Vancouver's Waterfront station at 601 West Cordova and opened on August 1, 1914. It was the Pacific terminus for the Canadian Pacific Railway's (CPR) transcontinental passenger trains to Montreal, Quebec and Toronto, Ontario. [Wikipedia]
It was the third Vancouver train station to be built by CPR; and it seems it was built on a new site - not replacing the second station. It was decommissioned as the main train station in the 1980's and now serves as the main transportation hub for Vancouver's public transit company Translink, and connects the metro (SkyTrain) and passenger ferry to Vancouver's North Shore (SeaBus) and the commuter train WestCoast Express.
Waterfront Station is separated from the waterfront by train tracks still used by the cargo trains and the Westcoast Express. An elevated walkway with a nice view gets you to the SeaBus docking area - which is a floating platform and connected by a flexible ramp to the landing area for the escalators.
You will need a ticket to explore past the turnstiles which separate the Waterfront stations hall from the SkyTrain and SeaBus areas.
Waterfront station is a neo-classical building with a beautiful ceiling. Check out that mosaic floor!
In the main hall there are two clocks facing each other, and just below the ceiling are paintings with Canadian landscapes by a then famous painter Adelaide Langford (1854-1939). IllustratedVancouver has a great post about this artist and her paintings in the Waterfront station, and mentions: "Ironically, the placement of these paintings at Waterfront Station so far from our line of sight has probably helped to preserve them. At the time of writing, it is not clear if any of her other paintings have survived." This blog also has a fascinating follow up article where a reader has puzzled out which mountain ranges are depicted.
Inside the station is Rogue restaurant, with a pretty decent beer selection and something-for-everyone meals, and right across the parking lot to the East is very cozy old-style pub Steamworks Brewery with their own pretty good brews, pub food, and if you are lucky enough to get it, a seat in the downstairs area overlooking the harbour.
Add new comment