34 the georgia straight september 24 – OctOber 1 / 2009

Slipping Into Darkness, delivers music radio as it ought to be: knee-tapping, hip-swivelling musical education delivered with style and unpretentious intelligence.

COOLEST OFFICIAL NEW LANDMARKVancouver has a treasure that ranks among the best in the world. The PNE’s 51-year old classic wooden roller coaster was given official landmark status on July 11, 2009, by the roller-coaster world’s pres-tigious American Coaster Enthusi-asts. It’s now one of only five coast-ers worldwide to have both classic (this means that our coaster is ori-ginal and doesn’t have any mod-ern add-ons like vision-impairing headrests) and landmark honours. What makes our coaster so special? Its amazing design: once the coast-er is pulled by chain to the peak of the first hill, it zips down, up, and around completely by gravity, at-taining speeds up to 80 kilometres per hour. There’s a thrill in every downward dip as riders are lifted out of their seats for some scream-ing airtime.

MOST ARChITECTuRALLy AWESOME ORNAMENTATIONThe Marine Building (355 Bur-rard Street) features some of the finest maritime-themed architec-tural ornamentation in the world. Built in 1930, this 21-storey edifice pays homage to all things nautical with intricately carved scenes of sea life (crabs, sea horses, starfish, and the like) framing the exterior walls and entranceway. Terra cotta Neptunes, tridents in hand, guard the corners of the sixteenth f loor. Once inside the lobby, look up to see lights nestled in plasterwork sconces shaped like the prows of ships, and a clock where nautical symbols stand in for numerals. The f loor displays the signs of the zodiac. Even the five high-speed elevators are gawk-worthy with their bronze doors and walls that have been painstakingly inlaid with a dozen varieties of indigen-ous B.C. hardwoods.

BEST OF OLD VANCOuVERVancouver Heritage Foundation402-510 West Hastings Street604-264-9642www.vancouverheritagefoundation.org/If there’s anything you’ve ever wanted to know about Vancouver’s heritage,

this is the place. The Vancouver Heritage Foundation, a registered charity, was formed to aid in con-serving the city’s heritage build-ings via education, restoration grants, and by creating awareness. There’s lots to like here, including the upcoming “Vancouver Special: the Tour” on September 26 ($25), where participants visit five of these “ranchers turned sideways” houses. There’s an assortment of grants available for homes that are on the Heritage Register for B.C., plus lectures and workshops, green building-rehab and -retrofit info, a homeowner’s forum, resource guides to old houses, an inventory of heritage properties for sale, and scads more.

BEST PLACE TO REMEMBER ThE hISTORy OF VANCOuVER’S BLACK COMMuNITyAs you’re speeding over the Georgia Viaduct, you probably aren’t giving much thought to the history that’s been paved over there. This area was once Hogan’s Alley, the vibrant cen-tre of Vancouver’s black commun-ity. A diverse group of black, Ital-ian, Chinese, and Japanese residents frequented the eateries, churches, and businesses that gave the neigh-bourhood its colour. Jimi Hendrix’s grandmother Nora Hendrix worked at one popular establishment, Vie’s Chicken Inn. Sadly, Hogan’s Alley was razed in the early 1970s to make way for the construction of the via-duct. Only recently have grassroots organizations like the Hogan’s Alley Memorial Project begun to work to-ward bringing this history back into the public consciousness.

NORTh AMERICA’S BIGGESTBuDDhAInternational Buddhist Temple9160 Steveston Highway, Richmond604-274-2822If you haven’t been to the 26-year-old International Buddhist Temple, also known as the Guan-Yin Tem-ple, it’s visit-worthy. You’ll find the 10.7-metre-tall Buddha in the Main Gracious Hall. The world’s longest Buddhist mural—the Seven Buddha Mural that took two years to paint—is here too. The temple’s serene vege-tarian restaurant, open at lunch, is worth a stop in.

BEST EVIDENCE OF ChINESE NuMEROLOGy AT WORKImagine this typical Vancouver scene: a woman gets into an eleva-tor. She pushes her floor number

Best of Vancouverfrom previous page

see next page

best 2 lifestyleNEW CONDO DEVELOPMENT1. Millennium Water

Southeast False Creek2. Woodward’s District

West Hastings and Abbott streets3. Cosmo (Concord Pacific)

West Georgia and Beatty streets

PLACE TO Buy A VACATION hOME“Any American state, ha ha.”

1. Whistler2. Okanagan3. Sunshine Coast

FLORIST1. The Flower Factory

3604 Main Street2. The Flowerbox

1704 Charles Street3. Angela & Gabriel’s Flowers (tie)

Various locations3. Garlands Florist (tie)

2950 West Broadway

INDEPENDENT MORTGAGEBROKER1. Gina Best, Meridian Pacific

Mortgages1–155 Water Street

2. Birgit Vaskina, Meridian Pacific Mortgages1–155 Water Street

3. Invis (tie)Various locations

3. Rowan Smith, The Mortgage Centre (tie)103–1245 West Broadway

PLACE TO GET A MORTGAGE1. Vancity

Various locations2. TD Canada Trust

Various locations3. Royal Bank of Canada

Various locations

PLACE TO Buy RRSPS1. Vancity

Various locations2. Royal Bank of Canada

Various locations3. TD Canada Trust

Various locations

MALL“Hellsgate.”

1. Metropolis at Metrotown4700 Kingsway, Burnaby

2. Pacific Centre701 West Georgia Street

3. Oakridge Centre650 West 41st Avenue

GARDENING STORE1. Art Knapp Plantland &

Florist1401 Hornby Street 1300 Dominion Avenue, Port Coquitlam

2. The Flower Box (tie)1704 Charles Street

2. GardenWorks (tie)Various locations

3. Figaro’s Garden1896 Victoria Drive

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28 the georgia straight OctOber 1 – 8 / 2009

The georgia sTraighT2009 BesT oF VaNCoUVer WiNNers

OctOber 1 – 8 / 2009 the georgia straight 29

0 Tyax Mountain Lake Resort - Reiner Rothe

1 Aarm Dental Group - Iris Michaan

2 Deirdre Byrne Vancouver Osteopathy Centre - Deirdre Byrne

3 Spa Utopia & Salon - Beverly Loewen

4 Seymour Medical Clinic - Nadia Gri

5 Seymour Medical Clinic - Margaret Moss

6 Spa Utopia - Diane Yarnold

7 Acubalance Wellbess Centre - Ryan Funk

17 Vancouver Canadians Baseball - Bob Brown Bear

18 Brian Jessel BMW - John Cheng

19 Brian Jessel BMW - Jim Murray

20 Harbour Dance Centre - Daniele Clifford

21 City of Vancouver - Gregor Robertson

22 Millennium Water - Linda Chu

23 Briers - Ashley Martha-Hollands

24 Briers - Clara Moyes

25 Exhale Studio - Rachel Wainwright

26 Granville Island Brewing - Walter Cosman

27 Granvile Island Brewing - Doug Devlin

28 Zulu Records - Grant McDonagh

29 Cambie Pub, The - Jill Blackett

30 Blue Olive Photgraphy - Reilly Lievers

31 Blue Olive Photgraphy - Miranda Levers

32 Granville Island Public Market - Lisa Ono

33 Coastal Jazz - Gwen Murray

35 Performance Posture - Rob Williams

36 Mixx Fitness Personal Training Studio - Lorna Stewart

37 Delta Grand Okanagan Resort - Kasey Nishimura

38 Yyoga - Jennifer DeLucry

39 Yyoga - Lara Kozan

40 Sports Junkies - Sean Harris

41 Flight Centre - Dennis Sepulveda

42 Festival Cinemas - Leonard Schein

43 Commodore Ballroom / Live Nation - Sandra Merz

44 Arts Club Theatre Company - Mike Mackenzie

45 Molly Maid - Mef Roberts

46 Cliffhanger - Colby Appleby

47 Cliffhanger - Kelly Haddon

48 Duthie Books - Cathy Legate

49 Urban Wasp - Kyle Isbelle

50 Sweat Co. Workout Studios - Maureen Wilson

51 Skinworks - Dr. Frances Jang

52 Running Room - Lori Paton

53 Cinemark Tinseltown - Todd James

54 Finlandia Natural Pharmacy & Health Care - Faustine DesRosiers

55 Finlandia Natural Pharmacy & Health Care - Markus Guggenberger

56 Finlandia Natural Pharmacy & Health Care - Harlan Lahti

57 Semperviva - Gloria Latham

58 Vancity - Peter Reale

59 Endless Biking - Shannon Moldowan

60 Endless Biking - Chris Brown

61 Ming Wo Cookware - Annie Chen

62 Ming Wo Cookware Fontaine Wong

63 Gap Adventures - Lauren Padgett

65 Spank Clothing and Shoes - Shannon Handley & Sylvia Lee

66 Predator Ridge - Scott Masse

67 Millennium Water - Darek Cole

68 Notary Public - David Watts

69 Le Petit Spa - Nancy Mudford

70 West 1st Chiropractic Wellness Center - Shalene Trester

71 City of Vancouver - Jamie Hartley

72 JJ Bean Coffee Roasters - John Neate

74 Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort - Paulina Alexander

75 West 1st Chiropractic Wellness Center - Dr. Randall Trester

76 Briers - Karen Fung

77 Zipcar - John MacSween

78 Pure Nail bar - Bruce Jung

79 musica intima - Peter Alexander

80 Briers Home Décor Inc. - David Issar.

81 Briers Home Decor - Cherie Schuman

82 Vancity - Lily Wong

83 Bard On The Beach - Cynnamon Schreinert

84 Coastal Jazz - Kira Orr

85 Musica Intima - Carman J. Price

86 Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts - Tim Ellison

87 TRG Realty - Jacob Krause

88 Beyond Pilates - Erin Murphy

90 Flight Centre - Eric Sakawsty

92 Urban Wasp - Robert Hillman

93 Auto Repairs R “Wee” - Wee Wong

94 JJ Bean Coffee Roasters - Murray Inkster

95 JJ Bean Coffee Roasters - Joanne Chan

96 JJ Bean Coffee Roasters - Grady Buhler

97 JJ Bean Coffee Roasters - Neto Franas

98 Skoah - Lisa Yeung

99 Aarm Dental Group - Kim Lacusta

100 Aarm Dental Group - Seiko Lee

101 Aarm Dental Group - Dr. Michael Flunkert

102 Deirdre Byrne Vancouver Osteopathy Centre - Caryn Seniscal

106 lululemon athletica - Lindsay Claydon

107 lululemon athletica - Nathalie Balfour

108 Vancouver Folk Music Festival - Linda Tanaka

110 CBC Radio 3 - Chris Kelly

111 TRG Realty - Mike Rampf

112 JACK FM - Kelly Latremouille

113 Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival - Diana King

114 Steeps Tea Lounge - Pierre Leouardou

115 Survivor Bootcamp - Andrea Baua

116 Survivor Bootcamp - Fred Masse

117 Survivor Bootcamp - Seana Wade

118 Wickaninnish Inn - Jodi Bartlett

119 River Rock Casino Resort - Rick Duff

120 Burrowing Owl Estate Winery - James Wyse

121 Beyond Pilates - Noam Gagnon

122 Trev Deeley Motorcycles - Sherri Werstiuk

123 The Flower Factory - Parimal Rana

124 Zipcar - Dave Lewin

125 Delta Grand Okanagan Resort - Maureen Posch

126 Aarm Dental Group - Dr. Jim Armstrong

127 Milestone’s Grill & Bar - James MacFarlane

128 Milestone’s Grill & Bar - Andrea MacFarlane

129 Womyns’ Ware - Andrea Dobbs

130 Womyns’ Ware - Otter Louis

131 Womyns’ Ware - Janna Sylvest

132 Integrative Healing Arts - James Davis

133 Integrative Healing Arts - Suzan Austin

134 Skoah - Martine Yen

135 Running Room - Neil Wakelin

136 Acubalance Wellbess Centre - Spence Pentland

- Baby Salix Olsson-Pentland

137 Dream Apparel and Articles for People - Wendy de Kruyff

138 Vancouver Canadians Baseball - Anderw Seymour

139 Opus Framing & Art Supplies - Heidi Benefiel

140 Opus Framing & Art Supplies - Brian White

141 Miss604.com - Rebecca Bollwitt

142 Suki’s - Rickie-Lee Soneff

143 Gap Adventures - Cynthia Connell

144 Capers Whole Foods Market - Vanessa Pratt

145 Capers Whole Foods Market - Tereza Anderson

146 Capers Whole Foods Market - Christine Robertson

147 Roxy Nightclub, The - Roxanne Ickpingill

148 Doolins Irish Pub - Alison Hatton

149 HMV - Joumana Kandaji

Visit straight.com/boV for more pictures and Videos from the photo shoot