Abstract in the alley

This isn't gritty just real. A lunch break on a regular day

The patterns of brick and paint on the walls in the alleys sometimes look like abstract paintings to me

Hastings street in the downtown eastside is still in transition. Just across the street are "hip" businesses. It can't be long before this part of the street is "gentrified"

Just down the street from the window below was the Nelson Street Cafe. It is gone now with the redevelopment in the area

You might expect this to be in the downtown east side but it's not. It's in an alley surrounded by modern upscale buildings. I am always fascinated by what is behind windows

This isn't the grittier part of the city it's the upscale Yaletown neighbourhood. It still has the hydro boxes on poles and the urban clutter. The curved building in the background is the Vancouver public library. It looks like the Roman colleseum

This building has now been bulldozed and a condominium stands in its place next to the Seymour Street ramp. I think this was more attractive in a strange way

The alleys are a world of their own

After the riots other  citizens expressed themselves in a decidedly more positive way on Granville Street

The day after the hockey riots people poured into the downtown core and spontaneously started writing messages on the boarded up windows. The air was charged with emotion. A very sad day in our city.

After the riot people - many of them young  - came downtown and helped clean up the mess. These people are the true reflection of Vancouver

During the 2010 olympics school children made lanterns and they were strung up on posts on Granville Street. 

A view down Granville Street. Even though its 2012 it looks decades old

Near china town is a tiny "house" that the grandmother of Jimi Hendrix used to live in. It's now a shrine

Even in the downtown eastside barbed wire was not something I expected to see. I wonder what it is guarding???

The movie industry adds to our collection of urban clutter but only temporarily

It seems it's not just people that get tatooted

One of the culinary options on Granville Street

So many questions about the person connected to the protruding legs and their life as they wait for the train to go where? for what?

A different perspective on a parking spot

The mysteries of what once was abound in these abandoned buildings under bridges
Commerce long gone but near by new commerce is emerging

This shot was taken on Drake street. It's a different world behind
the front facades

This building continues to draw me to it. The reflections fascinate me

This is the top of the hydo power station on union street. It powers our high tech world but looks like something from the 50's. 

Just chilling out on Granville Street in downtown Vancouver

This "storefront" is a bit unnerving, particularly on a rare snowy day with the even rarer pedestrian wandering by.
My apologies to those of you who took the time and effort to leave comments which did not get posted. The "bug" we believe has been fixed. Thanks to "M" and "M" for their help in identifying and resolving the problem.

Some of the art under the Granville Street bridge

The number of different topics and ideas covered by books is unending and browsing through a book store can introduce you to worlds you never dreamed existed