VA2007 - Area - West End

EAT: Lolita's

It’s worth fighting the crowds at Lolita’s South of the Border Cantina (1326 Davie St., 604-696-9996), where everything is made from scratch: homemade ginger beer is refreshing; fish tacos are among the city’s best with chunks of panseared halibut, local queso fresco, mango salsa, beans and rice.

EAT: Parkside Restaurant

Feel like you’ve stumbled into New York’s Upper West Side on the leafy oasis that is the patio at Parkside Restaurant (1906 Haro St., 604-683-6912). Discover why the foie gras parfait is famous citywide.

SHOP: Momentum

Momentum (1237 Burrard St., 604-689-4636), a men’s-only grooming emporium, will convince even the most grizzly meathead of the benefits of luxury razors, badger shaving brushes and hair-care products.

DRINK: 1181

Designed by modernist architects David Battersby and Heather Howat, 1181 (1181 Davie St., 604-687-3991) has cork walls, polished concrete floors and low-slung benches that make this gaybourhood room as sexy as the crowd that frequents it.

DO: Summer Festivals

The West End plays host in the summer to two of the city’s largest celebrations: the Pride Parade (vancouverpride.ca) and the HSBC Celebration of Light (hsbccelebra tionoflight.com) international fireworks competition at English Bay.

Reflections : Then & Now

The West End, 1957 — Houses gave way to high-rises, community pride became Pride with a capital P. The times, they were a-changin’.

Who would’ve thought these cookie-cutter houses would later transform into Vancouver’s most populous community, as well as North America’s largest gay-friendly neighbourhood? Fred Herzog’s 1957 photograph shows the view of the West End from the Burrard Street Bridge — just a year after the expiration of building codes that limited buildings to six storeys.

Fred Herzog, West End From Burrard Bridge, 1957

A development boom followed, resulting in the current landscape: a high-density mix of ’70-style apartment buildings, lush greenery and but a few mansions left standing. Since the ’70s, residents and businesses have steered planning in the West End, letting it develop into the vibrant one-of-a-kind community it is today — filled with patios, gay clubs and the restaurants and mom-and-pop shops that line English Bay, as well the annual Pride Parade that packs the streets every August.

Byron Lamarque

What a 1957 family living in one of these houses would’ve have said to a Pride Parade participant, ordering his coffee in nothing but a Speedo, we’ll never know. Evolution works in mysterious ways. — Rosel Kim