Vancouver is a young city, even by North
American standards. It was not yet a town when British Columbia became part
of the Canadian confederation in 1871. The city's history, such as it is,
remains visible to the naked eye: eras are stacked east to west along the
waterfront, from cobblestone late-Victorian Gastown to shiny postmodern
glass cathedrals of commerce.
The Chinese, among the first to recognize the possibilities of Vancouver's
setting, came to British Columbia during the 1850s seeking the gold that
inspired them to name the province Gum-shan, or Gold Mountain. As laborers
they built the Canadian Pacific Railway, giving Vancouver a purpose - one
beyond the natural splendor that Royal Navy captain George Vancouver admired
during his lunchtime cruise around its harbor on June 13, 1792. The Canadian
transcontinental railway, along with the city's Great White Fleet of clipper
ships, gave Vancouver a full week's edge over the California ports in
shipping tea and silk to New York at the end of the 19th century.
For its original inhabitants, the Coast Salish peoples, Vancouver was the
sacred spot where the mythical Thunderbird and Killer Whale flung wind and
rain all about the heavens during their epic battles. How else to explain
the coast's fits of meteorological temper? Devotees of a later religious
tradition might worship in the groves of Stanley Park or in the fir and
cedar interior of Christ Church Cathedral, the city's oldest church.
Vancouver, with a metropolitan-area population of about 2 million, is
booming. The mild climate, exquisite natural scenery, and relaxed, outdoor
lifestyle is attracting new residents to British Columbia's business center,
and the number of visitors is increasing for the same reasons. Many people
get their first glimpse of Vancouver when catching an Alaskan cruise, and
many return at some point to spend more time here.
