) and 41 storeys.
ARTS AND CULTURE
Prominent theatre companies in Vancouver include the Arts Club Theatre Company on Granville Island, the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company, and Bard on the Beach. Smaller companies include Touchstone Theatre, Studio 58, Carousel Theatre, and the United Players of Vancouver.
Theatre Under the Stars produces shows in the summer at Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park. In addition, Vancouver holds an annual Fringe Festival and International Film Festival.
Vancouver is the home to a number of museums and galleries. The Vancouver Art Gallery has a permanent collection of over 7,900 items valued at over $100 million and is the home of a significant number of works by Emily Carr. The Vancouver Maritime Museum is a nautical museum featuring the St. Roch, the first vessel to circumnavigate North America and the first to sail the Northwest Passage from west to east. The Museum of Anthropology at UBC is a leading museum of Pacific Northwest Coast First Nations culture, and the Vancouver Museum is the largest civic museum in Canada. A more interactive museum is Science World.
Vancouver is a major regional centre for the development of Canadian music. The city's musical contributions include performers of classical, folk and popular music. The CBC Radio Orchestra and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra are the two professional orchestras based in the city. It is also home to a major opera company, the Vancouver Opera, and numerous regional opera companies throughout the metropolitan area.
Larger performances are usually held at venues such as GM Place, Queen Elizabeth Theatre, BC Place Stadium or the Pacific Coliseum, while smaller acts are held at places such as the Plaza of Nations, the Commodore Ballroom, the Orpheum Theatre and the Vogue Theatre (currently closed).
The Vancouver Folk Music Festival and the Vancouver International Jazz Festival showcase music in their respective genres from around the world.
Nightlife in Vancouver had, for years, been seen as restricted in comparison to other cities, with early closing times for bars and night clubs, and a reluctance by authorities to allow for further development. However, since 2003 Vancouver has experimented with later closing hours and relaxed regulations, and an effort has been made to develop the Downtown core even further as an entertainment district, especially on and around Granville Street.
SPORTS AND RECREATION
The mild climate of the city and close proximity to ocean, mountains, rivers and lakes make the area a popular destination for outdoor recreation.
Vancouver has over 3,200 acres of parks, with Stanley Park being the largest at 1,000 acres. The municipality also has several large beaches, many adjacent to one another, with the largest groups extending from the coast of Stanley Park before reaching False Creek, and on the other side of English Bay, starting in the Kitsilano neighbourhood all the way to the University Endowment Lands, which are separate from Vancouver.
The 18 kilometres (11 miles) of beaches that surround Vancouver include English Bay (First Beach), Jericho, Kitsilano Beach, Locarno, Second Beach (Stanley Park), Spanish Bank East, Spanish Bank Extension, Spanish Bank West, Sunset, and Third Beach (Stanley Park). The coastline provides for many types of water sport, and the city is a popular destination for boating enthusiasts.
The nearby North Shore Mountains are home to three ski areas, Cypress Mountain, Grouse Mountain, and Mount Seymour. Each are within 20 to 30 minutes (driving time) of downtown Vancouver. Mountain bikers have created world-renowned trails across the North Shore.
The Capilano River, Lynn Creek, Seymour River, within 20 minutes (driving time) of downtown, provide opportunities to whitewater enthusiasts during periods of rain and spring melt. The Vancouver Marathon is held every May, the Vancouver Sun Run (a 10 km race) every April.
Vancouver will be the host city for the 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2009 World Police and Fire Games.
Swangard Stadium, just across the city line in Burnaby, hosted some games for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Retrieved from Wikipedia.org, the Free Encyclopedia
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