balmoral hotel - a photo on Flickriver

            Vancouver, BC

I don't live here anymore, but this is my hometown. Vancouver's downtown area now known as the Downtown Eastside, dominated by Hastings Street, has vastly changed since my youth. Back then, it was a vibrant, bustling part of the city. In recent times the area has significantly changed and is no longer vibrant at all. It's quite sad.

The Hotel Balmoral was once a jewel of downtown Vancouver. It opened for business back in 1912 as a high-end hotel. Canada's Historic Places web site has this to say about the hotel's beginning: "Built in 1911-1912 at the peak of prosperity, the Balmoral Hotel is representative of the city's entrepreneurial optimism for the future. Vancouver had by that time become firmly established as the financial distribution, shopping and manufacturing centre of British Columbia.
In a September 1912 announcement of the official opening of the Balmoral Hotel, the journal Architect, Builder, and Engineer notes that construction of this first-class hotel 'will relieve some of the former congestion in hotel circles of the day'. This type of high-class establishment would have accommodated commercial businessmen and wealthy travellers to the area, rather than the seasonal workers who lived in less elaborate hotels and lodgings."

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. In 2020, the city of Vancouver reached a deal with the owners (who had been renting rooms to the local vulnerable folks) to expropriate the now-derelict hotel and it is to be turned into safe and secure low-income public housing.

And of course, I'm all about that wonderful old neon sign. It was designed by Neon Products in the 1940s. The entire downtown area was once dominated by large, dramatic neon signs and this old relic is a visual reminder of the former neon glory that was found on the streets of Vancouver.

Taken on: September 4, 2018

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#SIGNGEEKS

British Columbia

Vancouver

hastings street

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Sets appears in: • i am a sign geek • atomic no. 10 more » • broken, battered & bruised • motels & hotels • it's time • typography • architectural • people, real or not • canadian signs • british columbia • 2018 • orange • brown/rust/brick • nikon • drive by shooting « less

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Camera: Nikon D3100, f/5.0, 1/1250 sec, 31mm (=46mm), ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D3100
Lens:	18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6
Aperture:	f/5.0
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/1250)
Focal Length:	31mm (35mm equivalent: 46mm)
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 22.4 (Windows)
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