Forgotten Downtown Plazas

by Isabelle Kim, photo from City of Vancouver Archives

As a part of research I have been conducting around public spaces within Downtown Vancouver, I was curious to look into Vancouver’s history, and began my search in the Vancouver Archives. The archives were filled with an assortment of documents, plans, and images of the city, but what particularly caught my interest were a collection of photos capturing public plazas during the 1970s and 1980s – stills taken of people using these plazas and a variety of public spaces around Downtown. Many of these spaces still exist in the city today and one can’t help but wonder if they are still as popular.

I enjoy archival photos because they vividly depict the physical landscape that once existed, as well as the many lives and people lived within their respective settlements. With Vancouver’s downtown public plazas, one sees people congregating around and within them, as an essential part of civic life. Each plaza either provides public art, green space, public seating, or all three, and allows people to linger, read books, eat lunch, enjoy a coffee, or talk to one another freely.

The photos are a reminder of how public spaces should be available for everyone to use and enjoy. This sparks reflection on how many downtown public plazas and spaces are being used like this today. Over time, the streets of downtown have changed dramatically, through rezoning and site redevelopment, sacrificing many public spaces along the way. Should this really be the case?

I recently took a walk around Downtown and visited some of the public sites captured in the archives. I know Vancouver’s weather is not the best year-round, however I could not help but notice a lack of people taking advantage of these spaces. Public plazas don’t appear as alive or thriving as they used to be. Is it because people have moved on and found new public spaces that are more attractive and appealing? Or could it be that these spaces no longer appear open to the public, but are increasingly becoming private spaces?

These are some of the questions I ask myself and continue to consider as the city transforms. It was an eye opening experience to take a look back and see how public plazas were built in the past and used by the public. We should all make it a goal to consider how public spaces can be protected in the city, and how they can be revitalized as part of the city’s future. Simply put: people need public spaces.

For more photos, visit the original piece on Spacing.