Learning about Abandoned Spaces Part 2

Molson brewery has been vacant since 2016

Another space we visited during the photo walk was the former Molson Brewery on 1550 Burrard Street.

It's a place I have passed by in the car so I have never looked at it up close before. Many of us on the tour hadn't either. So we looked through the large windows to see the giant steel vats and walls tiled with shades of indigo blue to aquamarine. It also looked very dusty inside and sadly deserted.

Giant containers that used to store beer!

We were told by museum staff that this was the original site of 6 Capilano Brewery that was established in 1953 by a Sikh family from Alberta. They had first opened on 1445 Powell Street before they relocated to the foot of the Burrard Street Bridge.

It previously had a number 6 neon sign that also gave the weather, much like the Molson sign that came later.

After five years, the brewery was sold to Molson, which at its heyday had 260 employees. Molson operated here for 60 years and then in 2016 the 7.4-acre site was sold to a developer for a whopping C$190 million.

The developer had plans to build a high density, mixed-use building that also generated employment (ie shops and offices on the ground floor), but the site has been left idling ever since because developers are still waiting for its rezoning application to get the green light from City Hall. Hello Mayor Ken Sim???

Large vats and pipes inside

Museum staff point out that even though Vancouver is short of land for housing, space for industrial use is even smaller. Ideally for a city of Vancouver's size the ratio should be around 4 percent, but in reality it's only 0.16 percent... is it any wonder there is no industry in this city?

For example, goods shipped to Vancouver need to be stored in Alberta because there is no space, and then delivered back to Vancouver. What a waste...