Jane Jacobs' quintessential main street is located in Vancouver?
“Where is this perfect main street in Vancouver?” you ask. No it is not Robson Street. No, it is not Alberni Street. No, it is not South Granville Street. Nor, is it not Denman Street, Commercial Drive or Lonsdale Ave.
Ironically it is actually called “Main Street” and it is from East 7th Ave to 30th Ave. Yes, 23 blocks of continuous local boutiques, restaurants, cafes, grocery stores and services.
Jane Jacob’s would have loved Vancouver’s Main Street.
This is a typical block along Vancouver’s Main Street. It has just the right amount of charm and clutter, old and new, low and highbrow to create a fun walkable street that is full of useful shops that meet the everyday needs of locals.
No Gentrification
There are few national chains, mostly “mom and pop” shops, which is exactly what Jacobs thought made for a great Main Street.
There are lots of doors on the street and windows to look at. There are thrift stores and used bookstores, mixed in with funky restaurants and small grocery stores. There is even a garage that still repair cars and a car dealership.
It has all of ingredients of a good Main Street that Jacob’s wrote about in her 1960s book “The Death and Live of Great American Cities.”
It is a nice mix of shops, cafes, restaurants and services - something for everyone! There are just a few new condos and nothing over four stories.
The side streets have a diversity of single family homes that still look like the original homes, with a few new infills and some renovations, but nothing as extensive as Calgary’s inner city communities where there are new infills on every block.
FYI: We didn’t see a lot of “For Lease” signs along Main Street, which is surely a healthy sign. And Kevin Kent of Knifewear tells me that he pays higher rent for his store in Vancouver, than for his stores in Calgary (Inglewood), Ottawa (Glebe) and Edmonton (Whyte Avenue). So the success of the street isn’t lower rents that makes it so attractive to local businesses.
Update
I originally wrote this blog after flaneuring Main Street in the spring of 2019. I am pleased to report that after another visit in Dec 2023, Vacouver’’s Main Street continues to evolve with new shops and services but retains its charm and character. A couple of the highlights were Welks General Store, Trafiq Cafe & Bakery and Carson Books & Records.
You can’t miss Welk’s General Store. It sells everything from hardware to wool, from books to cards, from house plants and seeds to food.
Trafiq makes great sandwiches, including this California Club on Cranberry-Pecan Sourdough bread.
We shared a tasty Walnut coffee cake.
Carson’s Books & Records is small but punches above its weight. I couldn’t resist the SALE and picked up Arthur Erickson: An Architect’s Life for my collection of biographies.
There are no fancy designer buildings, no special signage or ornamentation, just back-to-back pedestrian oriented shops.
A typical side street is populated with single family homes, there are no low, mid or high rise buildings.
Postcards From Main Street
Every good Main Street has to have a diner.
Independent cafes like The Liberty Bakery and Cafe at E 21st Street are scattered all along Main Street. In fact there are three cafe’s on this corner alone.
There are several used bookstores like this one. No I didn’t get lucky at this bookstore but I did the next day at Paper Hound Bookshop the next day - a signed copy of Jane Jacobs’ “Systems of Survival.”
There are lots of good food places…
Main Street is home to a couple of neon signs like this one….a reminder of how the street has evolved with the times.
Their old post office has been converted into a special event space.
I counted 40+ typewriters at The Regional Assembly of Text stationary and card shop. They actually have a free night when they let people use the typewriters to create their own prose. I have added it to my calendar.
Yes it has the organic grocer offering Kombucha “that is not as expensive as you think,” but there are several older grocery stores that look like they have been there since the ‘60s.
Sing Sing Beer Bar is a great spot for people watching and catching some afternoon rays…we certainly enjoyed their Happy Hour!
I included myself in this photo so you could appreciate how big this sock monkey aka Easter Bunny is. I love streets with quirky window displays.
The Granville Island Toy Company opened a second location on Main Street in 2007.
I am a sucker for shops with great blade signs.
There are some great “window licking” photography opportunities along Main Street. A sure sign of a pedestrian friendly street.
The Soap Dispensary and Kitchen Staples offers a wide array of natural products. No those are not beer taps.
Even Calgary’s Kevin Kent chose Main Street for his Vancouver Knifewear store.
There are some great shop and restaurant names like this one and The Shameful Tiki Room.
Marian Distribution Centre is a real throw back, with its selection of spiritual books and artifacts.
Main Street has a few antique stores, as well as a couple of thrift stores for those treasure hunters.
I love the simplicity of just closing off half a block of this side street to create a community gathering place. It is also a simple and effective way to prevent traffic from cutting through the neighbourhood.
This is the only other evidence of modernization of the street with a small pocket park and a strange red metal sculpture passageway that seems so popular these days. There are no special pedestrian crossing, no bump outs so drivers can see people trying to cross the road and no bike lanes. Everyone just seems to use common sense to make it work.
Yes there is even an Exile on Main Street in Vancouver….
This photo says it all…
Last Word
You will notice there are no fancy sidewalks. No designer furniture. Yes there are some banners, but for the most part the street and buildings have been left to age gracefully. There is something authentic about the street. It is not contrived as so many urban streets are today - trying to hard to be pedestrian friendly. One could ask can good Main Streets be planned or do they have to grow organically.
It has the right combination of old, middle-aged and new buildings and diversity of shops catering mostly to locals, with some destination shops thrown in for good measure.
I think Jane Jacobs' would have loved Vancouver’s Main Street. It is hard to believe there are still streets like this in Vancouver, where everything is being gentrified.
If you like this blog, you will like these links:
Calgary: 24 Main Streets Coming Soon?
Halifax: The blade sign capital of Canada