High-profile side trips options to the likes of Whistler and Victoria Island get top billing in travel guidebooks and Websites. They’re the cool brunette cousins to Vancouver’s flashy blonde.

Another cousin in the British Columbia family – low-key, historic, and charming New Westminster – might require a tip from an informed hotel concierge or a well-placed advertisement to get your attention. But once you learn about “New West,” as locals call it, you’d be wise to investigate its possibilities.

Nicknamed “the Royal City” to reflect its history as the capital city of British Columbia when the now-independent rovince was and English colony, New Westminster, was established by settlers in 1859 during Canada’s Gold Rush period. These days, times are interesting enough to make you rush there for other reasons.

A WORKING PAST
The SkyTrain light rail system gets you there from downtown Vancouver in approximately 20 minutes. The view from the train only hints at how the past, the present and the potential of New West intersecting into one.

You can’t help but notice the luxury condominiums springing up and commercial buildings getting “heritage” facelifts. There’s also the venerable Fraser River, which remains a “working river” and industrial waterway (that means no blue water), as it has since the mid-to-late 19th century.

The boats and barges carrying lumber and other large-scale cargo venture within shouting distance of the ever-so-quaint, Westminster Quay, a landmark largely responsible for the New West’s growth as a residential, commercial and leisure destination, which includes summer concerts and festivals.

The Westminster Public Market is the centerpiece of “the Quay” and the hub of many activities. It’s also houses a variety eateries, as well as vendors selling everything from fresh meats, seafood and produce, to custom soaps, exotic teas and African art.
The modest, two–story waterfront market lacks the upscale vibe of the popular Granville Island Public Market or Vancouver Harbour, but the vendors counter that with entrepreneurial charm and flea market prices. Also, the ease of navigation and the neighborhood feel of the market, restaurants and other attractions, have made the Quay a relaxing alternative that’s earned it the distinction of being Vancouver’s “other waterfront.”

Along the Quay’s pier (called the Esplanade), it’s common to see the area’s fledgling young professional population jogging or taking romantic strolls. Along the way they pass New West’s 32-foot, 5-ton tin soldier, registered with Guinness Records and believed to be tin figure inthe world.

In the soldier’s shadow, musicians play alongside the water, the Paddlewheeler Riverboat awaits new riders, and children play inside a replica steamboat. An authentic 1937 steamboat, the Samson V, is permanently docked nearby and has been converted into a small maritime heritage museum.

Another museum, the Fraser River Discovery Centre, is in its introductory phase of five-year development plan, but offers several interesting exhibits tracing the river’s environmental, economic, historical and cultural importance. Meanwhile, poker chips fly and slot machines turn onboard the jam-packed Royal Star Casino, a fully-functional, multilevel paddlewheeler that cruises the Fraser in the summer months.

The “other” New West, the city’s downtown area, rises from the Fraser’s banks and becomes a series of steep hills reminiscent San Francisco. An overpass allows you to walk from the Quay to Columbia Street, a drag of office buildings and mom-and-pop stores (okay, there’s one Starbucks) that was the site of a New West tragedy in 1898.

A fire destroyed every building in the Columbia Street District except two, the Burr Block (owned by the grandfather of the late “Perry Mason” actor and New West native, Raymond Burr) and the Queens Hotel. These surviving landmarks are part of the New West Heritage Walking Tour, a self-guided, two-hour journey along the rebuilt structures.

Several merchants sell detailed maps of the tour for $1, and feature photos of the original buildings. Every stop along the tour testifies to the pride and resilience of the New West residents at that time. The current habitants successfully carry that legacy and historic identity forward.

Some visitors – Hollywood producers and location scouts – can’t help but try to turn New West into somewhere else. They see the urban, suburban and industrial appeal of its architecture and neighborhoods – the elevated SkyTrain, the under/overpasses, large, warehouse-type facades – and have visions of neighborhoods in Chicago, New York and Philadelphia. These chameleon-like qualities add a hipness-factor to downtown New West, where movies and the television shows Dark Angel and The Chris Isaak Show have filmed in recent months.

The stylish, retro-rocker Isaak favors locations on Front Street, known as the Antique Alley, where several ‘50s and ‘60s furniture and collectibles shops mix among stores selling traditional English antiques. This colorful two-block stretch alone is enough to keep nostalgia buffs occupied for hours.

According to Steve Nisbet, co-owner of Oddities, an Antique Alley tenant, “New West was more the commercial hub in the ‘50s than Vancouver. It was more ‘lit-up,’ (flashy) but it petered out in the ‘60s.”

Decades later, Vancouver has clearly moved and stayed ahead, with newer generations of “Big City” folks viewing New West through lenses of cosmopolitan snobbery. But even Vancouver natives would have to admit that their smaller neighbor has its both traditional and evolving charms.

Originally published in The San Diego-Union Tribune, June 23, 2002