Disappearing Main Street

Here on the corner of Main and Broadway sits a stout financial building, a former branch of the Bank of Montreal built in 1929. The building is made from stone and bricks from the Clayburn Brick Plant in Abbotsford (thx Heritage Vancouver for the info). At the time of this photo, a company called Acri-Tec had a bath & shower showroom inside. It had been a Western Union Cash Money in the meantime, but now it is vacant yet seemingly tenanted. A question to you is… What would you like to see here? What would be the perfect use of a building like this on Main and Broadway? For fun, what do you think will actually open here instead. I have no idea what is planned. Right or wrong answers please!! EAST // 8th Ave - Broadway Acri-Tec, 2011 Main Street, Vancouver. #mainstvan #heritagevancouver #brickbuilding #bankofmontreal #broadway

The “Heart of Mount Pleasant”, in particular the Triangle Block, has so many funky little shops, indie retailers and experimental spaces it’s incredible. With all the development going on right here - condos, workspaces, the subway project - it’s a wonder everything hasn’t been cleared out by speculation. Thank the gods, because we love this part of town. Anyone who has lived here for a number of years must also know the spectre of fire is all around. You can stand in one spot at Main/Broadway and point out all the places that have succumbed to the flame over the years. Sad stories, every one of them. But with that, resilience. 
Take for instance Dandelion Emporium. They were over on Broadway and Watson (and you can still see their sign in the first image on our blog), then set up a sweet little boutique of curated goodness a minute away over on Main. Proprietors Jeff and Laura have a keen eye for the cool stuff and their shop was filled with delights. And then there are the records. If there is one record shop in Vancouver whose entire inventory I would like to acquire, this is the one. We share a love of Brazilian, Cumbia and Krautrock that’s for sure. Now located down Main Street off Gore and Union, it is highly worth your while to include a stop on your bin digging, sauntering days. I just got some sweet Turkish psych myself ;) 
Next door was Athens Pizza and Mabel’s Beauty Salon, two spots I don’t know too much about. Any info available? How was that pizza anyways? Autumn 2020 was a time for bad news with these shops, the Smoke Stop and Frenchie’s next door burning up. Very happy to see Dandelion emerge once again, part of another collection of funky little shops, indie retailers and art spaces on the edge of Chinatown. (dn)
 EAST // 8th - 9th Ave (Broadway) Dandelion Emporium // Athens Pizza // Mabel’s Beauty Salon Main Street, Vancouver, 2011. From the Disappearing Main Street photo series, see link in our profile for more. #mainstvan #vancouver #urban #recordshop

Mount Pleasant’s local hideout for the longest time was The Whip. Opened in 1995 here in this 111 year-old heritage building, the Whip was part art gallery & performance space, part bar and part locals hang. Their sign once read “Food and Libations for the Working Class”. Tell the server your postal code and get the neighbourhood discount, a true gathering spot for the bohemians and artists hanging around lower Mount Pleasant’s artist lofts and spaces in the late 90s and early 00s. The Whip was a fixture here until 2022, when the owners decided to create something new and Bar Susu was born. 
On the far left is the former shop Bungalow, now Cartem’s - the first salvo launched in the Main Street donut wars of… ok, those never happened but we do have great donuts up and down Main now. Whew. On the far right, you will see workers putting the finishing touches on a brand new condo called District, not yet occupied here, and a look ahead at how this area below Broadway on the slope has changed so fast. EAST // 6th - 7th Ave The Whip // Bungalow Main Street, Vancouver, 2011. #mainstvan #vancouver #city #mainstreet #urban #thewhip

Hey there! Been a while since we’ve posted proper so let’s get back to it. They say the only constant is change and Main Street is living up to that as always! Earlier this year we got a message from a Main Street fan about some print purchases. Yes, we do this for any of the images here or on the project blog page! One of the prints we made was from the top of our project scope up by 33rd. Here we have Au Petit Café and Long’s Noodle House, as seen in 2011. A long time favourite of the area, Au Petit had seriously good Vietnamese sandwiches and other delights over their 25-year history. Sadly, I had never been to Long’s and at this time, both restaurants are now closed. Long’s suffered from fire damage & closed last year after 31 years but they are reopening in Richmond any day now. Our print buyer enjoyed some memorable meals here and shared some stories of the two images chosen & what they meant to her (the other was Main Convenience). It’s so cool to hear from folks in the neighbourhood about their connections to these places. Got us excited to revisit some of the spots we love/loved here on Vancouver’s Main Street. (dn) #mainstvan . WEST // 32nd - 33rd Ave Long’s Noodle House // Au Petit Café, 2011. Main Street, Vancouver.

This one is a re-post but it’s time to revisit a wish. Soon after Everfresh Produce closed, the entire lower level of this building became the Starbucks Reserve coffee bar. It was a bit of a tourist trap judging by the amount of driving and parking this brought to the neighbourhood. Well, the Starbucks experiment ended less than four years after opening and it’s notable quieter now, even as the parklet and JJ Bean stay busy. Maybe, just maybe…. we can get a small grocery market here once again? When we posted about East West Market (Mar 2018 if yr looking) the sentiment shared was mid-Main needs an independent grocer, too! Main Street has some fine markets for sure (and wonderful neighbourhood grocery shops just off Main), but this is a busy zone and we could use options other than big chain stores (like the inappropriately named Save On). It would sure be nice to have an independent grocery option, a la East West or Donald’s, in this Main Street hot spot. Fresh BC produce and local suppliers at the forefront. What do you think? What would be your ideal tenant for this space? In the meantime, at least we can enjoy the seemingly public patio until it’s leased. (dn) #mainstvan . EAST // 13th - 14th Ave Everfresh Produce, 2011. Main Street, Vancouver.

Lean on me… I got you… Community support… etc. Caption this!
Support posts give strength to the side wall of this building, preventing a potential spill into what was an empty field & is now the Burn Fund Centre. The Trim Hair Salon remains right next door and their FB page says they opened April 15, 2011… a tenth anniversary this week perhaps? Looks like we captured them soon after opening. Congrats Trim, here’s to another ten! (dn) #mainstvan . WEST // 22nd - 23rd Ave Empty Field // Trim Hair Salon, 2011. Main Street, Vancouver.

Feeling foggy? Like you’re living in some kind of a dream? You are not alone. Life is like that these days. Have you seen the documentary film Jiro Dreams of Sushi? On a rainy day like today, it’s a worthwhile journey to escape for a few hours. Maybe grab some comfort food by ordering out from one of Main Street’s wide assortment. Maybe Dream is your local sushi place or you have a favourite in mind, one of a dozen such spots lining Main from 2nd - 33rd. (dn) #mainstvan . WEST // 28th - 29th Ave Dream Sushi // Main Nail Studio, 2011. Main Street, Vancouver.

Certain spots on our Main Street look like they could be on any Main Street, anywhere. Like here, between 29th and 30th on the east side. In this image Imperial Pacific Realty Ltd. was just giving up the lease in the location where Giving Gifts & Company is located today. To the right is City Paws, formerly I Found Gallery and True Value Vintage. The blending of textures with stucco, brick, wood, paint wear & graffiti removal shows time like the rings of a tree. (dn) #mainstvan . EAST // 29th - 30th Ave Imperial Pacific Realty, 2011. Main Street, Vancouver.

Is this the most photographed pay phone in Vancouver? Like the Vernon Drive Grocery over in Strathcona, certain vestiges of the past act like magnets for photographers. It is, of course, one of the last of ‘em and, beat up as it is, still operational. Georgia Straight blogger Stanley Q. Woodvine produced a map of Metro Vancouver pay phones in the summer of 2019 and from this corner heading south of 16th Ave and east of Main there doesn’t seem to be another in the SE corner of the city. The other stand by I can think of at Main Convenience (corner of 26th) has since been removed. Maybe we just need to, y’know, make some calls and see. (dn) #mainstvan
.
EAST // 15th - 16th Ave That Funky Payphone on Main, 2011 Main Street, Vancouver.

Sawasdee is a family-run restaurant serving authentic Thai food since 1986. This place has a great reputation, loyal customers, and an accommodating menu — doing it right for 35 years it seems. This area south of King Edward has had some really interesting storefronts over the years and this bright place with the stepped roof is one of them. (dn) #mainstvan . EAST // 26th - 28th Ave Sawasdee Thai Restaurant, 2011. Main Street, Vancouver.

Still feeling nostalgic for movie nights that began with a walk to the video store. Next door to the essential Red Cat, Cinephile Video held down a spot for movie rentals here on Main since 1997. Soon after this shot was taken in 2011, the store became They Live Video (a nod to the classic John Carpenter film of the same name?). Around 2014 they closed down like so many video stores of the time - thx a lot netflix. Around then, however, Carson Books in Dunbar was closing up on the westside and seeking a new location. They found the perfect spot on this strip, surrounded by other record, book and cultural shops of the area. In this same building Ogenki Sushi and their superhero mascot have been here since 2003, making fine art of sushi rolls. (dn) #mainstvan . EAST // 26th - 28th Ave Cinephile Video // Ongenki Sushi, 2011 Main Street, Vancouver.

This is it. The Last Blockbuster. On this part of Main Street anyways. Not to be confused with the doc of the same name released today ;) The best part was the drive up video drop off out back, what a throwback. At this time however, we were firmly into the Happy Bats scene with their stacked shelves of import horror, bang-on recommendations and indie spirit. Corporate video shops, who needs ‘em right? But chances are, we all have a Blockbuster memory tucked away… (dn) #mainstvan . WEST // 13th - 14th Ave Blockbuster Video, 2011 Main Street, Vancouver. (Repost from 5/16)