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Victory Square
Categories: Public Services & Government Landmarks & Historical Buildings Active Life Parks Landmarks & Historical Buildings, Parks [Edit]
200 W Hastings StVancouver, BC V6B 1H2
Neighbourhood: Downtown
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
4 reviews for Victory Square
4 reviews in English
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Review from Cameron M.
Toronto, ON
1/5/2009
Victory Square is one of the more interesting sites to see in Vancouver. An expertly designed piece of green space surrounding a war memorial, it always has something new to look at when I visit. From the helmet-shaped lampposts to the surrounding old buildings, it's really quite an amazing space in the heart of downtown.
Now, that's not to say it's free from the other 'influences' of downtown Vancouver. it tends to be full of people sleeping, drinking and generally being shifty. Its public washrooms feature attendants though, so you can really feel like they have a pretty good handle on things.
Beyond the remembrance day festivities, the park also hosts a yearly party on Labour Day long weekend featuring local acts. It's one of the bigger public events in the city and it's really something to see.
This is definitely a cool site for tourists to check out and somewhere most locals ought to appreciate a bit more. -
Review from Christine R.
New Westminster, BC
11/22/2008 2 photos
Victory Square is not a place I pass easily. The cenotaph, its most recognizable feature, has an arresting inscription: Is It Nothing to You. With the knowledge that the square was dedicated as a monument to WW1 veterans, and is today the site of Vancouver's biggest Remembrance Day ceremonies, I can never walk by, or sit in the park, without thinking about why it's there in the first place.
And on a nice day, it is a pretty park to sit in and eat lunch or just hang out and people watch. It used to be kind of a dangerous spot with lots of dark corners, but a major renovation a few years ago really cleaned things up. Groups of guys still congregate over shopping carts and blankets and bicycles, but they're mostly harmless, and often quite friendly.
Victory Square also has public washrooms, one of the few in the downtown core that aren't in a mall or hotel. Vancouver just really lacks in public toilets - the only public toilets in the entire transit system are in the SeaBus terminals! Anyhoo, going to the loo in Victory Square's subterranean toilets may seem like a dodgy idea, but they're clean and supervised by attendants 24 hours a day. Not the kind who'll hand you a towel, but the kind who keeps the peace. -
Review from Megan S.
1/3/2009 1 photo
On a sunny day this is a great place to be. You'll see many napping in the grass with the sun warming their face, others who sit on the benches for hours reading or talking to the person next to them. It's a welcoming park that gets a lot of use.
On a cloudier day, I see it more for what it is. A memorial. On Remembrance Day it's a crowded, but good, place to be. I'm a big fan of parks within the city, and this one to be enjoyed. -
Review from BB H.
Burnaby, BC
5/26/2010
Weirdest location. Maybe back in the day people were found moving about this area and Vancouver was a much different place, this was a central area to put a war memorial park. It hasn't been such a place in my lifetime and I can actually remember Woodward's.
I like the fact they cleaned up the park, but it's mainly skid row types who hang here. It's been creepy ever since I was a kid. Only time it's fine to go there is Nov. 11.
The park itself is cool with the WWI helmeted light standards and its layout on a slope is also nice. Problem is for a park that is supposed to honor the war dead wouldn't it be better to have it somewhere where families could safely take their kids? Not that they can move the thing but it's a shame it's in such a crappy part of town.
