
We’ve put Downtown & Yaletown together in our neighbourhoods because not only are they umbilically attached by way of Cambie/Homer Street, they also share the same modern, decidedly urban character. The architecture of downtown’s core is certainly older and more diverse (Vancouver Art Gallery, Hotel Vancouver, Christ Church Cathedral), but its newest and tallest buildings share the same Yaletown and Coal Harbour “City of Glass” aesthetic, so much so that it is at risk of being swallowed by its surrounding uniform ubiquity. The natural consequence, at least from the sidewalk perspective of the humble pedestrian, is a seamlessness that makes it tricky to distinguish the neighbourhoods apart.
That being said, there is an ordered box of blocks within Yaletown – the area inside Pacific, Homer, Drake, and Nelson – that is very distinct. It arose from the original warehouse/industrial district after Expo 86 as a gritty, somewhat edgy and affordable place to open fashionable eateries and boutiques. This area became the “it” destination spot of the ’00s, especially on the food and beverage front, with countless restaurants and lounges opening between the turn of the millennium and the 2010 Olympic Games. Its success, however, also attracted the big restaurant chains (eg. Cactus Club, Milestones, The Keg, Earls) and made the lease rates soar, two things that have put the area’s cool factor on ice and made it difficult for independent operations to compete. Today, only a handful of excellent eateries remain within this grid, like lighthouses in a raging sea of awful.
The liver of the downtown core has long been the Granville Entertainment District (GED), that is “the strip” of Granville St. between West Georgia and Drake. It used to be known as Theatre Row back in the day for its preponderance of movie theatres and live music/theatre venues. Today, only a few performance-oriented establishments remain, the movie theatres are all gone, and the business of “entertainment” is almost exclusively centred around the service of liquor to people coming in from the suburbs “to party”, which is to say fight, kick, spit, barf, stab, urinate, fuck, and occasionally shoot. Indeed, the modern GED serves as a cautionary tale. It is a black mark on City Hall’s dismal social engineering track record, for by purposely concentrating so many liquor primary establishments in one glammed-up touristy strip in the late 1990’s (so they could – ahem – “control” the drunks), they created an alcohol-fuelled, testosterone-driven shit-show that is of constant detriment to Vancouver’s reputation.
Of course it isn’t all bad, and if you’re really to understand what makes Vancouver tick, walking the GED’s length during the hectic course of a late Saturday night is absolutely essential, however unpleasant the prospect (and consequence) might be. It ain’t pretty, but the GED is – for better or for worse – an undeniable facet of who we are. It’s also important to note that downtown is so much more than just the GED. Though much of it is given over to the corporate, speculative, and financial world (not to mention the chain restaurants that aim to serve that world), there are many isolated pockets of fascination, like the ESL student concentrations around Dunsmuir and Howe, the Crosstown block of Beatty St., the growing food & books strip on the 300 & 400 blocks of West Pender, the vinyl shops of West Hastings, the grounds of the Vancouver Art Gallery, and so on. There’s a lot to explore and enjoy in these parts, so get at it!



In Downtown & Yaletown at the moment (our HOOD palettes are ever-changing), we’re seeing spray-on tan bronze/orange; Glowbal’s puke green; Montreal smoked meat at PHAT, Copper blue/green roof of the Hotel Vancouver; Cactus Club staff miniskirt black; Chambar burgundy and gold; Canucks green and blue (see also the Electra Building); Vancouver Whitecaps two shades of blue; dyed blond hair; Starbucks green; Translink (Skytrain) blue and yellow; the walls at Cioppino’s.

AN ANCIENT BOWLING ALLEY WITH THE CITY’S MOST ANCIENT WASHROOM
LIVE MUSIC VENUES BOTH SMALL & LARGE
THE SUMMER FOLIAGE TUNNEL ON HORNBY (SEE PHOTO ABOVE)
THE ART DECO MASTERPIECE KNOWN AS THE MARINE BUILDING
PETTY DRIVERS/CYCLISTS ANGRY AT PETTY CYCLISTS/DRIVERS
THE SOARING KINETIC PENDULUM SCULPTURE IN THE LOBBY OF THE HSBC BUILDING
DRUNK SUBURBAN WANNABE GANGSTERS SPOILING FOR A FIGHT
THE STORIED PENTHOUSE STRIP CLUB
ROGERS ARENA AND BC PLACE (VENUES FOR VANCOUVER CANUCKS, WHITECAPS, BC LIONS)
THE EMBARRASSING SHITSHOW THAT IS THE GRANVILLE ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT
DOZENS OF BORING HIGH RISE BUILDINGS THAT ARE INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM ONE ANOTHER
THE INEXPLICABLE ABSENCE OF ROOFTOP PATIOS
BUS DRIVERS WHO COULD GIVE A SHIT
THE AWESOME CHAOS AND MAJESTY OF MCCLEOD’S BOOKS
STRETCHED SUV LIMOUSINES FILLED WITH SCREAMING GIRLS WITH NO RESERVATIONS
THE STUNNING ELECTRA BUILDING
GOOD PICNICKING IN DAVID LAM PARK
VERY SMALL DOGS LIVING IN VERY SMALL APARTMENTS
THE VANCOUVER ART GALLERY
ANNUAL 4/20 MARIJUANA CELEBRATIONS
– Established in 1930, the Commodore Lanes is Canada’s oldest surviving bowling hall.
– The Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown features an original engine turntable as its amphitheater. This area, prior to post-Expo renovation, was a large industrial zone filled with warehouses and factories.
– Vancouver once boasted over 19,000 neon signs, most of them found along busy Granville Street. It was known during the 1940s and 50s as “The Great White Way”.
– The first Vancouver Art Gallery, opened in 1931, was located in a 1911 art deco-style building a few blocks down from its current location. At its entrance it featured large busts of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.
– From 1946-1948, the second Hotel Vancouver (two blocks from the current location) was used as housing for homeless World War II veterans.
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Electra Building Building
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Hawksworth
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Yale Hotel | Downtown
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Gnocchi from Dirty Apron
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Reader T.R. | Flying into Vancouver from Victoria | 8:00am
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The Royal Boulevardier | Hotel Vancouver
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Looking down onto the foyer at the Vancouver Art Gallery
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Penthouse Night Club
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Flying Pig
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Chambar-Feast
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Medieval-style Belgian National Day Feast at Chambar
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Granville Street
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Vancouver Convention Centre
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Downtown Santa
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Bridge Yarn Bombing
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Nico and Karri Schuermans | Chambar
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Downtown Lights Through Rain Speckled Windshield
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Sun cuts through fog | Downtown
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An idiosyncredible original on West Georgia. Love the facial expression.
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Food Truck / Iconic CP Building
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Pigeons Downtown
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Granville Street Mid-Summer
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Robson Street Lounging
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Downtown
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Homer St. Cafe & Bar
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Homer St. Cafe & Bar
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Downtown
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Dia Verde at Uva
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Rainy Vancouverites
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Mural detail at Dunsmuir & Beatty
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Chicken and Waffles
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Downtown
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Downtown Pedestrian Traffic
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Hockey Crowd
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Wedgewood Hotel
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Blackbird Crew
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Mall Crowds
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Chambar Medieval-style Belgian National Day Feast
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Vancouver Art Gallery fountain mosaic
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Medieval-style Belgian National Day Feast at Chambar
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The Roof Lounge at The Hotel Vancouver
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Cheat Day | Downtown Grilled Cheese
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Night Street
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Vancouver Art Gallery
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Commodore Ballroom
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Al Fresco Vancouver
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Medieval-style Belgian National Day Feast at Chambar
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Alex Usow, partaking
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The Royal Boulevardier | Fairmont Hotel Vancouver
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Medieval-style Belgian National Day Feast at Chambar
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Chambar
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Saturday night mid-Olympic mayhem on Granville
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Sun Building
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Cafe Medina Belgian Waffles with Lavender Milk Chocolate Sauce
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The Orpheum
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Yew, Four Seasons
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Olympic Hoser
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Hotel Georgia
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Cartel
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Zip line
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Chambar
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Can you imagine?
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Rotisserie Chicken at The Homer St. Cafe & Bar
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Glasvegas at Richards on Richards
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Owner/chef Julio Gonzalez-Perini of Lupo looks up from his pans
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Vancouver Art Gallery
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Al Fresco Vancouver
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Sun Building
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In the kitchen...
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Cocktails at The Loden Hotel
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Hawksworth Cocktail Bar
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Yolks Food Truck
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Downtown view
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Glasvegas at Richards on Richards
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Wall Centre
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Cinara
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Free Marc Emery Rally Sept 19 2009 244
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Server at Bin 941
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Downtown Crowds
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Italian girls | Al Fresco Vancouver
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Reader LV Downtown Cambie St Vancouver BC 2:20pm
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Christiano Posteraro - traffic cop
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Homer St. Cafe
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Yaletown at Night
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Vancouver Canucks Game
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Homer St. Cafe + Bar
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Free Range Piano Robson Street
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Waiting
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David Hawksworth
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Busy streets Dowtown Rush
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Cocktails At Yew Four Seasons
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Marine Building Night Bell
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Vancouver Art Gallery
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Convention Centre
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Hotel Vancouver
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Robson Street Summer Patio
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Celestino readies the first plate
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Uva
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The Grand Hotel Fairmont, Pacific Rim
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Granville St
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Hawksworth Patio
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Granville Street Neon
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Seven ball corner pocket
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Reader C.F. | Chancery Place | Vancouver, BC | 10:30am
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The Electra Building
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A slippery Dunsmuir St
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Kate MacDougall | Al Fresco Vancouver
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Chefs preparing to move their work from the Dirty Apron Cooking School to Republic
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Reflection of Hotel Vancouver Rooftop
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Burrard Station Blossoms
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Reader V.R. | Hotel Vancouver as seen from an office across the street | 3:30pm
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Cartel | owners Jesse Grasso, James Iranzad, Joel Watanabe
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Marine Building Entry
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Playoffs!
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Pigeons on Granville Street
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Cibo Trattoria
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From S.S. | Dunsmuir | Vancouver, BC | 6:30am
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Allison, Hayato, and Sid taste the mystery wine, the Black Hills Estate Winery Alibi
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Winter Street Scene | Downtown
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Paper Hound Books on Pender St | Downtown
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Dia Verde | UVA
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Revolving Doors at The Marine Building
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Early Morning Empty Parking Lot
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Bin 941
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DB Bistro executive chef Nathan Guggenheimer, winner of the Best Dressed Chef of the Year Award
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Bacchus Restaurant & Piano Lounge in the Wedgewood Hotel
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Skating at Robson Ice Rink
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Finch's Tea + Coffee House on Pender
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Paper Hound Books | Downtown
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Boys being boys
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Uva
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Robson Square
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Japadog, A Downtown Fixture
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Commodore Ballroom Facade
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Boneta boys
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Vancouver Art Gallery: A Modest Veil
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Justin Ault, owner of Hapa Izakaya | Scout Magazine
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Bowling moules at Bin 941
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Olympic Spirit
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Cartel co-owner James Iranzad on opening day
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Cassidy Crowe of SIP Resto Lounge preps her "Geisha"
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The Templeton
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Electra Building Tile Detail
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Bacchus Restaurant & Piano Lounge in the Wedgewood Hotel
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Red Satin Slip at Bacchus Lounge
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Looking Up | Vancouver Art Gallery
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Hudsons Bay Building
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Grand Hotel Exhibition | Vancouver Art Gallery
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Iranzad chows on his haunches...
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In full swing | Al Fresco Vancouver
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And the winner is...Shaun Layton of George
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Bin 941
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Reader A.F. False Creek Vancouver 805pm
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Reader M.K. | Crosstown | Vancouver, BC | 3:20pm
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Yaletown
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Inebriated Canadian with mullet + friend
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Rhek and Charlie, crushed a la Canucks at Dix
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Moda Hotel
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Delivery of dishes at the Art Institute's black box cooking competition
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Frankie digging Cartel
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Red Truck on the Burrard St. Bridge
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Reader K.T. | Beatty Street | Yaletown | Vancouver, BC | 6:30am
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a little artistry from Shaun Layton of George
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Judges grade plates at the Art Institute's black box cooking competition
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Al Fresco Vancouver
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From S.L. | Sheraton Wall Center (31st Floor) | Vancouver, BC | 9:36m
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S.Y. | Victory Square | Vancouver, BC | 3:39pm
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Robson Street Summer Patio
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Granville St. | Vancouver, BC
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Lupo Restaurant | 869 Hamilton Street
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Banner day on Granville
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Mark Brand represents
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Six up
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Lupo Restaurant | 869 Hamilton Street
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Granville St. | Vancouver, BC
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Al Fresco Vancouver
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The Bar | Hapa Izakaya | Scout Magazine
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Night falls | Al Fresco Vancouver
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Sid Cross looks on at a Santa Claus convention in Gotham
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Al Fresco Vancouver
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Co-owner Nico Schuermans and Dirty Apron chef instructor David Robertson
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Waiting on Hastings...La Taqueria opens September 8th...
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Solomon Seigel of Victoria's Solomon's presents his gorgeous "Lavender Haze"
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Granville Street
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Robbie Kane | Medina Cafe
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