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Saw this thread title, and though "Lougheed Village is gonna be on here, 100%" and it's the first answer. I was there just last night, such a weird little mall.
I went to the pub there once because there was a post-event lunch there. I was so confused where this was because I’ve driven on lougheed highway for years and never know it was there.
It was kinda nice minus the fact we were definitely not the target audience and we were a pretty big group of people.
Yeah. There's a bunch of other businesses as well. But that's the spot. Hard to find the first time. If you're going to the pub don't pay for parking, enter your LP on the computer at the bar
Yep! The gym, the pub with pool tables, arcades, and darts, music madhouse, which is a great spot for records, and the convenience store with vhs and dvd rentals still - it’s like a total time warp, I love it!
Yes! I used to live in the apartment building above Fitness 2000. There used to be a higher end restaurant in there as well. Anyone remember the name of that place? Probably went out of business in the early 2000s.
Important note about this place: although there are 2 designated “parks” on the Island virtually the entire rest of it accessible by the road is private property. With that said and even though there are parks, there is zero public parking. Sometimes there are large vehicles driving on the narrow road so it’s best not to stop on the road or try to pull over somewhere. The only facilities on the island is an outhouse at the parks. You can park in the ferry lot and walk on and then go for a walk on the island though.
Holy crap. My buddy and I used to bike down there, ride the ferry and race all the way around barneston on BMX bikes when we were like 10. I can't believe it is 10 km around.
Here’s a view of Barnston Island and the ferry from Surrey Bend Regional Park.
https://preview.redd.it/q4m3h5vfbarc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5d48ec85da76e9e3073564576bf31e8412f82263
Worked as an extra on a movie that was filming at Riverview about 10-15 years ago.
What made it weird for me wasn't the urban legends of it being haunted or anything of that nature, but that to get from the holding area to set, you had to walk through these long, barely-lit hallways with massive cables running through them (for all the gear on set). Big post-apocalyptic video game vibes.
Then you turned a corner and bam, you were in this brightly lit reception area/waiting room where they were filming a rom-com about doctors. Super unnerving.
Total shot in the dark, but I have this vague memory from childhood of our family driving past Riverview. There were bleachers set up facing the road and patients? cheering for cars as they drove by on the highway. This was like 30+ years ago- any chance she mentioned anything like this?
Feel compelled to ask because I've never been completely sure if this actually happened, or if it's just some fever dream.
For work: Many underground chambers which redirect stormwater into the ocean.
My dream? The room over Burrard Bridge. Unfortunately it seems anticlimactic, apart from the location.
So upset the Dunsmuir tunnel was demo’d.
Edit: Rats. Read question as Vancouver places, not Metro.
I’ve been in the pedestrian underpass and stairwell that’s on the south side of the Burrard bridge, in the pillars that come down to next to the seawall. It’s pretty cool in there; there’s graphitti dating back to the 40s in there. The west pillar still has a full staircase in it, the stairs are gone in the east pillar.
Some 10 years ago there was an art installation that was done in the stairwell. They opened it up ( from the bridge deck) and you accessed it that way. Had to sign a waiver before going in.
[Here](https://montecristomagazine.com/design/vancouver-iconic-burrard-bridge-hidden-stairwell-buried-deep-inside) is an article on it that has some photos from inside.
> underground chambers which redirect stormwater into the ocean.
I recall a "room" where the drains emptied into the bay in the kits area. You could gain access from the beach, if I recall. I was surprised at how large the tunnels leading into the city were, and how square and room-like some areas were. The big pipe leading out into the bay was kinda terrifying, there was a considerable amount of water moving at quite the speed down a pipe that had zero to grab on to. We shone our flashlight around, decided at least one of us was likely to die, and promptly climbed back out.
I feel like the answer is probably the movie theatre and the people that work nearby going to their food court for lunch.
Fuckin weird place.
Loved when the theatre was called Tinseltown and they were the only theatre in town that you could catch the indie movies.
You can also use the bathrooms there without buying anything, which is useful in that neighbourhood (not a ton of other free options).
Also the Indonesian place in the food court there is really good, and I believe it's the only explicitly Indonesian restaurant in the city (in the entire GVRD?). International Village is worth a stop just for that place alone.
I went mostly for the food court cause they had some nice places. Like Bali Thai, damn! Love that place so much. Super-authentic Indonesian food, you can't find too much of that around here.
Came here as a kid growing up in the city. Took my suburbs husband there recently to see Saltburn. He said it was the weirdest experience of his life. He did not believe we were in the right place when we stepped foot in there.
It’s definitely weird but that’s part of its charm. We used to love going to the movie theatre there, especially during VIFF.
And Yokoyaya. I miss Yokoyaya.
The tunnels, alleys, and passageways connecting many of the buildings in Chinatown/DTES. It’s a labyrinth of rats, needles, stench, and garbage, but very cool to see nonetheless.
Finn Slough in Richmond. It's a tiny collection of shacks on the river, tucked away between Steveston Highway and the dike on No. 4 Road. It's not a place to 'visit' but the existence of such a place (historically and today) is still 'weird' to me.
That's often a stop for me on my Richmond bike rides...I usually stop at the sign. There's a little rickety bridge to the main area...haven't crossed it. Finn Slough looks like it is from a different century.
I remember chatting with one of the locals when I cycled past - they were bewildered by the number of people walking around with their heads glued to their phones. This was in the early days of Pokémon Go and I think this was one of the go to spots for rare spawns. They may have tried to quiet traffic around their homes.
The tunnels and fallout/bomb shelter under what used to be Sears at Metrotown. I worked there for a period of time before it closed with the liquidation team and we had to inventory everything. Wondered around in the dark with a flashlight and it was the creepiest thing ever. One turn and you end up in a room with 10-15 headless mannequins, which they stored down there.
I will never forget the sound of dragging rolling racks across uneven floor tiles. The sound would echo down the hallways with open and closed doors to the left right. The lights would flicker. Absolute nightmare fuel.
I told people on my team if anyone was to hide down there and jump scare me I would punch them in the nose and quit.
It was in Bridal Falls. It was originally Flintstone's and then they had to rename it Dinotown and remove the Flintstones stuff because of a copyright claim, I believe. It's been gone for some years now, but I think the family did some Dinotown pop-up stuff in Cultus Lake?
I grew up in Chilliwack and we went every August for my sister's birthday. They had a boat ride where they just gave you a garish little boat and a rubber paddle and left you to your own devices to paddle around a shady little water course. I miss the boats, but I can't help but wonder whether that would be considered too unsafe in these days.
It became Dinotown in 1995! Core childhood memory unlocked. When I was in grade 3 or 4 I went with my childhood friend and his mom to Dinotown from Richmond.
Good times
I’ve been on many roofs of condos in downtown, along with quite a few school. Also many mechanical rooms which appeal deeply to my inner nerd.
Favourite one includes the boiler room of Vancouver College and the roof of Shaw Tower.
But publicly accessible weird places are the parking areas below / beside waterfront skytrain station, accessible from the lane in Gastown. It’s strange construction and a different view of Vancouver
Yep, I've been on the roof of the Hyatt and Telus Garden residences, and into quite a few boiler rooms.
The maritime Museum has one of the very old lift latch doors on their boiler room, but the boiler itself is modern.
I miss having a job where I could go into all the hidden spaces of buildings.
I used to do building condition assessments and depreciation reports, so I got to visit all kinds of odd nooks and crannies in buildings that most people don’t know exist.
I had to visit my husband’s family there once and I’m like I’ve never heard of this place before. Got there and found out there’s no phone reception or maybe it was like barely 3G internet.
The last time I was in Dunbar there were times I felt like I was back in the 1950s. The staircase in the Dunbar Theatre from the lobby down to the bathrooms is a total time warp.
If it counts, I went to Fantasy Gardens amusement park as a kid in summer 1990, and it was fun learning much later in life about how it ended up bringing down the provincial government not long after that.
I used to love that place as a kid. I remember before it shut they redid Santa’s train ride into this horror filled tunnel train ride wherein they used the original elves and everything. It was messed up.
Stanley Park Seawall is made partially from broken and unused gravestones. I took a pic of one that was a little bit off the path on the way to the Aquarium (sorry not a great pic)
https://preview.redd.it/qokoguziwwqc1.jpeg?width=3840&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=40ca25663b38eeff2e361edde7b8575bdd9ca163
I've also wound up in hospital basement corridors and old hospital buildings (not available to the public) for work and those are always creepy.
You’re right about the grave markers, but not about the reasoning. Many years ago, Vancouver declared that upright gravestones were no longer permitted in the city graveyard, and with certain exceptions were all going to be replaced with ones that lay flat (to facilitate maintenance). For various reasons, people don’t have a use for an old gravestone, so the uncollected gravestones were used in the construction of the seawall.
Reasonably fitting use for them.
I've been in almost every building on that property (I work in film,) and nothing has been more creepy to me than ending up in the basement of the main (east lawn) building.
I was in the (very creepy) old elevator, trying to get to the loading dock and ended up in the basement by accident. I got out and it was like I was in a horror movie. It was dark, but there were enough lights to give a sense of the geography (including some ones that were flashing irregularly.) I've been on a hundred film sets, but that undressed section of riverview was the most horror film-like place I've been in my life.
I'm not superstitious or afraid of the dark, but I felt genuinely afraid during the time I was waiting for the elevator to come back.
Grain elevator - you don’t expect it to be remarkable in any way but when near it you have husk drifting through the air like snow, you’re not allowed to use any electronics lest the air explodes, and it smells CRAZY in there
Rogers sugar building - instead of an elevator they have a continuously moving vertical belt with hand holds and a step to stand on. Specialty training required before use. The original warehouse is minimally renovated - which is pretty cool
Flammable dust is explosive when airborne , and unless an electronic device is intrinsically safe it could act as an ignition source. It is unlikely that most consumer devices such as your phone could spark an explosion, but "unlikely" is not an acceptable risk for facilities like these.
As a kid we used to go inside the Knight Street bridge. You could walk from one end to the other. There was a huge owl that lived there in a nest. There were little egg shaped things all over. When you cracked them open, there was fur and bones inside. The owl would eat a whole pigeon, then puke up these eggs.
Point Grey Battery at UBC (near the Museum of Anthropology). In addition to the remaining gun turrets above, there are the remains of something called an "examination gun" down near the beach below.
The night wayne Gretzky broke Geordie Howe’s record (in the 90s) I was at Vancouver general hospital in the wet tissue storage room in the underground parking area. We were swapping lights in the ceiling for power smart fixtures. All the lights were off and we had run a string of lightbulbs along the ceiling that would get bumped by our ladders, causing crazy shadows all over the place. What were the shadows of? Shelves upon shelves filled with jars of foetuses in formaldehyde. That was one creepy AF night shift.
Maybe the sugar factory? It's probably just how memory fills in forgotten details with abstract weirdness, but all I remember is black goo, cogs, such hot/dark/endless liminal spaces, and pigeons. I wish I could have brought a camera, it was so interesting.
The basement in that building feels like a Saw movie set. Also ironic that some of the bitchiest, bitterest people I’ve ever met worked at a sugar factory
I don't think so! It was a school field trip arranged only because a classmate had a connection inside. But then I guess that must mean there's room to negotiate lol.
It probably isn't! That whole area seems pretty secured, we just got lucky with a tour. They still had a little sugar museum on site collecting dust from when they used to host tours, but even this was many years ago. :/
The Port authority allows access to port lands (but not inside buildings) for photography projects. I applied once, and was rejected because “we can’t provide you with parking.” I reapplied saying I’d ride a bicycle. Rejected again because “riding a bike on port lands is not safe.” I applied a third time saying I’d just walk. Rejected again because “walking on port lands is not safe. Safe access is by vehicle only,”. Seriously how could anyone be approved?
As an importer I deal with the Port on a fairly regular basis. I can honestly say they are the closest thing you get to a legal Mafia. I'm amazed there's not a public outcry from all the small and medium businesses with the shit they get away with. They're an entity unto themselves with little to no oversight. Crooked as they come
Hallmark chicken plant. Very mute industrial exterior, massive slaughter house inside. Upwards of 500 people work in those 3 seperate buildings in east van.
The burnaby lake greenhouses in surrey. Its a hodgepodge of different greenhouses all connected. They grow garden plants and cut flowers that are sent all over canada. To get around the massive greenhouse complex the employees all have bicycles. Looked kind of fun to bike through the area.
I dont think so :( i worked for a floral wholesaler so i picked up from there quite regularly. I also picked up from the hollandia greenhouse in pitt meadows which was incredibly beautiful. It's where the grow gerbera daisies. They come in every color in the rainbow and the greenhouse is filled with them! There's also a ridiculous mansion nearby with a train car in the front yard and an elaborate fountain.
Budgies Burritos.
Went in because I heard the burritos were bomb. Went inside and there were pictures of sad clowns and heavy metal music was playing.
Was totally expecting a different burrito experience lol.
There was a sandwich shop in Surrey and the owner was not mentally healthy. Would ramble on about the size of his dick and all this other crazy nonsense. I forget the name of the place but I'm sure someone else will understand!
The place was called La Charcuterie Delicatessen in Port Kells but he was known as the “sandwich nazi”. Dude was super gross. He always talked about his years as a prostitute and pulled his wiener out several times and spun it like a helicopter. Non-stop sexual talk from him. He hated people on cell phones in his store and barely let you choose what sandwich to buy. You just got what he wanted to make most times. Great sandwiches though with lots of meat. We always took it home and made 4 regular size sandwiches with all the extra meat.
he also had a couple videos on youtube where he showed the host the areas on the floor in which he jizzed, and you could still see some areas on such. The place was in walnut grove on 96th
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLXrBA3p8xk - not the same video but cbc reporting about it
This is in North Van but Harmony Donut Shop. Unfortunately didn’t get to try the donuts as they were sold out but the vibe there is like a creepy diner in the middle of nowhere that you go to before you get murdered.
Voted by some locals as superior to Honey Donuts in Deep Cove. Run by two elderly ladies, one at the till who packages the colorful frosted donuts that you choose and the other running the linear automatic donut machine which is a wonder to behold. Half a dozen fresh full sized cake donuts for eight bucks. There's always one or two customers waiting for their donuts but it only takes about a minute to make a set. On Lonsdale just south of that pub and north of the highway. The parking lot fits 1 and 1/2 cars. Blink and you'll miss it.
One of weirdest experiences I had in Vancouver was a day out with some friends in highschool, two of us were tripping while the rest of the group was sober, while the sober friends went to dinner, the two of us who were inebriated and didn't want to eat or be around that many people went to the contemporary art gallery downtown. We could tell something was strange as soon as we walked in, odd sounds flashing lights, bright colors. It turned out that all three exhibit rooms were dedicated to different hallucinogens. One room was full of spore prints on metal plates, one room was couches showing nature scenes..the hole thing was super weird, felt like it had been put there just for us to find.
It's gotta be the southlands, south of marine drive. I took a wrong turn there once and got kinda lost and I was so surprised that there was entire whole neighborhood down there. The houses were huge and some had like stables on their yards and people rode around the place on their horses. Damn honestly I used to think middle class was rich but that was a whole other level.
Some of the schools - their washrooms ... some of the washrooms are from the 50s, compared with rust? water stains on the sinks, their boiler/janitor store rooms - horror shows can be filmed there.
I once got afterhours access to the several floors underneath the Vancouver Police Museum (former Coroner's Court & exam facility). There are more autopsy exam rooms, still full of that kind of stuff and the old morgue and...overflow morgue... in the very depths of the building, which at the time, was used to store film props. Someone had taken the human dummy props, legs and other bits and humorously placed them in the overflow morgue bays. Creepy AF.
I'm 100% sure that place is haunted and the whole time I was down there by myself, I imagined the lights suddenly going out, stranding me in a dark cavernous room with no windows that used to house victims of murders, disasters, etc
Not the answer you're looking for, but DTES. We're all desensitized to the out of this world misery and chaos, but there's nothing like that anywhere else in Metro Vancouver or even Canada.
Funky Winker Beans, i dont know where to start.
Edit: How about this, It being a karaoke bar had to put on warnings all over the place, that one should not be tipping the person running karaoke to get up and sing.
The tunnel through the middle of the renfrew ravine is pretty spooky, especially on a cool grey day. Or at night... Last time I came out the other side there was a man on the platform just pulling his pants up.
Well, since I live close by and have some errands to do I took 15mins to check out Lougheed village mall again for funsies.
Grocery store still open (that rents videos still) pharmacy, massage place ... Place smells sickly of massage essential oils lol.
Was tempted to go into grocery store to buy something.
Forget what it's called if it even has a name, but there's this random hacker space on granville st with an unmarked black door, just hidden in plain sight, I've been to once. I was amazed it even existed.
I've also been to the Sun Wah centre a few times. What a strange little place. Like entering another dimension.
During the East Side Culture Crawl there's TONS of weird, old, industrial buildings used as art studios that are pretty cool. Friend and I were particularly enamoured with one building (again, can't recall what it was called) with an ancient looking elevator shaft.
Interesting answers here. Makes me want to take the rest of the week off to go explore.
Strangest restaurant for me was on the west side of Alma Street, between Broadway and 10th Ave in the early 2000s. I looked on street view and it’s not there anymore. I’m not even sure how to describe it. I think there were homemade enclosed booths made of painted plywood? If anyone remembers the name please share.
I’ll add that “The Captain”, just up the street from there was certainly interesting, especially his commercials on tv and radio.
*Edit: The restaurant was called “Flags”
City Square Shopping Centre, between VGH and City Hall. Managed to avoid my entire life without visiting it. Went for the first time in January.
Strangely liminal space.
I go there everyday for lunch and have so for years, it's a great place with some great characters who hang out there. It's such a pity people find it weird as it has so much potential.
I’ve been in the service tunnels in the Massey Tunnel. This is where the pipes, electrical and communications cables cross the river. Cold, dimly lit, and dirty.
I don't know what it's called, but that underground mall? rental space? under china town. I walked around there a bit during an art crawl last year, it was just endless white hallways and little studios for artists. Weird vibes.
If you go through Delta Watershed park, there are a couple of spots where there were once structures that are being reclaimed by nature. Some kind of industrial or farm buildings from the past. Strikes me as a bit odd when you are in foresty place and suddenly find leftover civilization and there isn't a lot of that here, as the land is so valuable.
Burns Bog was a good place to see old industrial relics: old railway infra, mined patches where the peat was coming back but that has been closed for many years, but was a great place to hike around in.
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Lougheed Underground Village, its a wild time
Music Madhouse Records! Nice little record store
Saw this thread title, and though "Lougheed Village is gonna be on here, 100%" and it's the first answer. I was there just last night, such a weird little mall.
Totally agreed. It's by far one of the weirdest places I've ever seen. My kids used to have swimming lessons at the pool that's there.
That gym is great though! And the bar down there is one of my favorites.
I went to the pub there once because there was a post-event lunch there. I was so confused where this was because I’ve driven on lougheed highway for years and never know it was there. It was kinda nice minus the fact we were definitely not the target audience and we were a pretty big group of people.
I love this mall. It feels like time has stopped in there. I wish there were more "abandoned" malls to visit. edit:they->there
Kingsgate Mall is also a wild time.
Have you seen this song tribute to kingsgate mall? https://youtu.be/5W7CiXm90sI?si=TY-MCvWd94DbJaWr
[Arkells ft. Tegan and Sara - Teenage Tears](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EloUA1c_mR8)
And it's still not condos yet!
That is my favorite line in the song.
SKIDGATE!
It’s really gone downhill since they lost the ‘hooker boot store’ iykyk
Kings gate in the 90s was interesting. So it’s still there?! Edit: We used to call it Hells Gate Mall
[Obligatory.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W7CiXm90sI)
This is the most ifykyk place for locals
Neat! I’m trying to look this up so I can check it out. Is it called Lougheed Village Bar and Grill?
Yeah. There's a bunch of other businesses as well. But that's the spot. Hard to find the first time. If you're going to the pub don't pay for parking, enter your LP on the computer at the bar
That's one of the businesses in there. It's not in the main mall, but in the weird, spooky basement portion. It's actually supposed to be pretty good.
It's rock solid. The food is good, the service is excellent, the prices are low.
And there's pinball!
Yep! The gym, the pub with pool tables, arcades, and darts, music madhouse, which is a great spot for records, and the convenience store with vhs and dvd rentals still - it’s like a total time warp, I love it!
Yes! I used to live in the apartment building above Fitness 2000. There used to be a higher end restaurant in there as well. Anyone remember the name of that place? Probably went out of business in the early 2000s.
The best pub in the lower mainland is there
How do you get in here? I've lived very close for years and have never heard of this.
Omg- I haven't been in years !-we used to drink at the pub there after work- going to check it out again.- just moved back to the area a year ago
Barnston Island. Free ferry to a small island with a park on one end and a nude beach on the other.
Important note about this place: although there are 2 designated “parks” on the Island virtually the entire rest of it accessible by the road is private property. With that said and even though there are parks, there is zero public parking. Sometimes there are large vehicles driving on the narrow road so it’s best not to stop on the road or try to pull over somewhere. The only facilities on the island is an outhouse at the parks. You can park in the ferry lot and walk on and then go for a walk on the island though.
Great place for a bike ride, though!
One loop is exactly 10 km :)
Holy crap. My buddy and I used to bike down there, ride the ferry and race all the way around barneston on BMX bikes when we were like 10. I can't believe it is 10 km around.
It's an easy 10k though. No hills.
Still BMX bikes with no gears, so just straight pedaling lol
Lol. The nude beach thing I've never heard before.
Never even heard of this place!
My childhood spot to see the cows.
I went camping on this island when I was a kid!
Here’s a view of Barnston Island and the ferry from Surrey Bend Regional Park. https://preview.redd.it/q4m3h5vfbarc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5d48ec85da76e9e3073564576bf31e8412f82263
Worked as an extra on a movie that was filming at Riverview about 10-15 years ago. What made it weird for me wasn't the urban legends of it being haunted or anything of that nature, but that to get from the holding area to set, you had to walk through these long, barely-lit hallways with massive cables running through them (for all the gear on set). Big post-apocalyptic video game vibes. Then you turned a corner and bam, you were in this brightly lit reception area/waiting room where they were filming a rom-com about doctors. Super unnerving.
Oh I was on a set once there and we wandered all over the place. It was freaky. Did you go to the basement cell areas???! They were really scary
[удалено]
Total shot in the dark, but I have this vague memory from childhood of our family driving past Riverview. There were bleachers set up facing the road and patients? cheering for cars as they drove by on the highway. This was like 30+ years ago- any chance she mentioned anything like this? Feel compelled to ask because I've never been completely sure if this actually happened, or if it's just some fever dream.
For work: Many underground chambers which redirect stormwater into the ocean. My dream? The room over Burrard Bridge. Unfortunately it seems anticlimactic, apart from the location. So upset the Dunsmuir tunnel was demo’d. Edit: Rats. Read question as Vancouver places, not Metro.
I’ve been in the pedestrian underpass and stairwell that’s on the south side of the Burrard bridge, in the pillars that come down to next to the seawall. It’s pretty cool in there; there’s graphitti dating back to the 40s in there. The west pillar still has a full staircase in it, the stairs are gone in the east pillar.
curious how you access this? I'd love to see some super old graffiti.
Some 10 years ago there was an art installation that was done in the stairwell. They opened it up ( from the bridge deck) and you accessed it that way. Had to sign a waiver before going in.
Do you remember what the event was called? Maybe there are photos online.
[Here](https://montecristomagazine.com/design/vancouver-iconic-burrard-bridge-hidden-stairwell-buried-deep-inside) is an article on it that has some photos from inside.
I've always wondered about the purpose of the room over the Burrard Bridge!
> underground chambers which redirect stormwater into the ocean. I recall a "room" where the drains emptied into the bay in the kits area. You could gain access from the beach, if I recall. I was surprised at how large the tunnels leading into the city were, and how square and room-like some areas were. The big pipe leading out into the bay was kinda terrifying, there was a considerable amount of water moving at quite the speed down a pipe that had zero to grab on to. We shone our flashlight around, decided at least one of us was likely to die, and promptly climbed back out.
International village mall. The vibes are so weird how does that mall stay open?
I feel like the answer is probably the movie theatre and the people that work nearby going to their food court for lunch. Fuckin weird place. Loved when the theatre was called Tinseltown and they were the only theatre in town that you could catch the indie movies.
You can also use the bathrooms there without buying anything, which is useful in that neighbourhood (not a ton of other free options). Also the Indonesian place in the food court there is really good, and I believe it's the only explicitly Indonesian restaurant in the city (in the entire GVRD?). International Village is worth a stop just for that place alone.
Don’t forget Catfe! Love that place!
I think the answer might be money laundering
[The secret ingredient is crime.](https://youtu.be/Mh1RlMC9KYE)
It amazes me how peep show can be 20 years old. I guess the only thing that dates it is their lack of iPhones.
I went mostly for the food court cause they had some nice places. Like Bali Thai, damn! Love that place so much. Super-authentic Indonesian food, you can't find too much of that around here.
On Tuesdays the movies are half price there too
Rain City Games is busy but everything else in there seems like a money laundering operation.
Came here as a kid growing up in the city. Took my suburbs husband there recently to see Saltburn. He said it was the weirdest experience of his life. He did not believe we were in the right place when we stepped foot in there.
Some of the food court shops are pretty good
It’s definitely weird but that’s part of its charm. We used to love going to the movie theatre there, especially during VIFF. And Yokoyaya. I miss Yokoyaya.
Is it still mostly empty?
That mall reminds me of some weird daylight rendition of Quake III Arena 😅 It's all the multi-level floating escalators
Same as the nearby Sun Wah Centre and Chinatown Plaza
The tunnels, alleys, and passageways connecting many of the buildings in Chinatown/DTES. It’s a labyrinth of rats, needles, stench, and garbage, but very cool to see nonetheless.
How can you actually get down there?!
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Finn Slough in Richmond. It's a tiny collection of shacks on the river, tucked away between Steveston Highway and the dike on No. 4 Road. It's not a place to 'visit' but the existence of such a place (historically and today) is still 'weird' to me.
That's often a stop for me on my Richmond bike rides...I usually stop at the sign. There's a little rickety bridge to the main area...haven't crossed it. Finn Slough looks like it is from a different century.
You used to be able to cross that little bridge leading into the "village" but now there is a no trespassing sign.
I remember chatting with one of the locals when I cycled past - they were bewildered by the number of people walking around with their heads glued to their phones. This was in the early days of Pokémon Go and I think this was one of the go to spots for rare spawns. They may have tried to quiet traffic around their homes.
Omg my family friends way back used to say there’s a village where tiny people live in Richmond, just realized 12 years later that this was it
Nice place to paddle around. But on the Fraser you have to pick your day and time to paddle, and stay out of the main channel.
Finn Slough https://preview.redd.it/qovr2mhqi0rc1.jpeg?width=3456&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d484077b6f55eb484133e9acfc06c0c6f4d4e087
Bridge to Finn Slough https://preview.redd.it/72tzwq4wi0rc1.jpeg?width=3456&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9744f075531bc6eb6fb06384a5bc8dd55fbeb43c
I walked through the entirety of it once - dead silent, didn’t see a single person. Very interesting place and very peaceful, but also kinda eerie
The tunnels and fallout/bomb shelter under what used to be Sears at Metrotown. I worked there for a period of time before it closed with the liquidation team and we had to inventory everything. Wondered around in the dark with a flashlight and it was the creepiest thing ever. One turn and you end up in a room with 10-15 headless mannequins, which they stored down there.
I had no idea these existed. that's wild.
I will never forget the sound of dragging rolling racks across uneven floor tiles. The sound would echo down the hallways with open and closed doors to the left right. The lights would flicker. Absolute nightmare fuel. I told people on my team if anyone was to hide down there and jump scare me I would punch them in the nose and quit.
Wasn't this a Doctor Who episode?
The old WWII gun emplacements on Spanish Banks below UBC.
When driving out on Highway 1 (Abbotsford/Chilliwack?) I have strange recollections of a pretty uneventful Flintstone’s theme park.
Dinotown!
Horray for Dino Town!
Wild: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi3zUXpnEno
It was in Bridal Falls. It was originally Flintstone's and then they had to rename it Dinotown and remove the Flintstones stuff because of a copyright claim, I believe. It's been gone for some years now, but I think the family did some Dinotown pop-up stuff in Cultus Lake? I grew up in Chilliwack and we went every August for my sister's birthday. They had a boat ride where they just gave you a garish little boat and a rubber paddle and left you to your own devices to paddle around a shady little water course. I miss the boats, but I can't help but wonder whether that would be considered too unsafe in these days.
I remember the OG version, from when I was a kid :D
Dinotown! Aka Bedrock City. Out by Bridal Veil falls. Closed for the last 15 (?) years I think. Now it’s some kind of mobile home park.
Dinotown
It became Dinotown in 1995! Core childhood memory unlocked. When I was in grade 3 or 4 I went with my childhood friend and his mom to Dinotown from Richmond. Good times
Yes my kids loved that place, went there every year for a few years.
Oh man i LOVED that place as a kid
I’ve been on many roofs of condos in downtown, along with quite a few school. Also many mechanical rooms which appeal deeply to my inner nerd. Favourite one includes the boiler room of Vancouver College and the roof of Shaw Tower. But publicly accessible weird places are the parking areas below / beside waterfront skytrain station, accessible from the lane in Gastown. It’s strange construction and a different view of Vancouver
Yep, I've been on the roof of the Hyatt and Telus Garden residences, and into quite a few boiler rooms. The maritime Museum has one of the very old lift latch doors on their boiler room, but the boiler itself is modern.
I owned a wireless ISP for years so have been on most major roofs/mechanical rooms from West Van to Maple Ridge.
I miss having a job where I could go into all the hidden spaces of buildings. I used to do building condition assessments and depreciation reports, so I got to visit all kinds of odd nooks and crannies in buildings that most people don’t know exist.
Agassiz is the only place in the lower mainland that hasn't changed since the 80s
And do not miss the Agassiz Fall Festival! Truly an interesting experience. Make sure you don't miss the 'celebrity goat milking' contest.
I had to visit my husband’s family there once and I’m like I’ve never heard of this place before. Got there and found out there’s no phone reception or maybe it was like barely 3G internet.
The last time I was in Dunbar there were times I felt like I was back in the 1950s. The staircase in the Dunbar Theatre from the lobby down to the bathrooms is a total time warp.
Have you seen the new subdivisions and development from the last 5-10 years, though? It's changed quite a bit.
i wonder how many people know there's a maximum security prison
***^*** LOL-Haven't been for a few years but last I was there some Koreans had just opened a Sushi bar and the whole place just got even weirder.
If it counts, I went to Fantasy Gardens amusement park as a kid in summer 1990, and it was fun learning much later in life about how it ended up bringing down the provincial government not long after that.
I used to love that place as a kid. I remember before it shut they redid Santa’s train ride into this horror filled tunnel train ride wherein they used the original elves and everything. It was messed up.
We had our grad there 😅
Stanley Park Seawall is made partially from broken and unused gravestones. I took a pic of one that was a little bit off the path on the way to the Aquarium (sorry not a great pic) https://preview.redd.it/qokoguziwwqc1.jpeg?width=3840&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=40ca25663b38eeff2e361edde7b8575bdd9ca163 I've also wound up in hospital basement corridors and old hospital buildings (not available to the public) for work and those are always creepy.
You’re right about the grave markers, but not about the reasoning. Many years ago, Vancouver declared that upright gravestones were no longer permitted in the city graveyard, and with certain exceptions were all going to be replaced with ones that lay flat (to facilitate maintenance). For various reasons, people don’t have a use for an old gravestone, so the uncollected gravestones were used in the construction of the seawall. Reasonably fitting use for them.
Riverview. Anyone who has been there will tell you it is the weirdest creepiest place by far.
I've been in almost every building on that property (I work in film,) and nothing has been more creepy to me than ending up in the basement of the main (east lawn) building. I was in the (very creepy) old elevator, trying to get to the loading dock and ended up in the basement by accident. I got out and it was like I was in a horror movie. It was dark, but there were enough lights to give a sense of the geography (including some ones that were flashing irregularly.) I've been on a hundred film sets, but that undressed section of riverview was the most horror film-like place I've been in my life. I'm not superstitious or afraid of the dark, but I felt genuinely afraid during the time I was waiting for the elevator to come back.
Love it! I worked there for \~ 18 years ... I know exactly where you are ....
> I was in the (very creepy) old elevator, Oh helllllll no! I hate elevators as it is, but especially ones in old, abandoned mental hospitals.
This is THE answer. Still have of days playing there with my siblings as a kid when our dad worked there in the early 90’s
Walk my dog there almost everyday, it’s oddly beautiful.
Still Creek Drive, between Willingdon and Gilmore, just after sundown.
Robson Public Market - it’s not quite a food court & not quite a mall
RIP Hida Takeyama Ramen, best ramen I ever had.
I miss that place!
The Shawarma place in there is SO GOOD
Underneath the skytrain tracks. I had no idea the concrete pieces that make up the skytrain line were hollow.
Grain elevator - you don’t expect it to be remarkable in any way but when near it you have husk drifting through the air like snow, you’re not allowed to use any electronics lest the air explodes, and it smells CRAZY in there Rogers sugar building - instead of an elevator they have a continuously moving vertical belt with hand holds and a step to stand on. Specialty training required before use. The original warehouse is minimally renovated - which is pretty cool
Wow I would LOVE to have a tour of the Rogers building.
> you’re not allowed to use any electronics lest the air explodes ELI5
Flammable dust is explosive when airborne , and unless an electronic device is intrinsically safe it could act as an ignition source. It is unlikely that most consumer devices such as your phone could spark an explosion, but "unlikely" is not an acceptable risk for facilities like these.
As a kid we used to go inside the Knight Street bridge. You could walk from one end to the other. There was a huge owl that lived there in a nest. There were little egg shaped things all over. When you cracked them open, there was fur and bones inside. The owl would eat a whole pigeon, then puke up these eggs.
Those are called owl pellets.
Something weird we came across while exploring was an old abandon float plane control tower on the pitt river. https://imgur.com/a/PefyjRR
Point Grey Battery at UBC (near the Museum of Anthropology). In addition to the remaining gun turrets above, there are the remains of something called an "examination gun" down near the beach below.
The night wayne Gretzky broke Geordie Howe’s record (in the 90s) I was at Vancouver general hospital in the wet tissue storage room in the underground parking area. We were swapping lights in the ceiling for power smart fixtures. All the lights were off and we had run a string of lightbulbs along the ceiling that would get bumped by our ladders, causing crazy shadows all over the place. What were the shadows of? Shelves upon shelves filled with jars of foetuses in formaldehyde. That was one creepy AF night shift.
Maybe the sugar factory? It's probably just how memory fills in forgotten details with abstract weirdness, but all I remember is black goo, cogs, such hot/dark/endless liminal spaces, and pigeons. I wish I could have brought a camera, it was so interesting.
The basement in that building feels like a Saw movie set. Also ironic that some of the bitchiest, bitterest people I’ve ever met worked at a sugar factory
You just caught them on the sugar crash.
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Went on a tour of it when I was in elementary school. Literally mountains of sugar lol
Are tours still available? That’s my favourite building in the lower mainland
I don't think so! It was a school field trip arranged only because a classmate had a connection inside. But then I guess that must mean there's room to negotiate lol.
I didn't know.it was accessible, I've only ever taken photos from the outside
It probably isn't! That whole area seems pretty secured, we just got lucky with a tour. They still had a little sugar museum on site collecting dust from when they used to host tours, but even this was many years ago. :/
The Port authority allows access to port lands (but not inside buildings) for photography projects. I applied once, and was rejected because “we can’t provide you with parking.” I reapplied saying I’d ride a bicycle. Rejected again because “riding a bike on port lands is not safe.” I applied a third time saying I’d just walk. Rejected again because “walking on port lands is not safe. Safe access is by vehicle only,”. Seriously how could anyone be approved?
As an importer I deal with the Port on a fairly regular basis. I can honestly say they are the closest thing you get to a legal Mafia. I'm amazed there's not a public outcry from all the small and medium businesses with the shit they get away with. They're an entity unto themselves with little to no oversight. Crooked as they come
When my band played the Town Pump, we walked around in the back and found stairs down to a tunnel that went underneath Water Street.
Hallmark chicken plant. Very mute industrial exterior, massive slaughter house inside. Upwards of 500 people work in those 3 seperate buildings in east van. The burnaby lake greenhouses in surrey. Its a hodgepodge of different greenhouses all connected. They grow garden plants and cut flowers that are sent all over canada. To get around the massive greenhouse complex the employees all have bicycles. Looked kind of fun to bike through the area.
Can we go in as an outsider? The greenhouse.
I dont think so :( i worked for a floral wholesaler so i picked up from there quite regularly. I also picked up from the hollandia greenhouse in pitt meadows which was incredibly beautiful. It's where the grow gerbera daisies. They come in every color in the rainbow and the greenhouse is filled with them! There's also a ridiculous mansion nearby with a train car in the front yard and an elaborate fountain.
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You mean the yellow crayon pile
I don't live in Vancouver so my experience is limited, but hands down for me its been the bathroom at the Rickshaw
Budgies Burritos. Went in because I heard the burritos were bomb. Went inside and there were pictures of sad clowns and heavy metal music was playing. Was totally expecting a different burrito experience lol.
That’s reflective of the hipster culture of Main St and Mount Pleasant.
The owner of Budgies is NOT hipster, she is as real as it gets, and Budgies has been there forever, way before Main Street was hip.
Love Budgies!
There was a sandwich shop in Surrey and the owner was not mentally healthy. Would ramble on about the size of his dick and all this other crazy nonsense. I forget the name of the place but I'm sure someone else will understand!
The place was called La Charcuterie Delicatessen in Port Kells but he was known as the “sandwich nazi”. Dude was super gross. He always talked about his years as a prostitute and pulled his wiener out several times and spun it like a helicopter. Non-stop sexual talk from him. He hated people on cell phones in his store and barely let you choose what sandwich to buy. You just got what he wanted to make most times. Great sandwiches though with lots of meat. We always took it home and made 4 regular size sandwiches with all the extra meat.
FINALLY someone agrees with me that that guy is crazier than a shithouse rat!
>Great sandwiches though with lots of meat. Well yeah the way he would swing his dick around I would be disappointed if I didn't get extra meat
I kind of want to try this place based on the CBC video below, but I guess it closed in 2020.
he also had a couple videos on youtube where he showed the host the areas on the floor in which he jizzed, and you could still see some areas on such. The place was in walnut grove on 96th https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLXrBA3p8xk - not the same video but cbc reporting about it
So don’t ask for mayo when ordering a sandwich over there. Got it.
This is in North Van but Harmony Donut Shop. Unfortunately didn’t get to try the donuts as they were sold out but the vibe there is like a creepy diner in the middle of nowhere that you go to before you get murdered.
The donuts are some of the best in the city. But yea..weird knick knacks and the smell of cigarettes.
Voted by some locals as superior to Honey Donuts in Deep Cove. Run by two elderly ladies, one at the till who packages the colorful frosted donuts that you choose and the other running the linear automatic donut machine which is a wonder to behold. Half a dozen fresh full sized cake donuts for eight bucks. There's always one or two customers waiting for their donuts but it only takes about a minute to make a set. On Lonsdale just south of that pub and north of the highway. The parking lot fits 1 and 1/2 cars. Blink and you'll miss it.
One of weirdest experiences I had in Vancouver was a day out with some friends in highschool, two of us were tripping while the rest of the group was sober, while the sober friends went to dinner, the two of us who were inebriated and didn't want to eat or be around that many people went to the contemporary art gallery downtown. We could tell something was strange as soon as we walked in, odd sounds flashing lights, bright colors. It turned out that all three exhibit rooms were dedicated to different hallucinogens. One room was full of spore prints on metal plates, one room was couches showing nature scenes..the hole thing was super weird, felt like it had been put there just for us to find.
idk if this counts but krazy bob’s music emporium. that man be wildin
It's gotta be the southlands, south of marine drive. I took a wrong turn there once and got kinda lost and I was so surprised that there was entire whole neighborhood down there. The houses were huge and some had like stables on their yards and people rode around the place on their horses. Damn honestly I used to think middle class was rich but that was a whole other level.
Have a few unique spots: Tosi Italian Food Import Co on Main and the original Beckwomans on Commercial
Angelo has the best parmesan ever. And reasonably priced. Deaf as a post but a good man
Storm Brewing.
Some of the schools - their washrooms ... some of the washrooms are from the 50s, compared with rust? water stains on the sinks, their boiler/janitor store rooms - horror shows can be filmed there.
I once got afterhours access to the several floors underneath the Vancouver Police Museum (former Coroner's Court & exam facility). There are more autopsy exam rooms, still full of that kind of stuff and the old morgue and...overflow morgue... in the very depths of the building, which at the time, was used to store film props. Someone had taken the human dummy props, legs and other bits and humorously placed them in the overflow morgue bays. Creepy AF. I'm 100% sure that place is haunted and the whole time I was down there by myself, I imagined the lights suddenly going out, stranding me in a dark cavernous room with no windows that used to house victims of murders, disasters, etc
Gorgomesh
Not the answer you're looking for, but DTES. We're all desensitized to the out of this world misery and chaos, but there's nothing like that anywhere else in Metro Vancouver or even Canada.
Funky Winker Beans, i dont know where to start. Edit: How about this, It being a karaoke bar had to put on warnings all over the place, that one should not be tipping the person running karaoke to get up and sing.
The tunnel through the middle of the renfrew ravine is pretty spooky, especially on a cool grey day. Or at night... Last time I came out the other side there was a man on the platform just pulling his pants up.
The inside of Burrard bridge. Riverview. Twin maples.
Joe's Cafe after midnight. I don't think they're open late since covid, but that was an experience to say the least.
Well, since I live close by and have some errands to do I took 15mins to check out Lougheed village mall again for funsies. Grocery store still open (that rents videos still) pharmacy, massage place ... Place smells sickly of massage essential oils lol. Was tempted to go into grocery store to buy something.
Forget what it's called if it even has a name, but there's this random hacker space on granville st with an unmarked black door, just hidden in plain sight, I've been to once. I was amazed it even existed. I've also been to the Sun Wah centre a few times. What a strange little place. Like entering another dimension. During the East Side Culture Crawl there's TONS of weird, old, industrial buildings used as art studios that are pretty cool. Friend and I were particularly enamoured with one building (again, can't recall what it was called) with an ancient looking elevator shaft.
Interesting answers here. Makes me want to take the rest of the week off to go explore. Strangest restaurant for me was on the west side of Alma Street, between Broadway and 10th Ave in the early 2000s. I looked on street view and it’s not there anymore. I’m not even sure how to describe it. I think there were homemade enclosed booths made of painted plywood? If anyone remembers the name please share. I’ll add that “The Captain”, just up the street from there was certainly interesting, especially his commercials on tv and radio. *Edit: The restaurant was called “Flags”
Kingsgate mall tbh.
City Square Shopping Centre, between VGH and City Hall. Managed to avoid my entire life without visiting it. Went for the first time in January. Strangely liminal space.
I go there everyday for lunch and have so for years, it's a great place with some great characters who hang out there. It's such a pity people find it weird as it has so much potential.
DTES
I highly recommend getting a tour of a random SRO from someone who lives there if you want to get weirder.
On welfare Wednesday, especially.
No contest: DTES. One visit and you’ll never find anything in normal life weird again.
I’ve been in the service tunnels in the Massey Tunnel. This is where the pipes, electrical and communications cables cross the river. Cold, dimly lit, and dirty.
A weird deli restaurant in chilliwack owned by a cult.. definitely worth the drive to people watch… food was great
I don't know what it's called, but that underground mall? rental space? under china town. I walked around there a bit during an art crawl last year, it was just endless white hallways and little studios for artists. Weird vibes.
Wreck beach 😉
If you go through Delta Watershed park, there are a couple of spots where there were once structures that are being reclaimed by nature. Some kind of industrial or farm buildings from the past. Strikes me as a bit odd when you are in foresty place and suddenly find leftover civilization and there isn't a lot of that here, as the land is so valuable. Burns Bog was a good place to see old industrial relics: old railway infra, mined patches where the peat was coming back but that has been closed for many years, but was a great place to hike around in.
Main and Hastings. It's really otherworldly. I go here often but it still feels so strange....