Let’s spend Saturday morning exploring Strathcona

It's been 2 years since we did this photowalk, and it is always mentioned as s place people would like to explore. Looking ahead, it looks like we might get some decent weather …..right now Saturday morning is looking pleasant so let's go visit again.

In case you don't know about Strathcona, here's a bit of it's history…..

Strathcona is one of the cities oldest neighbourhoods and one of its most culturally and economically diverse.

It includes parts of Vancouver's dense, bustling Chinatown, borders one of Canada's poorest areas (the Downtown Eastside), and has, in recent years, been a prime area for gentrification.

Today over 8,000 people live in Strathcona, which grew during the city's boom years between the city's founding in 1886 and 1920 due in large part to the choice of early Vancouver as a railway terminus. It emerged from the original settlement that grew around Hastings Mill.

Originally called the East End, the neighbourhood adopted the name Strathcona in the 1960s. It has always been a working-class neighborhood, and its residents have always been from many ethnic backgrounds. It is the only neighbourhood where English is not the most commonly spoken language, with 61% of residents reporting Chinese as their mother tongue, followed by English at 24%.

The neighbourhood was earmarked for demolition in the 1950s as part of an urban renewal program. Strathcona would have been transformed into "block upon block of identical apartments buildings and townhouses" for social housing. The development was stopped due to opposition from the community, led by residents such as Mary Lee Chan who banded together to form the Strathcona Property Owners and Tenants Association. Just as the neighbourhood organisers were making headway at preserving the neighbourhood, city engineers proposed putting a freeway through the southern part of the neighbourhood which would have connected to a proposed waterfront route. The connectors along Gore and Carrall Streets, would have partially destroyed Chinatown and Gastown.

The late 19th and early 20th century architecture in the area is a relative rarity in Vancouver and many houses in Strathcona are designated heritage houses. A number of homeowners have restored their houses in the original Victorian or Edwardian styles, with a particular attention to the "true colours" of the period. (Please remember that they are actually people’s houses and families live in them, so at all times be respectful and don’t intrude).

HOW DO I GET THERE: If driving plan your trip by searching Google Maps. It is mostly street parking, some of it metered If using transit...... www.translink.ca.

WHAT SHOULD I BRING? A Camera, it doesn't matter if you have a camera phone, a point and shoot or a DSLR, any camera is fine …. Wear comfortable clothes and footwear......and (dare I say it) your sunscreen!

RSVP PROTOCOL - if you RSVP to this event and then can't make it please have the courtesy to change your RSVP so that people on the waiting list will have a chance to participate. If you are on the wait list and can't attend, please remove your name from the list.

RAIN - if it looks like rain, i will notify by 6pm on Friday May 9th. Check here and/or watch for an email

AT ALL TIMES, PLEASE BE MINDFUL OF YOURSELF AND YOUR FELLOW PHOTO WALKERS, YOUR PROPERTY AND YOUR SURROUNDINGS!

VANCOUVER PHOTO-WALKS AND IT’S ORGANIZERS ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU OR YOUR PROPERTY AND WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THIS BY SIGNING UP TO ATTEND.

AFTER THE MEET-UP DON'T FORGET TO UPLOAD EIGHT OF YOUR BEST IMAGES

Hope to see you there!

Tracy