For those who already have gone to Gastown know that the moment you step in there, it’s like to live in two different eras at the same time.

Gastown is one of Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhoods and if  you want to travel back in time in history Gastown is the place to be, you feel like you’re stepping into a history book, but in real life.

If we go back in time, to when Vancouver wasn’t even Vancouver yet, a long time ago, before all the technology and modern buildings.

In 1867, a man called John Deighton arrived in Vancouver with his steamboat and him opened a saloon in the area near the port. As this area was full of buildings belonging to large companies at the time, and was also near the port, workers and merchants began to frequent it, and the bar ended up taking off and becoming a success. And because of his nickname, “Gassy,” the place became known as Gassy’s Town, which gradually transformed into what we all know today as Gastown.

(Pixabay)

(Pixabay)

The neighbourhood is truly amazing. The first restaurant I ate at here in Vancouver was the Old Spaghetti Factory, and I immediately fell in love with the place. I felt like I had entered a period drama. You can see how history is preserved in the place, and what especially  creates this feeling is the steam clock. It chimes every 15 minutes and you can see tourists fascinated by it. From every brick that forms the century old buildings, the old facades, the shops, it doesn’t take much to see what this place was like many, many years ago.

Gastown has its old-world charm, but its appeal goes beyond looking like an antique. Even though it seems to have stopped in time, the neighbourhood carries a modernity that comes from creativity. There are many shops, many restaurants, bars, galleries, and everything else that brings identity to the place. It’s what makes me want to leave the house just to stroll around the neighbourhood.

Obviously, not everything in this world is perfect, and Gastown also has its problems. Unfortunately, the problems worsen every year due to the number of homeless people, who congregate in a region of Gastown that many prefer to avoid, but it is still a shock to everyone, especially tourists who have no idea what is on that street and go to Gastown to have fun, see a bit of history, but end up encountering this regrettable situation.

It’s difficult, but it’s still a beautiful neighbourhood. Gastown is culturally important; it’s not perfect, it’s not peaceful, it’s where you see Our Vancouver even before it was Vancouver; it’s history and living history.