Granville Island is no secret. But it’s easy to get stuck in and around the public market or the square outside the delectable pastry-making La Baguette et L’Echalote (1680 Johnston Street, 604-684-1351) and overlook the island’s hidden charms and byways.
I suggest starting at the extreme eastern end, at a manmade grassy knoll known as The Mound, which has a rough-hewn amphitheater where buskers and others perform in summer. Walk counterclockwise along the wooden seaside boardwalk, past the Granville Island Hotel, and you’ll come to a towering, bright yellow, seven-ton crane with a wooden hut atop. It’s one of the few reminders of a time, from the 1920S to the 196os, when this island was a clanking, smoking center of sawmills, ironworks, and other industrial activity. A working rail¬way once bisected the island; you can still see the tracks as you walk around.
Today, the work goes on in the form of artisans and craftspeople, many of whom have studios in the central part of the island. They include Joel Berman Glass Studios (1244 Cartwright Street, 604-684-8332) and, west on Cartwright, tapestry shop Ruth Jones (1245 Cartwright Street, 604-669-8166).
Marine life is an important island theme, and the Maritime Market runs along the southwest shoreline. But back on Cartwright at the Alder Bay Boat Company (1247 Cartwright Street, 604-685-1730), you can see craftsmen making perfect classical rowboats, as well as small sailboats and canoes. The company figures prominently in the annual Vancouver International Wooden Boat Festival, held on the island in late August.
From here, cut west through Railspur Park to Railspur Alley, the most recent addition to Granville Island and artisan heaven. Tenants include a luthier, a gifted folk artist with heaps of attitude (Peter Kiss Gallery, 1327 Railspur Alley, 604-696-0433); woodworkers, a leather maker, and a silversmith; and several shops, including alarté (1369 Railspur Alley, 604-879-7235), selling hand-painted scarves in the many colors of an ancient rainbow. There’s also I.E. Creative (1399 Railspur Alley, 604-254-4374), which produces oddball items that are, well, hugely creative.
Island nooks and crannies deliver treasures: west of Ocean Cement, follow the boardwalk and you’ll come to The Silk Weaving Studio (‘55’ Johnston Street, 604-687-7455), with weavers at work on their looms, and garments for sale or to order. And around the island’s west side are shops and galleries selling the output of some of BC’S best artists. They include the Dundarave Print Workshop and Gallery (1640 Johnston Street, 604-689-1650); Malaspina Printmakers Studio and Gallery (1555 Duranleau Street, 604-688-1827); Gallery of BC Ceramics (1359 Cartwright Street, 604-669-5645); Crafthouse (1386 Cartwright Street, 604-687-7270); the Federation of Canadian Artists gallery (1241 Cartwright Street, 604-681-8534); and the Potters Guild of BC (1359 Cartwright Street, 604-669-5645). These premises support both veteran and up-and-coming artists, and you won’t look far before stumbling on some masterpieces.
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