4 — North Sh

News — Tourism Guide ’89

SLEEPY W. VAN
VILLAGE TURNS
COSMOPOLITAN

ONCE NO more than a ferry ter-
minal and a general store,
Ambleside is now the business —
and social centre — of West Van-
couver.

The ferry building has been
preserved and the summer cottage
character of Ambleside retained
and mixed with a cosmopolitan
flavor.

Tucked in between Park Royal
and Dundarave, the business sector
of Ambleside stretches from 13th
to 18th Street on both Marine
Drive and Bellevue.

Shoppers can stroll along the
tree-lined streets where they will
find everything from delicatessens
and clothing stores to bicycle
shops.

Ambleside has grown from its
origins as home to Vancouver
holiday-makers to become home te
a community of over 9,000 resi-
dents.

At the entrance to the village lies
Ambleside Park — Ambleside’s
recreational heart.

Originally called East Park,
Ambleside provides grassy fields
for frisbee and football en-
thusiasts.

On a hot summer evening,
visitors to the park can watch a

Canadian and International

NEWS photo Neil Lucente

CHILDREN PLAY at Ambleside Beach, the North Shore’s most popular swimming spot. During summer

months, families picnic and soak up the sun at this West Vancouver beach.

baseball game or walk down to
Capilano River underneath the
Lions Gate Bridge.

During the salmon run,
members of the Squamish Indian
Band spear fish, standing knee-
deep in the fast-running river.

——T

gifts and decorative exclusives

In the summer months, locals
flock to Ambleside beach to sun-
tan, swim, windsurf ard sail.

A concession stand provides
cold drinks and food for those in
need of a respite after a game of
pitch and putt golf or a walk
around the duck pond in
Ambleside’s park.

From the mouth of the Capilano
River, the seawall lines the shore
of Arnbleside all the way to Dun-
darave.

Here visitors can catch a
fascinating glimpse of Vancouver’s
inner harbor.

Huge freighters carrying cargo

from around the world sit side by
side with luxury ocean liners,
saiiboats aud the occasional canoe.

Joggers along. the seawall can
lock across to the Lions Gate
Bridge, Stanley Park, the Universi-
ty of British Columbia endowment
lands, Vancouver Island, and on a
clear day, the snow-capped peak of
Mount Baker.

Further west alons the seawall,

just past Hollyburn Sailing Club,
sits the criginal, refurbished ferry
terminal.

In 1914, the ferry used to dock
here from Vancouver. The build-

ing then became the bus depot for

West Vancouver’s blue buses.

__ In front of the heritage building
is a new pier, with a bench for
visitors to sit and daydream. There
is also a new waterfall and
sculpture.

If visitors miss Ambleside park,
they can visit John Lawson Park at
the foot of 17th Street. This park
has a summer pool and pleyground
for small children, as well cs a
pier.

The streets and storefronts of
Ambleside have recently been
rebuilt as part of the sweeping
changes of Ambleside's major
revitalization program.

The sidewalks and crosswalks of
the business area have been cob-
blestoned and the streets lined with
old fashioned lamps to add to the
village’s traditional character.

LOCAL NATIVE AND
CANADIAN ART

COACH BOUSE

ART & GIFTS LTD.
Park Royai South

922-9544

MmaRc singeR

Downtown 689-3136
Oakridge Centre, Vancouver 266-6411
Park Royal, West Vancouver 922-6030
Lansdowne Park, Richmond 270-1228

Pacific Centre,