A no messing around guide to the coolest things to eat, drink and do in Vancouver and beyond. Community. Not clickbait.

The Mystery Of The Missing “Only Seafood” Neon Seahorse

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Does anyone know what happened to The Only Seafood sign at 20 East Hastings? As far as we can tell, it went missing shortly after the Portland Hotel Society sold the building to the City of Vancouver this past Fall. We’ve been trying to find out what happened to the iconic neon seahorse signage ever since, but to no avail. Our enquiries with the City have unfortunately come to naught.

Did it return to the Thodos family, who operated the DTES restaurant for so many years? Was it – perish the thought – stolen by dastardly vandals in the dead of night? Or was it perhaps secreted away to some vast warehouse of boxed-up treasures, like at the end of Raiders of the Last Ark?

Here are some photos of the exterior, interior, and upstairs to jog the memory. To quote Indiana Jones, it’s an important artifact and it belongs in a museum! If you know where it is, please let us know by emailing andrew [at] scoutmagazine.ca.

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  • The Only | Exterior signage
    The Only | Exterior signage
  • The Only | Exterior signage detail
    The Only | Exterior signage detail
  • The Only
    The Only
  • The Only
    The Only
  • The Only
    The Only
  • The Only | Shelley and Craig
    The Only | Shelley and Craig
  • The Only
    The Only
  • The Only
    The Only
  • The Only
    The Only
  • The Only
    The Only
  • The Only
    The Only
  • The Only
    The Only
  • The Only
    The Only
  • The Only
    The Only
  • The Only
    The Only
  • The Only
    The Only
  • The Only | possible retail space next door
    The Only | possible retail space next door
  • The Only | possible retail space next door
    The Only | possible retail space next door
  • The Only | possible retail space next door
    The Only | possible retail space next door
  • The Only | original breaker board?
    The Only | original breaker board?
  • The Only | Rear
    The Only | Rear
  • The Only | Rear
    The Only | Rear
  • The Only
    The Only
  • From Only rear, looking down shaft to basment
    From Only rear, looking down shaft to basment
  • The Only | Rear
    The Only | Rear
  • Logger's Social Club | Just...wow
    Logger's Social Club | Just...wow
  • Logger's Social Club
    Logger's Social Club
  • Logger's Social Club | Rules
    Logger's Social Club | Rules
  • Logger's Social Club | Safe
    Logger's Social Club | Safe
  • Logger's Social Club
    Logger's Social Club
  • Logger's Social Club
    Logger's Social Club
  • Logger's Social Club
    Logger's Social Club
  • Logger's Social Club
    Logger's Social Club
  • Logger's Social Club
    Logger's Social Club
  • Logger's Social Club
    Logger's Social Club
  • Logger's Social Club
    Logger's Social Club
  • Logger's Social Club
    Logger's Social Club
  • Logger's Social Club
    Logger's Social Club
  • Logger's Social Club
    Logger's Social Club
  • Logger's Social Club
    Logger's Social Club
  • Logger's Social Club
    Logger's Social Club
  • Logger's Social Club | Kitchen
    Logger's Social Club | Kitchen
  • Logger's Social Club
    Logger's Social Club
  • Basement
    Basement
  • Basement
    Basement
  • Basement
    Basement
  • Basement
    Basement
  • Basement
    Basement
  • Sign, reborn
    Sign, reborn

EXPLORE THIS NEIGHBOURHOOD

There are 5 comments

  1. Did you check with the Vancouver Museum? A lot of old neon cities have become part of their collection of city historical items.

  2. I ate there once. Four weeks later it was shut down because of excessive rodents. Thanks for the reminder.

    Glad to now you think this is part of our history though.

  3. Everytime I read a comment on this blog about the “sense of community” in the Downtown Eastside aand then I read something like this (from the linked article below):

    Vandals broke in and stole pipes, which led to extensive flooding in the basement.

    Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/neon+icon+disappears+from+Vancouver+Downtown+Eastside/10916423/story.html#ixzz3Vt5vNHTN

    I laugh and laugh and laugh.

    That’s some community you’ve got there. It eats itself from within. (Is Sean Orr going to argue that this is kids from Surrey coming in to steal the plumbing? Can’t wait.)

  4. I use to eat there as a kid and it was pretty cool In the 70’s the DTES was still a place to frequent for eats and shopping, pre-Woodwards shutdown.

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