The Sylvia Hotel

During the summer months, its façade is nearly impossible to see with all that ivy crawling on it. Covered with Virginia creeper, this Vancouver landmark was once the tallest building in West End, easily seen from miles away. It was built in 1912, and was originally an apartment building, considered by many as Vancouver's grandest. When the depression hit, the apartments were turned into hotel rooms, often accommodating merchant seamen. The hotel now has a large, modern extension, but the original building is definitely worth a visit, especially the English-pub styled lounge which has a great view overlooking the beach and Bay. After all these years, the hotel still draws considerable attention and retains its rather prime location

From the Hotel, we cross Beach Avenue and return to the seawall path adjacent to the beach itself, heading left and walking towards the bathhouse.

English Bay Beach

English Bay Beach is one of Vancouver's most popular beaches with both tourists and Vancouverites. In summer, it is crowded with people swimming in the sea and bathing in the sun, kids playing on the waterslide, street performers entertaining and people filling the seawall just strolling, cycling or skating. Give yourself a few minutes to take it all in.

The beach has always been popular, especially after sand was added in 1898, and people began to build themselves cottages where they would spend their summers. It's hard to imagine that in order to reach the beach in the 1890's, one had to follow trails through the bushes and then, when you arrived, the beach was divided in two by a large rock, men on one side and women on the other! In the early 1900's, a wooden bathhouse was built (people no longer had to change behind the bushes) and a walking pier with a glassed-in dancehall called "The Prom" were added. The current bathhouse was constructed in 1931 and seven years later, the pier and dancehall were both torn down.

Joe Fortes

A significant figure in the history of this beach is 'old black Joe,' a Barbados-born man that made English Bay his home in the 1890's and made a considerable impact on the lives of those who knew him. We have dedicated a section to Joe where you can find out a bit more about this local hero.

Fireworks

If you are fortunate enough to be visiting Vancouver in late July/early August, you probably have already heard the buzz about the town. Every year, English Bay hosts an international fireworks competition entitled the 'Symphony of Fire', with a series of spectacular fireworks displays blasting from a barge in the bay. More than 350,000 spectators on each of the 4 nights of the 1997 series gathered together on the beach and other vantage points around Vancouver to watch the 'biggest barge-based fireworks display in the world.'

TRIVIA!
Every New Years Day, several hundred people take the plunge into the icy waters of English Bay for the annual Polar Bear swim, a tradition established in 1920 when Peter Pantages, a man who swam in English Bay three times a day everyday regardless of the conditions, formed the Polar Bear Club.

Sundial

At the beach entrance at the end of Denman Street, you can see a sundial made of bronze and granite (pictured at right). It was placed here in 1967 in memory of the first investors of the West End - Morton, Brighouse and Hailstone.

 

Beyond this area of the beach we will walk a few hundred meters to the rock sculpture in the distance - Inuit inukshuk.