Vancouver Shopping

Street Culture - Welcome to Robson Street. Once dotted with German patisseries, it’s now steeped in high fashion and local flavour.

By Melanie Scott
Photos by Byron Lamarque

Not many people associate style with a late 19th-century politician, but Robson street is an exception. Named after a former premier, John Robson, it’s Vancouver’s best-known shopping district, located in the heart of downtown.

Robson Street’s commercial traditions date back to 1895, when train tracks were laid down to support a small enclave of shops and restaurants near upscale family homes in the West End. After the Second World War, an influx of German settlers brought delis and patisseries to the street, and for many years it was known by its nickname, Robsonstrasse.

From those roots, Robson Street has grown to include an eclectic mix of high-end retailers and major flagships. Visitors can get outfitted and then hang with the locals on the steps of the stately Vancouver Art Gallery — or dodge pedestrian traffic and enjoy the many portrait artists and native art vendors, as well as the occasional busker.

Though the credit-card toting teens that flood the area may not know it, the area is more than a shopping district. Some of the city’s most iconic architecture can be found starting at the Roman Colosseum-inspired Vancouver Public Library, and onward to Robson Street’s centre, Robson Square. Topped by a geometric urban park and three waterfalls, the three-block concrete complex by Arthur Erickson is designed to turn buff rose when wet. In the summer, free ballroom dance lessons are offered under the dome, while the open-air plaza is a good place to catch your breath, and rest your pocketbook, in any season.

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