Disappearing Main Street
A documentary series about the changing face of Vancouver’s Main Street.
Vancouver’s Main Street may be considered one of “the coolest streets in North America” but it’s changing, and fast. In 2011, anticipating a (new) wave of redevelopment & gentrification, I partnered with Jennifer Okrusko to photograph the entirety of Main Street’s frontage, both sides, from 2nd Avenue up to 33rd. The result is a 62-block artifact of how this street looked in the summer of 2011. The images were published to the Disappearing Main Street blog over the period of one month – Eastside at daybreak, Westside as the sun set. Selections from the series appear weekly on the dedicated @MainStVan instagram account with extended captions & revealing comments.
It is remarkable to hear the stories & memories coming from residents of our neighbourhood, as together we reflect on history, today’s Main, and how the Mount Pleasant community will adapt to the many changes affecting Vancouver.
Here is a small selection from the hundreds of images in this series, featuring some businesses that have closed, some buildings that have been torn down, and some mainstays that are resilient in the face of change.
Archival, digital prints are available from this series and have been exhibited around Mount Pleasant. Please get in touch for more information.
