For wrought-iron enthusiasts among us, must-sees are the galleries ( as in “covered passageways”) at the center of the Burrard Street Bridge. This is arguably the finest of the city’s several dozen bridges — after the Lions Gate, of course. Walk the bridge on a sunny day, and the black-metal curlicues and arrows will cast elegant shadows on the ochre-colored tower of this Art Deco structure, opened in 1932. The bridge connects the downtown peninsula with Kitsilano to the south, and provides unsurpassable views of Burrard Inlet, Howe Sound, and the coastal mountains. While you’re on it, look upward for the prow-posted busts of George Vancouver, who sailed into Burrard Inlet on June 12, 1792, and fellow captain Harry Burrard, with whom Vancouver messed about the West Indies in 1785.
Irony (333 West 2nd Avenue, Central Vancouver, 604-875-8988) imports contemporary-styled hand-forged wrought iron from the Philippines. Furniture, candleholders (some human-sized), torches, mirrors, and wall sconces enlighten a former industrial space — along with capiz (translucent shell) lamps, decorative glass, Asian linens, and other frippery.
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