Last Stand

DAY BY DAY, cities don’t change. Yesterday’s construction mess is today’s construction mess. Only when you step back and compare a particular block (or intersection, or high-rise) to last decade’s iteration do you see the inexorable evolution of the built environment. The concession stand at English Bay, a fixture since the 1950s (the patio was added 12 years ago), has been taken for granted by three generations of Vancouverites. This fall, it will be torn down to make way for a new Cactus Club, set to open next June. Cyclists and joggers and skateboarders will at first be startled, then become blasé. Eventually, they’ll sit on the patio, watching the sunset, and ask, “What did this place used to be?” VM