Yaletown

Located within downtown Vancouver, is the neighbourhood of Yaletown. This particular neighbourhood is presently surrounded by Robson Street, False Creek and Homer Street. In the beginning, Yaletown was an industrial area dominated by rail yards and warehouses. After Expo 86, it has undergone many transformations and has become one of the most heavily inhabited districts within the city. There are various parks, high rise apartments, converted heritage buildings and marinas within the neighborhood. Yaletown represents one of the most substantial urban regeneration projects within all of North America.

The nearness of the railway and of False Creek led Yaletown to become a heavily industrialized neighborhood as the years progressed. Even nowadays, various factories, rail buildings and warehouses still survive that era.

Throughout the 20th century, the many real estate bust and boom cycles caused Yaletown to become shoddy and contaminated. This resulted in the city purchasing the neighbourhood. The whole neighborhood became ripe for development following Expo 86, or the 1986 World Fair. The location was sold to Li Ka-Shing; a Hong Kong based developer who set the area facelift and redevelopment process into motion which is still happening nowadays.

At the intersection of Davie Street and Pacific Boulevard, there is an old brick CP roundhouse close by, which has been transformed into the Roundhouse Community Centre. A small outdoor amphitheatre has been constructed by using the old engine turntable. As a tribute to the local rail history, it also houses Engine 374, which pulled the first passenger train into the city of Vancouver during 1887.

A lot of the area's apartment blocks are situated around Hamilton and Midland Street. Within Yaletown, a lot of the other architecture is newly constructed on the previously derelict yards. Many of the new residential and commercial buildings are uniform glass and concrete high-rise style.