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Archive of posts tagged boring vancouver

another one down

Posted by  on 21 July 2009, 9:37 am
i recently had the pleasure to enjoy a bus ride and with it the usual morning news blitz…yes, i am referring to a quick peak in the 24h. this occurred last friday, and the story that caught my eye was in regards to a change within the entertainment side of things of boring old vancouver. as some of you may have heard, richard’s on richards is closing down its doors…it’s one the cities oldest clubs and quite frankly one of the biggest (size wise). anyhow, i can’t ever say i had a great time when i went there…however, the venue itself did sometimes impress. the layout and the size were acceptable when it came to a night club. comparing this particular venue with the latests sardine cans night clubs, that seem to pop-up like mushrooms after the rain, in vancouver…it is sad to see it close down. it seems there’s a trend in vancouver lately…and the competition is on to see who opens up the smallest club (yes i’m including the ‘trendy’ lounges in this)…with the lamest top40 playlist. based on their size, these newest venues would make the hong kong architects cringe with envy.

richard’s on richards closed down to make way to further development in the downtown core…the now proud owners of the vancouver canucks are responsible for this. it seems that’s what we need downtown…more people living there. the city already has a reputation of boring…after all everything closes at 3am (or 2am depending on your area of entertainment)…and this is due as to not disturb the community to much with the noise…would it make more sense to keep the venues open till 5-6am (if not longer?). anyhow…instead of renovating the older places (as they are old, boring and the interiors have deteriorated) they are closing them down. yes, i’m aware that this particular club is relocating…but is it even worth it? plaza for one is getting renovated, and while i haven’t visited yet, the outside is still horrible. no change in signs and there’s hardly any space in front of the club due to the construction going on.

with the olympics knocking on the door…this city is looking to ensure these will be the olympics without decent entertainment. the downtown core is simply boring, there’s nothing going on that would attract attention. every venue you visit is virtually the same…same lame playlists, just randomly selected. the live band venues have at least that going for them…live music. granville street is immersed in dust…making it extremely hard to get around. however, this could be a great opportunity to create an entertainment district…think about it…close down the entire strip. no cars allowed, plan trees and add large patios. split the patios with the different venues…create the walk only zone…and allow the people to have a place to hang out. make it the strip to be in downtown. olympics or no olympics, this could potentially be built as a top-notch entertainment district. add the speakers outside, let the djs play their tunes…have the covered patios (retractable roofs of course)…and add the heaters, thus make it usable in the winter time as well. it’s hard enough to drive on the granville strip when it’s open, so why not just close it down. make it so that people want to be there…let them have a good time…and besides the profits the city would draw from it…i’m pretty certain it would also cut down on the ‘violence’ associated with the night life in downtown vancouver. so, don’t stop the music…but make it better…

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