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

Vancouver Would Be Cooler If It Had A Sun Observatory Out At Spanish Banks

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(via) We were deep on the West Side last night, lounging on the sand and counting freighters (16) at Spanish Banks as the sun was setting. At some point the recent shoreline work of Dutch artist Marc van Vliet was brought up in conversation and duly envisioned, stretching out past the tideline for half a kilometre. Located in The Netherlands’ north, the original ‘Drie Streken’ was conceived as a sun observatory. The ritualistic pavilion/enclosure at its end changes shape with the tides, and is accessed by way of a long causeway traversing sand flats that look identical to the ones fronting Spanish Banks. We’ve coveted public shore art in the past (a natural fit for any coastal city), and we could always more as long it doesn’t attract a drum circle.

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All images via the artist, Marc van Vliet.

Vancouver Would Be Cooler If We Had More Safe Indoor Spaces for Skateboarding

Its vaulted ceilings may have once carried the tenors and altos of Catholic choirboys, but nowadays the acoustics of the abandoned St. Liborius Church have been repurposed to carry the screeches and echoes characteristic of a DIY Skatepark. We think Vancouver would be cooler if we had an all-inclusive indoor community skatepark of our own...

Vancouver Would Be Cooler If It Had a Massive Floating Housing Project at the Port

Imagine a colourful, mixed-used, housing complex like Amsterdam's Silodam floating at the foot of Victoria Drive.

Vancouver Would Be Cooler If It Had Floating Camp Sites in False Creek

Imagine Belgium's Vlot Kamp - essentially eight floating campsites accessed from the shore by canoe - next to Olympic Village.

Vancouver Would Be Cooler If It Had a Cocktail Bar Hidden in a Skytrain Station

This 15-seat speakeasy-style bar is located behind a nondescript door in New York City's 28th Street subway station.