A look inside the gutted Canada Post building in Vancouver

[@steamer1112]

I worked in that building from 1979-1987. There was not a single place in that buidling that I didn't get to. That includes the tunnel from the basement to the old railway station that has been re-modeled into the transit hub for Skytrain, Seabus and Canada Line. One of my workmates knew where the keys to prletty well everything in the building were so, one Sunday morning we grabbed a forklift, attached a large cart behind it and 6 of us went for a ride down into the tunnel. We ran into a cenent wall about half way to the station so, signed our names on a canvas mailbag and hung it from a pipe. There were freight elevators in the building that you could stop between floors, lift the gate and write on the wall, the first night back from a 6 week strike, I lifted the gate and borrowing a quote form an Emerson, Lake and Palmer album,wrote on the wall "welcome back my friends to the show that never ends". A few years back when the building was being used by movie people, I was walking by and asked one of the gyuys guarding the door if he'd ever gone up the freight elevator and if my quote was still on the wall. I was quite pleased to find that it still was.

[@craigx1433]

...just got back from a visit to Vancouver...of course I had to go and visit the old Georgia st post office where I started July 29,75.I was delighted to see they kept the facade...noticed the carveing of the letter carrier is gone,but nice to see the place has been revitalized.Still miss the Alcazar hotel that was next to it.I spent 3 weeks in Van and I was surprised to see how much of downtown is still the same.Sure there are high rises bot Granville with the commodore ballroom and Gastown are still the same.Working for Canada post was a godsend for me.I retired on June 17,2011,the date of the hockey riots in downtown Vancouver.I turn on the news and what is on the screen but the old girl herself,349 w Georgia.I was and am living in Newington ,Ont...and I marvel at the great stroke of luck I have had starting a 36 career right there as a po 2 mailhandler...good luck to all posties.

[@Rodrigob94]

This kind of revitalization is awesome!

[@menikmati789]

There’s a hidden tunnel in there that goes to the inlet near waterfront; I vote turn it into a super fun happy slide

[@funeralgiggle3771]

menikmati789 Wait, what?

[@funeralgiggle3771]

menikmati789 thanks! I wish I had known about it all these years. Shame they can’t think of a single thing to do with it

[@Fvckedwithaknife]

Shes closed up, and sealed now haha

[@FlippingWhips]

Not anymore. I worked down there. We filled it with cellcrete. It is sealed. But I would not trust the work done by the company I used to work for... Earthquake happens ittl be the first to go down lol

[@MrNncon]

I vote to keep amazon out of our country

[@donairsauce2496]

it's always a cool feeling when i get called to cover a route at the old post office in my area

[@colint7743]

We did the Steveston High school conversion(condos)few years back. People kept walking onto the site to collect momentous(dangerous!) Wonder if the same is happening here. The site is a Vancouver landmark.

[@mattfrankman]

I remember that. Someone told me the RCMP used it for tactical training for a time

[@colint7743]

@@mattfrankman Not sure about that ! All the work was inside, like on the vid. But the amount of retired, semi retired former students that stopped by looking for just anything, a souvenir. Sad !

[@kristaylor7119]

Amazing how it looks now

[@tomsmith5656]

I wonder how much the city is paying amazon for them to be there

[@ItsNot4Everyone]

Thank you for posting this. Up till now I had only heard one rumor to its new purpose, I now know it was not correct (new film studio)

[@thunderbird66613]

That is so awesome. I guess the tunnels are going to get covered up.

[@dwcoop5390]

There was a huge painted postage stamp on the roof only can see it by air

[@funeralgiggle3771]

I always wanted to know what it looks like inside. It doesn’t look at all the way I thought

[@MRTOWELRACK]

@Earthly Fireflies K.

[@beckwilde]

I’ve been wondering what’s inside for so long!

[@oryday1133]

Amazon is now taking all the office space expected to house 10,000 employees

[@craigx1433]

I used to work there and also heard about the tunnll.Rumor was it was started at two locations ,the Post Office and the train station by the Harbor.Apparently the engineering was wrong and the two did not connect up and the project was abandoned.The tunnel is there and would make a unique story for sure.

[@r.crompton2286]

The rumour you heard was quite inaccurate. The tunnel was the brainstorm of Public Works Canada that had a lot of money to spend in 1955. Their plan was to streamline mail processing and dispatch mail bags from the new, under construction Vancouver Mail Processing Plant (VMPP) to the CPR station (now the Seabus Terminal) via a belted conveyor system. Mail from other regions received at the CPR station would be offloaded and sent to the VMPP through the same tunnel conveyor but on a second belt There may have been a slight misalignment with the connection from both ends but the breakthrough was successfully completed and once the VMPP was opened for processing in 1957, the tunnel was put to good use. However within a couple of years most of Canada's letter mail heading to other provinces was being sent via airmail rather than by train. This resulted in the bulk of the VMPP forward letter dispatches being trucked directly to the Vancouver Airport. Dispatching and receiving mail between the VMPP and the CPR station ended in 1965. The conveyors were then dis-assembled, the tunnel opening at the CPR Station was sealed and at the VMPP tunnel entrance, a locked metal grille was installed to secure spare/surplus postal equipment that was being stored within the first thirty or so feet of the tunnel. I worked for Canada Post from 1968 to 2005 and had the pleasure of walking the length of the tunnel and back on two separate occasions -- the first venture with the lights on accompanied by a few fellow employees and the last time with a tour group of youngsters I guided through in 1996. On that last occasion we went through in total darkness except for the use of a single flashlight. Lots of fun for the kids. Toward the end of the 1990's, the tunnel was used as a location for movie producers. I believe it was sealed shut about ten years ago.

[@craigx1433]

Thank you very much for the clarification about the tunnel.I started at the building on July 29,1975.Second floor loading dock as a po2,mailhandler.My first supervisor was Art Shuto,heard he won the Million lottery...one of my best supervisors ever.I went letter carrier after 6 months and worked all over the city.Now I am long retired and live on a small farm in rural Ontario...I transfered in 1982 and find myself reflecting about how lucky I was to fall into that job with the Post Office.Great memories of that building and the Alcazar hotel next door.All the best to you in your retirement...and thank you again.

[@r.crompton2286]

@@craigx1433 I too was a Vancouver letter carrier -- from '68 to early ''73. If you started in '75 , then you probably knew Jack Hannah who was the man in charge of receiving local 3rd class bulk mailings from advertisers/printers on the 2nd floor receiving dock. From '73 to '79 I was a supervisor in the District's Customer Service section located in the Main Office (wickets) lobby. Jack used to phone me at least once every two weeks to report on mailings that had not been properly bundled/tagged according to the National Distribution Guide. I would either have to fix it (if the mailing was small) or phone the mailer to come and pick up the load and start over (if it was large). The VMPP was a great place to work. In those days the Alcazar was the watering-hole for many Plant employees and not a few of them got in trouble for coming back to work smelling of beer. Good health to you on the farm. Stay safe and God bless!

[@stanpatterson5033]

Interesting idea for the parking, but it's still rather a waste of space putting that "corkscrew" there. Could have done ramps along the edges of the opening and used the center for so much more, but that's just my 2 cents.

[@janetmcdonald2572]

It has been incredibly noisy working down there. I feel bad for people who live near by, another 2-3 years until it’s finished and then the new art gallery construction should begin.

[@SirDerpofCamelot]

Going to miss the iconography on the sides

[@Miso__doodle]

Doesn't building a new building cost less and take less time?

[@FighterChamp.]

Jonathan Edward it’s still one of the most beautiful cities in Canada if not the world :)

[@FighterChamp.]

Jonathan Edward run for mayor then sir

[@KS-qx6qm]

People blamed a lot during Canada post strike last year. People don't know employees starts $19.8 even though they work under rain, snow, sun, and drive. Construction and oil field workers get much more. Hope canada post can make money though tenants of that building and consider employees more.

[@mikeohernia5498]

construction work is a hell of alot harder

[@gpan62]

Too bad Virgin Records didn't save the mosaics inside the old library.

[@nigel-Rollercam-channel]

At least the underpaid employees who can barely afford to live in the city will have a lovely looking place to oppress them!

[@mikeohernia5498]

its a union job carpenters probably grossing 100k a year lol

[@FreeManFreeThought]

@@mikeohernia5498 I believe he's referring to the poor suckers at Amazon who will be working there.

[@Brick-Life]

the one in melbourne got turned to a HANDM

[@p-stylez571]

Should of called the development "Going Postal"

[@wallacegrommet3479]

There’s Mike, cool, now I know where he went.

[@andrewmillar8119]

how long have they been working on this project? It looks like they have accomplished nothing.

[@blin1776]

But r houses still a million plus dollars where normal Canadians with normal jobs cant afford ? Spending more on random nice office space but wont do anything to lower the cost of housing. Got it.

[@mikeohernia5498]

how can amazon lower the cost of living?

[@AnthonyMaw]

The greenwashing about tons of carbon emission saved reminds us about the CO2 emissions necessary for city's ongoing development progress: Maybe the engineer should also quote the estimated total tonnage of carbon emission from the production of the cement and steel used and the transport truck fuel burned being used too - the real total pollution of the human that matters to the planet.

[@siskavard]

human bad tree good

[@johnlu9368]

slow workers,micky mice work

[@gabegarino9040]

The shrill zinc analytically agree because quail intrestingly waste anenst a light snowboarding. cooperative, ill-informed gondola

[@sleeptime5464]

Times change.. Mail is now email.. Nowadays mailman are parcel and flyer delivery people... Soon post offices will not be needed and will be a thing of the past.

[@mikeohernia5498]

not with amazon around

[@greggotheeggo]

whatever. your just making a interesting building into a boring shopping mall

[@VonTurtle8282]

Gregory Clay so we should leave it empty and decrepit. Or tear it down? What would you prefer?

[@craigx1433]

...Just returned to Ottawa where I live now from a trip to Vancouver where I started at Post office and the Georgia plant in 1975.Of course I went to see the building and "the post" office tower .Looks great and nice to see the odd facade still there.. but the took down the carveing of the postman!...hope they keep it someplace special...Granville is still the same...but I miss that Eatons...sae Bobby Orr there once signing autographs circa 1976.