ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Seattle ’84

English Bay Beach, Vancouver, B.C.

Include a friendly foreign country in your ACRL National Conference plans. Vancouver, British Columbia, is a mere hop from Seattle by plane, and only three hours away by bus or car. If you drive, you may stop at Marysville for pie, or detour along Chuckanut Drive, south of Bellingham, in search of oysters and scenery. You will cross the International Boundary at Peace Arch Park, in view of flower beds, sailboats, and Peace Arch itself, a white monolith inscribed “Children of a Common Mother.”

Vancouver in April will be in blossom along the boulevards and in such public garden spots as Vandusen Gardens, Queen Elizabeth Park, and the Botanical Gardens at the University of British Columbia. In Stanley Park you will find more flowers as you stroll along the seawall, pausing to visit the polar bears at the Zoo and the whales at the Aquarium. Continue your walk along English Bay and onto Denman Street to look for bookstores and Italian ice cream.

Vancouver’s mountains are close to the city center, and the famous twin peaks of the Lions are in evidence on every clear day. Take the seabus to the North Shore and ride the cable car to the top of Grouse Mountain, or drive across the Lions’ Gate Bridge to Mount Seymour.

The most beautiful building in the city may be the University of British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology, a permanent showcase for the breathtaking display of totem poles and for a distinguished collection with emphasis on West Coast native artifacts.

The new Vancouver Art Gallery, in the splendidly restored Old Court House, will be presenting a visiting exhibition of Canadian folk art, as well as paintings by Emily Carr and other works from the city’s own collection. The little galleries—for instance, the Bau-Xi, the Equinox, the Atelier and the de Vooght, all on South Granville Street—offer works of contemporary artists, of whom Vancouver boasts a creditable number. You’ll find British Columbia Indian art for sale at the Bent Box on West Fifteenth Avenue, and Inuit art at Images for a Canadian Heritage, across from the Vancouver Public Library, or at the Inuit Gallery of Vancouver in Gastown. Original works of art can be taken home to the States duty free.

The American dollar goes far in Canada, and the United States Customs allows an exemption of up to three hundred dollars over a forty-eight hour stay. Shop in Pacific Centre, on Robson Street (nicknamed “Robsonstrasse” for its European flavor), or in Gastown where the city began. Look for Cowichan Indian sweaters. Experience our Chinatown, the second largest in North America. Wander for a while in the Granville Island Market, a true “people-place.”

Restaurants are numerous and varied. You might try Jonathan’s or Bridge’s on Granville Island, II Giardino, La Cantina (or another of Umberto’s magnificent series), the Kettle of Fish for seafood, Tommy O’s for Italian fare, or, farther afield, the Savoury at Deep Cove, to name only an appetizing few. Poll Vancouverites at the Conference for their favorite eating places.

If time allows, take a ferry or seaplane to Victoria. Tea at the Empress Hotel, near the Harbor and the Legislative Buildings, is a memorable evocation of a legendary British Empire.

These are only a few of the reasons to visit Vancouver in the Spring. Come up and see us sometime soon!

For more information, write the Greater Vancouver Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1055 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6E 4C8.—Phyllis Reeve, Acquisitions Division, University of British Columbia Library. ■ ■