Coal Harbour
Encyclopedia
Coal Harbour is the name for a section of Burrard Inlet
lying between Vancouver
, Canada's downtown peninsula and the Brockton Peninsula of Stanley Park
. It has also now become the name of the neighbourhood adjacent to its southern shoreline, which was redeveloped as an upscale high-rise condominium district in the 1990s.
The harbour is bounded by the Financial District to the south and Stanley Park to the north. To the east is Deadman's Island
, the site of the naval station and museum , where the harbour opens up to the Burrard Inlet. The discovery of coal
in the harbour in 1862 inspired the name. Within the harbour is a floating gas station for marine vessels.
Coal Harbour is home to Vancouver Harbour Water Aerodrome
, located a few blocks from Canada Place
.
Notable inhabitants and developments in Coal Harbour's past include:
, to the southwest by West Georgia and Pender Streets, and to the northwest by Stanley Park. The northwestern section features parkland, private marina
s, several rowing
and boating clubs and a community centre designed by architect Gregory Henriquez
. Towards the Financial District in the southeast, and across Georgia Street, the neighbourhood is dominated by high-rise office and apartment buildings. Much of the area between Hastings Street and Georgia Street is part of the city's business district and in the days when it was an upper-class residential district West Pender Street was known as Blueblood Alley because of the many large mansions along it. The six floating homes in Coal Harbour, along with the twelve in False Creek are the only legal floating homes in the city of Vancouver.
Burrard Inlet
Burrard Inlet is a relatively shallow-sided coastal fjord in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Formed during the last Ice Age, it separates the City of Vancouver and the rest of the low-lying Burrard Peninsula from the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, home to the communities of West...
lying between Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada's downtown peninsula and the Brockton Peninsula of Stanley Park
Stanley Park
Stanley Park is a 404.9 hectare urban park bordering downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was opened in 1888 by David Oppenheimer in the name of Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor-General of Canada....
. It has also now become the name of the neighbourhood adjacent to its southern shoreline, which was redeveloped as an upscale high-rise condominium district in the 1990s.
The harbour is bounded by the Financial District to the south and Stanley Park to the north. To the east is Deadman's Island
Deadman's Island (Vancouver)
Deadman Island is a 3.8 ha island to the south of Stanley Park in Coal Harbour in Vancouver, British Columbia. The indigenous Sḵwxwú7mesh name is "skwtsa7s", meaning simply "island." Officially designated "Deadman Island" by the Geographical Names Board of Canada in 1937. it is commonly referred to...
, the site of the naval station and museum , where the harbour opens up to the Burrard Inlet. The discovery of coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
in the harbour in 1862 inspired the name. Within the harbour is a floating gas station for marine vessels.
Coal Harbour is home to Vancouver Harbour Water Aerodrome
Vancouver Harbour Water Aerodrome
Vancouver Harbour Water Airport or Vancouver Coal Harbour Seaplane Base, , is located at Coal Harbour in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...
, located a few blocks from Canada Place
Canada Place
Canada Place is a building situated on the Burrard Inlet waterfront of Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the home of the Vancouver Convention Centre, the Pan Pacific Hotel, Vancouver's World Trade Centre, and the world's first permanent IMAX 3D theatre . The building's exterior is covered by...
.
History
- Sḵwxwú7mesh settlements, notably on Deadman Island, Brockton Point and Lumberman's Arch.
- In 1862 minor exploration began of the visible coal seams on the flank of the bluff overlooking the harbour, first noted by Captain Vancouver. This bluff was approximately where most of West Hastings Street is today. The coal was low-grade, but its occurrence in clays similar to porcelain-making clays of the English Midlands led to the staking of what is known as the Brickmaker's Claim by the Three GreenhornsThe Three GreenhornsThe Three Greenhorns were three Englishmen, Samuel Brighouse, William Hailstone and John Morton, who were the first white settlers in the area known today as Vancouver's West End...
. The Brickmaker's Claim is now the West EndWest End, VancouverThe West End of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is on the downtown peninsula neighbouring Stanley Park and the areas of Yaletown, Coal Harbour and the downtown financial and central business districts....
. No clay was ever mined nor porcelain ever made, but one of the Greenhorns was the developer of the clay mine and brickworks at ClayburnClayburn, British ColumbiaClayburn is a small historic village now located with the City of Abbotsford, in the Central Fraser Valley of British Columbia. Largely surrounded by farmland and green fields, on the northern slopes of Sumas Mountain's eastern ridge, the historic centre is situated immediately north and east of...
on Sumas MountainSumas MountainSumas Mountain is a mountain located in Whatcom County, Washington, 15 miles northeast of Bellingham and southwest of Vedder Mountain. Located in the Skagit Range the mountain is notable for its high biodiversity and year-round hiking trails. It is sometimes referred to as American Sumas to...
near AbbotsfordAbbotsford, British ColumbiaAbbotsford is a Canadian city located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, adjacent to Greater Vancouver. It is the fifth largest municipality in British Columbia, home to 123,864 people . Its Census Metropolitan Area, which includes the District of Mission, is the 23rd largest in Canada,...
. - A settlement of Kanakas (Hawaiians) near today's Bayshore Inn and the eastern end of Lost LagoonLost LagoonLost Lagoon is an artificial, captive 16.6-hectare body of water, west of Georgia Street, near the entrance to Stanley Park in Vancouver, Canada. Surrounding the lake is a trail, and it features a lit fountain that was erected by Robert Harold Williams to commemorate the city's golden jubilee...
was known as the Kanaka Rancherie, or the Cherry Orchard due to its many cherry trees. The area is now called Devonian Harbourside Park, and memorial cherry trees have been planted there in memory of AIDS victims. - the Vancouver Boating Club, now Vancouver Rowing Club, from 1887 (originally at the bottom of the bluff at the foot of Howe Street)
- the Pacific Lumber Mill Company in the late 19th century
- The Royal Vancouver Yacht Club (their first clubhouse floated in Coal Harbour at the foot of Cardero street in 1903)
- Boeing Canada's Seaplane and Boat Factory beginning in the l 1919; (they purchased the Hoffar-Beeching Shipyard at 1927 West Georgia in 1929)
- William Boeing's yacht, the superb Taconite, was built at Hoffars in 1931.
- the Vancouver Shipyards through the 1930s
- the CP Rail Station & CP Steamships passenger terminal/dock
- Harbour Ferries, a tour-boat and water-taxi service, continues to operate from docks in Coal Harbour
- Howard HughesHoward HughesHoward Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
, who resided in the top two floors of the Bayshore Inn (Westin Bayshore) for 5 months and 28 days in the 1970s (6 months would have triggered Canadian residency and taxation issues for Mr. Hughes). - Denman ArenaDenman ArenaDenman Arena was the main sports arena located in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. The arena was located on Denman Street in Vancouver's West End, at the northwest corner of West Georgia Street and Denman. It was built at a cost of $300,000 in 1911 and held 10,500 people, making it one of the...
, an indoor ice arena that stood from 1911-1936. - Trader Vic's, for many years held to be Vancouver's best night-out, was launched in a tiki-style hut next to the Bayshore.
- HMCS DiscoveryHMCS DiscoveryHMCS Discovery is a Royal Canadian Navy Reserve division and shore facility based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Created during World War II from the Vancouver Half Company of the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve, Discovery was used for recruitment and training, and provided almost 8,000...
, a naval base on Deadman Island. - In 1993 Vancouver City Council froze applications for development of the Marathon Realty lands between Canada Place and the Bayshore Hotel. The company was required to reach an agreement with The First Narrows Floating Co-op, representing floating home and live-aboard boat residents in pre existing marinas, for their inclusion in the redevelopment of the waterfront. Negotiations concluded with the guarantee of space for residents in Coal Harbour Marina on extended leases.
Neighbourhood
The name Coal Harbour is also used to designate a relatively new official neighbourhood of the City of Vancouver. The neighbourhood is bounded to the southeast by Burrard StreetBurrard Street
Burrard Street is a major thoroughfare in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is the central street of Downtown Vancouver and the Financial District. The street is named for Burrard Inlet, located at its northern terminus, which in turn is named for Sir Harry Burrard-Neale.The street starts at...
, to the southwest by West Georgia and Pender Streets, and to the northwest by Stanley Park. The northwestern section features parkland, private marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
s, several rowing
Sport rowing
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
and boating clubs and a community centre designed by architect Gregory Henriquez
Gregory Henriquez
Gregory Henriquez is a Canadian architect, best known for the design of community-based mixed-use, institutional and social housing projects in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, Canada...
. Towards the Financial District in the southeast, and across Georgia Street, the neighbourhood is dominated by high-rise office and apartment buildings. Much of the area between Hastings Street and Georgia Street is part of the city's business district and in the days when it was an upper-class residential district West Pender Street was known as Blueblood Alley because of the many large mansions along it. The six floating homes in Coal Harbour, along with the twelve in False Creek are the only legal floating homes in the city of Vancouver.
External links
- Coal Harbour Community Centre
- Several historical photos of Coal Harbour
- City of Vancouver Photo Archives (search for "coal harbour")
- VancouverHistory.ca for historical references
- Coal Harbour Residents Association
- Map of Coal Harbour from Google Maps