"The Eaton's era to me signified the tail end of downtown Vancouver skateboarding. Skating the very last hardly skateable remaining 4 feet of chunky marble ledge right on the sidewalk of Granville, felt like I was skating a tombstone."
-Geoff Dermer

With the 2010 Winter Olympics nipping at the heels of Vancouverites, development in the popular Canadian port city is at an all-time high. The cityscape is lined with cranes that seemingly uproot new residential condo-complexes faster than a weed can sprout through the uneven sidewalk cracks. These drastic changes to the urban landscape cause the loss, displacement, and gain of skate spots. 

Construction of the new "Canada Line" SkyTrain route running from downtown Vancouver to the airport in Richmond, and its upcoming Vancouver City Centre station, caused the destruction of the iconic Eaton's plaza over the past summer. For the most part, the spot on the busy corner of Granville and West Georgia Streets was already shut down since it had a high bust factor and was one of the city core's first capped spots at the tail end of the ‘90s. However, it still served as a slightly skateable spot-monument that commemorated the legendary heyday of ‘90s-era downtown Vancouver street skating.

"Eaton's played such an important role in my life. I first saw the spot in skate videos and magazines back when I was still skating in Ottawa. Like many others before me, I moved to Vancouver to skate the great street spots that used to exist in the city, and Eaton's was by far the best spot Vancouver ever had," says Jason "Downtown J" Lamarche, who put in some serious time at the former spot. "Eaton's was like our own version of EMB, with lots of different marble ledges, stairs, blocks, and a handrail. The ground was made of this rough looking pebble, but it was actually dead smooth and would pop really well."

Another blessing and simultaneous curse of this spot, was it's location. It was right on the corner of a busy pedestrian intersection which would make skating there during the day, especially on weekends, a bit of a hassle. But at the same time, it was a great place to meet up and figure out the downtown spot mission on any given day. There were budget friendly amenities close by, and at night - when the spot would open up and the freaks would flock to Granville - the skate sessions were never dull.

"Since it was located right in the very heart of downtown, it was the best place to people watch. Everyone had a way to interact with the outside world," Lamarche explains. "Eaton's was the perfect place for skateboarding to thrive in. It was a blast and the sessions would start from about 5pm and last until about 2am when the sprinklers turned on and flooded the place. Across the street was a buck-slice pizza shop, so everyone had access to dirt-cheap food and drinks. There was also a saxophone player that would play music every night, and when you took a break you could just sit back and groove. Landing switch backtails to "Baker Street" being played the on sax is probably one of the best feelings I've ever had."

"Street skating is not just about the terrain, it's about riding your skateboard on public streets. Eaton's was where I went to skate street. It had the perfect mixture of ledges, live music, characters and energy. Only at night would the mixture be pure," adds former Eaton's local, Gerry Loughran. "Eaton's is gone, but the streets aren't."