Briana Tomkinson

Heritage Walks from SkyTrain Stations

Vancouver historian John Atkin has published a book about heritage walking tours near each SkyTrain station. Local blogger Just A Gwai Lo has made it a mission to try out (and blog, and photograph!) each one. 


He recently followed the New Westminster Station route, and what struck me was his assessment of our city:

New West holds a strong place in B.C. history, having the distinction of being British Columbia's capital city, though it doesn't hold much in my imagination, spending most of my time in Vancouver or its suburb to the East, Burnaby. I've spent far more time in Surrey than in New West, and New West has always been closer!
It's really sad that this is how New West is perceived outside our borders. It has become little more than a pass-through place for most of the Lower Mainland. 

Being a hidden gem has its benefits (I'll never forget our first realtor's fumbling attempts to explain 'the Burnaby premium' - meaning you pay more for an uglier place in a worse neighbourhood as soon as you cross 10th Ave) but it just doesn't sit right with me. 

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