Main Street

In our breakdown of Vancouver’s neighbourhoods, we count Main Street as a north-south linear amalgam of Mount Pleasant/Riley Park/Little Mountain, a contiguous high street entity (including 2-3 residential and industrial blocks on its east-west peripheries) from Prior St. all the way to 41st Ave. It boasts beautiful parks both small and large, a dizzying variety of retail shops (many of them used/vintage), a handful of art galleries, a torrent of new breweries, good record stores, a litter of interesting independent restaurants that run the cuisine gamut (including 24hr fried chicken), quality cafes/hangouts, legendary live music venues, bingo games, a happening legion, and even a farmer’s market. Known as much for its cool factor as for its diversity and down to earth accessibility, Main Street – in our estimation of its modern borders – is as honest a cross-sectioned representation of Vancouver’s cultural promise as you’ll find.

Neighbourhood colour palettes change over time, but right now we’re seeing (left to right): City Centre Motor Hotel quad-colour; exterior of the new Fox Cabaret; red signage of Pizzeria Farina; pool table felt in the Ivanhoe Pub; the polished concrete floor at Gene; 49th Parallel Coffee turquoise; takeaway box from Lucky’s Doughnuts; neon blue exterior signage at The Cascade Room; beer battered halloumi at The Acorn; “Fall Back” session stout at Brassneck Brwery; Red Truck Brewery’s red truck; the facing stones of Heritage Hall.

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COMMUNITY EVENTS AT HISTORIC HERITAGE HALL
STILL OPERABLE PUBLIC TELEPHONE BOOTHS (MIRACULOUS)
THE YEAR-ROUND SIDEWALK PATIO AT JJ BEAN
WHISPERED REMINDERS OF LONG GONE BREWERY CREEK
THE COOL STORY OF DEPENCIER HOUSE
HAIRCUTS AT THE BELMONT
THE ALWAYS INTERESTING VANCOUVER SPECIAL
GIGS AT THE BILTMORE AND THE FOX CABARET
A DOZEN VINTAGE CLOTHING SHOPS OF VARYING DEGREES OF WORTHINESS
FRESH PRODUCE (AND SAUSAGES) AT THE MAIN STREET STATION FARMER’S MARKET
THE ICONIC LEE BUILDING
AN EXCELLENT SELECTION OF KNIVES AND CHEF TOOLS AT KNIFEWEAR
GAMES OF POOL AT GUYS & DOLLS
CAREFULLY CURATED VINYL COLLECTIONS AT RED CAT AND DANDELION EMPORIUM
GAMES OF BAR RULES POOL AT THE IVANHOE
STACKS OF GOOD, REASONABLY PRICED BOOKS AT PULP FICTION
THE CULTURAL DELIGHT THAT IS THE WESTERN FRONT
THE INTANGIBLY EXCELLENT HASTY MARKET
VINTAGE MS. PACMAN AT ANTISOCIAL SKATEBOARD SHOP
PEOPLE WATCHING AT 49TH PARALLEL COFFEE ROASTERS

what-to-eat-and-drink

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PAIN AU CHOCOLATE AT LE MARCHE ST. GEORGE 4393 St. George St. MAP

SMALL PLATES & COCKTAILS AT NOMAD (Closed) 3950 Main Street MAP

LATE NIGHT BUTTERED POPCORN WITH CHILI-LIME SALT AT EL CAMINO'S 3250 Main St. MAP

BEERS & FOOD TRUCK CHOW AT BRASSNECK BREWERY 2148 Main St. MAP

EMPANADAS & PISCO SOURS AT CHICHA (Closed) 136 East Broadway MAP

SPAGHETTI POMODORO AT CAMPAGNOLO 1020 Main St. MAP

TURKISH FIGS & BRIE BENNY AT SLICKETY JIM'S 3475 Main St. MAP

FINOCHIONNA PIZZA AT PIZZERIA FARINA (Closed) 915 Main St. MAP

THE DAILY SPECIAL AT DOCK LUNCH (YOU CAN'T GO WRONG) (Closed) 152 E. 11th Ave. MAP

TAN TAN NOODLE WITH MEAT SAUCE AND GREEN ONION CAKES AT LONG'S NOODLE HOUSE 4853 Main St. MAP

FISH & CHIPS AT THE FISH COUNTER 3825 Main St. MAP

LEMONGRASS MUSSELS AT EIGHT 1/2 151 East 8th Ave. MAP

BRAISED KALE & SAUSAGE PIZZA AT DON'T ARGUE 3240 Main St. MAP

BEER BATTERED HALLOUMI AT THE ACORN 3995 Main St. MAP

TURKEY DINNER AT HELEN'S GRILL 4102 Main St. MAP

NACHOS & BEER AT MAIN STREET BREWING 261 East 7th Ave. MAP

FRESH JUICE AT THE JUICE TRUCK 28 W 5th Ave. MAP

DIRTY BURGER AT CAMP UPSTAIRS 1020 Main St. MAP

DUKE'S WHIP PEPPERONI STICKS AT KAFKA'S 2525 Main St. MAP

SCOTCH EGGS & SOCCER GAMES AT THE CASCADE ROOM 2616 Main St. MAP

FRESH "RED DAWN" JUICE AT RADICLE JUICE 3088 Main St. MAP

FRIED CHICKEN WITH PICKLED VEGGIES AT BURDOCK & CO. 2702 Main St. MAP

COFFEE AND THE SUNDAY NEW YORK TIMES AT GENE CAFE 2404 Main St. MAP

BACON, WAFFLES, AND BEER (YER DAMN RIGHT!) AT 33 ACRES 15 West 8th Ave. MAP

TRADITIONAL FRENCH CRULLER AT LUCKY'S DOUGHNUTS 2902 Main St MAP

SOUTHERN FRIED ARTICHOKE SANDWICH AT THE ARBOR (Closed) 3941 Main St. MAP

SABICH (EGGPLANT) PLATTER AT CHICKPEA RESTAURANT 4298 Main St. MAP

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– Main Street was formerly known as Westminster Avenue. Local merchants requested a change in 1910 to help establish a commercial, cosmopolitan character.

– The area of Mount Pleasant attracted several breweries from 1888 to 1912, many of which used water from the local creeks.

– The Lee Building at Main and Broadway was the first skyscraper outside of Vancouver’s downtown core.

– Mount Pleasant takes its name from the Irish birthplace of the wife of H.V. Edmonds, a New Westminster municipal clerk with extensive property titles in the area.

– The Main and Broadway area is recognized as Vancouver’s first suburb, which developed following the nearby construction of the Kingsway and Main Street intersection in the 1890s.