Mosaic floor by Coast Salish artist Susan Point, in the lobby of the renovated East building, Vancouver Convention Centre. Photograph by: Jenelle Schneider, Vancouver Sun
After five years of planning and building, the downtown Vancouver Convention Centre completed its enormous expansion last week, just in time for the 2010 Olympics.
The expansion project tripled the convention centre’s size; it now covers 1.1 million square feet (about the size of four city blocks) and includes a 90-metre Harbour Concourse that links the east and west buildings below street level at Canada Place.
In addition to the Olympic media influx, the renovated Centre can now be used to host almost any type of event, from traditional business conventions to concerts and sporting events.
There’s gorgeous artwork on display, too. The building-connecting Harbour Concourse doubles as the Coast Salish Gallery, which exhibits original artwork by Coast Salish artists, including Vancouver’s Susan Point.
Susan Point's Human Spirit, in the Coast Salish Gallery / Concourse at the expanded Vancouver Convention Centre. Photograph by: Jenelle Schneider, Vancouver Sun
Jody Broomfield's The Legend of Siwash Rock & The Legend of the Twin Sisters (left) and John Marston's Nature Still Speaks (right) in the new Coast Salish Gallery / Concourse. Photograph by: Jenelle Schneider, Vancouver Sun
Premiere Gordon Campbell attended the grand opening of the concourse and Coast Salish Gallery last week. You can see the expansion yourself via free guided tours at the centre; tours leave at 10:00am, 11:30am, 1:30pm and 3:00pm daily.
