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History of Gastown

Gastown is a national historic site in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the northeast end of Downtown adjacent to the Downtown Eastside. Its historical boundaries were the waterfront (now Water Street and the CPR tracks), Columbia Street, Hastings Street, and Cambie Street, which were the borders of the 1870 townsite survey, the proper name and postal address of which was Granville, B.I. ("Burrard Inlet").

The Steam clock

Raymond Saunders' first steam clock was built in 1977 to solve the issue of a steam vent in a popular sidewalk for the renovated Gastown district of Vancouver. Although the clock is now owned by the City of Vancouver, funding for the project, over $C58,000, was provided by contributions from local merchants, property owners, and private donors. Incorporating a steam engine and electric motors, the clock displays the time on four faces and announces the quarter hours with a whistle chime that plays the Westminster Quarters. The clock is featured on the cover for the 2011 Nickelback album Here and Now.

Rogers Arena

Rogers Arena is an indoor sports arena located at 800 Griffiths Way in the downtown area of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Opened in 1995, the arena was known as General Motors Place (GM Place) from its opening until July 6, 2010, when General Motors Canada ended its naming rights sponsorship and a new agreement for those rights was reached with Rogers Communications. Rogers Arena was built to replace Pacific Coliseum as Vancouver's primary indoor sports facility and in part due to the National Basketball Association's 1995 expansion into Canada, when Vancouver and Toronto were given expansion teams.

Architecture of Vancouver

The architecture of Vancouver and the Greater Vancouver region reflects the area’s rapid growth during the late 20th century into a vibrant internationally recognized destination of choice and place to live. The region’s temperate climate, proximity to the Coast Mountains, and siting amongst inlets and rivers along the shores of the Strait of Georgia (the northern third of the body of water recently named the Salish Sea), have fostered an intimate relationship between its inhabitants and the natural surroundings.

The Terry Fox memorial

Terrance Stanley "Terry" Fox CC OD (July 28, 1958 – June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research. Although the spread of his cancer eventually forced him to end his quest after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 mi), and ultimately cost him his life, his efforts resulted in a lasting, worldwide legacy. The annual Terry Fox Run, first held in 1981, has grown to involve millions of participants in over 60 countries and is now the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research; over C$650 million has been raised in his name.

Vancouver's Convention Centre

The Vancouver Convention Centre (formerly known as the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre, or VCEC), is a convention centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; it is one of Canada's largest convention centres. With the opening of the new West Building in 2009, it now has 466,500 ft² (43,340 m²) of meeting space. It is owned by the British Columbia Pavilion Corporation, a crown corporation owned by the government of British Columbia.

Aurora Borealis at Jericho Beach

An aurora, sometimes referred to as a polar light, is a natural light display in the sky, predominantly seen in the high latitude (Arctic and Antarctic) regions. Auroras are produced when the magnetosphere is sufficiently disturbed by the solar wind that the trajectories of charged particles in both solar wind and magnetospheric plasma, mainly in the form of electrons and protons, precipitate them into the upper atmosphere (thermosphere/exosphere), where their energy is lost. The resulting ionization and excitation of atmospheric constituents emits light of varying colour and complexity. The form of the aurora, occurring within bands around both polar regions, is also dependent on the amount of acceleration imparted to the precipitating particles. Precipitating protons generally produce optical emissions as incident hydrogen atoms after gaining electrons from the atmosphere. Proton auroras are usually observed at lower latitudes. Different aspects of an aurora are elaborated in various sections below.