THE TALK OF THE TOWN

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What Do We Have For You This Month?

Welcome to “The Talk of The Town” for September, 2026. Click on the following links to find:

  • West End News & Notes: … Plans to improve Davie Street, a new West End book launched, links to the many parties running in next month’s civic election, news from Little Sister’s, tributes to departed friends, and more …

  • West End Street & Lane Names: … Vancouver’s streets and lanes each has their own history. This month we look at Robson Street.

  • Hidden Treasure Hunt: Be the first to email us identifying the location of this West End “Hidden Treasure” and win your choice of a $50 coffee shop gift card.

  • West End / Coal Harbour In The News: In case you missed it, here’s a round-up of news stories from our community.

(click images to enlarge)

West End News & Notes

CHANGES COMING TO DAVIE STREET
Extensive Construction Begins This Month

Proposed upgrades to davie street. (city of vancouver)

The City of Vancouver has announced construction upgrades to Davie Street between Jervis Street and Thurlow Street, beginning in early September 2026 and continuing through spring 2028.

The plans include:

  • Wider sidewalks for pedestrians and bus boarding

  • New trees, landscaping, and green rainwater infrastructure

  • Upgraded street furniture, including pink benches and bike racks

  • A new colourful shared seating area

  • New sidewalk lighting

  • A new pedestrian crossing between Thurlow and Bute Streets

  • More sidewalk space for outdoor patios

  • Adjusted bus stop locations to improve travel time and reliability

  • Custom First Nations-designed bus shelter panels and tree grates

  • Upgraded electrical infrastructure and trolley poles

  • New Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride Flag crosswalks

These changes are not universally popular with Davie Street businesses and nearby residents. The West End Journal will have a fuller report soon.

TALES OF AN ICONIC WEST END BUILDING
Off The Presses This Month

Stanley Park Manor: A Collective History brings together dozens of voices and hundreds of lives lived in one of the West End’s most iconic buildings. With previous tenants such as Pierre Berton, Simma Holt, Trish Klein (of the Be Good Tanyas), and congregations of others up to the present, this almost 100-year-old Vancouver building is steeped in stories.

With the help of the former building manager, Lyn Guy, poet and author Kevin Spenst has compiled, researched, and added to accounts from actors, artists, journalists, and others. An assortment of Spenst’s lyric essays, interviews with his neighbours, and the dozens of personal accounts from others (and photos galore) make up this hybrid collection that’s part museum of miscellany and magic, and part walking tour through the building’s generations of tenants. 

An ode to the poetics of coincidence and community, Stanley Park Manor celebrates the power of people coming together.  

The author will be reading from the new book at the West End Community Centre & Joe Fortes Library 50th anniversary celebration on Sunday, September 20. More information on that here and more about the book and pre-orders at the publisher’s website here.

GET READY TO VOTE
Vancouver City Election on October 17

Vancouver’s civic election takes place on Saturday October 17. The nomination period (in case you were thinking of running) opens September 1 and closes September 11. 

There are 27 positions open — one mayor, 10 city councillors, seven park board commissioners, and nine school trustees. They will be elected to serve for four years.

There are already more parties and candidates declared than for any previous election we can remember. Too many for The West End Journal to cover comprehensively, so to help you catch up with the parties and their platforms, find the links to their websites below. 

Discussions are apparently still ongoing between the three left-wing parties, Green, COPE, and OneCity, about a possible unity candidate for mayor. Stay tuned.

And, if you really want to throw your own hat in the ring, you can find a nomination package and other election information here.

As the race warms up and the weather cools, here are your best points of contact with the candidates:

On your mark, get set, vote!

WHAT WOULD YOU ASK THE CANDIDATES?

In the October issue, out on September 28, The West End Journal hopes to run each party’s response to a number of questions about issues of specifically West End / Coal Harbour concern.

Email editor@thewestendjournal to let us know what the top issues are for you.

A STORM FOR THE RECORD BOOKS!
Thunder Rolled and Lightening Flashed

A west end tower taking a hit during last month’s record-breaking thunder and lightening storm.

On the night of Saturday, August 22 Vancouver was treated to the most intense display of thunder and lightening many had ever seen. Wow - our building had a full lightning strike during the most epic electrical storm anyone has ever seen in Vancouver. It went on for hours.

There were between 1,700 and 1,800 lightning strikes (either cloud-to-ground or cloud-to-cloud) recorded within 50 km of Vancouver, according Environment Canada meteorologist Jennifer Kowal.

"In our history that we can quantify, we don't have a number higher than this," says Kowal.

In other words, it's the biggest lightning event Vancouver has seen since accurate records began in 2012. The next closest event saw 869 in July of 2013.

West Ender took this screen grab image from a video shot by Jessica Hiltz. Yes the screen grab was AI upscaled to clarify image, the picture is what it is. Or was. No reports of any damage to the building.

Parm Gill, owner of little sister bookstore.

LITTLE SISTER’S UPDATE
New Owner At The Landmark Bookstore

Back in May Little Sister’s Book Store was bough by BC born investor and queer business community leader Parm Gill. The store was purchased from Verna Gilchrist who, along with her late brother Don Wilson, had purchased the store from the original owners, Jim Deva and Bruce Smyth, in 2014

“Little Sister’s is one of Canada's most significant 2SLGBTQIA+ cultural institutions and I am honoured to be able to steward it into its next chapter,” said Gill at the time of the purchase. “I want to continue to make Little Sister’s a place where the queer community can embrace their identity, find community and celebrate the beauty of being queer.”

One of Gill’s stated plans was creating space for in-store events and community gatherings. A major step in that direction took place in late August when Glenn TTkach, the creator and guide of the popular “The Really Gay Walking Tour”, gave an illustrated talk at the bookstore titled “Queer Confidential”, telling stories queer and queer adjacent stories spanning some 200 years of Canadian and West Coast history.

“I want to renew Little Sister’s role as a central hub for the queer community in Vancouver and make it easier for 2SLGBTQIA+ people across B.C. and beyond to access books, clothing and products that affirm their identity,” said Gill.

It seems that his well on his way to achieving his goal, and we look forward to future events and community gatherings.

IN MEMORIUM
Off The Presses This Month

ANDREAS PETROU CLERIDES

Andreas Clerides passed on July 31 of 2026, a day after his 100th birthday.

Clerides was the founder and proprietor of the popular West End restaurant The Traveller from 1958 to 1984. The Traveller was located at the corner of Robson and Thurlow.

Clerides was born in the hillside village of Agros, Cyuprus, the youngest of six children. Living off what this remote mountain top village could provide, his early life was hard, setting the stage for his resilience and business success.

Arriving in Montreal in 1952 and slowly making his way west. After opening The Traveller he soon opened a second location, and business thrived.

Clerides is survivived by his two sons, John who owns the popular Marquis Wines on Davie Street, and Peter, two grandchildren, and two nieces.

Debbie coulson.

DEBBIE COULSON

Debbie Coulson, the longtime business manager of the West End Community Centre Association, passed away on August 15 while on vacation in the Gulf Islands. She was 65.

For ten years Coulson oversaw the management of the Denman Street West End Community Centre, the Coal Harbour Community Centre, and Barclay Manor. In later years she had become the defacto face of the organization, handling all financial matters, social media, and working closely with Park Board and City of Vancouver personnel on the complexities of the Association’s responsibilities.

The West End Community Centre, along with Joe Fortes Library, celebrates their 50th anniversary on Sunday, September 20, and are planning a special tribute to this respected and beloved colleague on that occassion.

West End Street & Lane Names

John robson.

ROBSON STREET

West End street names were established when Lauchlan Hamilton laid out the street grid in the late 1800s, and — while some are contemporarily contentious — they have remained. In 2017 the City started naming eight of the lane ways that run east and west through the West End in honour of notable Vancouver citizens, recognizing their achievements and contributions to our community.

Here’s the story behind Robson Street.

John Robson (1824 - 1892) was a journalist and politician who served as the ninth premier of British Columbia. In 1859, upon news of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, Robson moved west to the then Colony of British Columbia from Upper Canada. Unsuccessful at prospecting, he settled in New Westminster, the capital of the new colony, and began to become known in reformist circles as an articulate advocate of responsible government, for he was shortly hired as editor of a new newspaper, The British Columbian.

His advocacy of devolution of power from the colonial governor, Sir James Douglas, to a democratically elected assembly brought him into conflict with the august and autocratic Douglas, who governed both British Columbia and the Colony of Vancouver Island from Victoria. Robson’s political and journalistic careers overlapped, as he served as mayor of New Westminster, an MLA, a cabinet minister, and eventually premier.

The West End street bearing Robson’s name was known in the years after World War II as Robsonstrasse, because of the European and German flavour of many of its cafés and shops. More recently it has sometimes been referred to as Rodeo Drive North!

Hidden Treasure Hunt

IDENTIFY THIS PHOTO …
And Win A $50 Coffee Shop Gift Card

The first reader to contact editor@thewestendjournal.ca and correctly identify the location of this image will win a $50 gift card to their choice of Blenz, Delaney’s, Melriche’s, Waves, J.J. Bean, or Greenhorn Cafe.

So if you recognize this unique piece of art write in now! Only the winning response will be notified.

The answer, and the clue to the next contest, will appear in our October issue.

The photos and information in the answers were originally published in TWEJ several years ago as part of our “Hidden Treasures” series by Vancouver author Dianne Maguire.


West End / Coal Harbour In The News