It's going to be a long time before I refer to this as Pacific Central. It is, in my opinion, a goofy name and the result of a lame compromise.
This was the Canadian National Railway Station. We had other stations as well, the Great Northern Station was next door and has been a ginormous weed patch for decades. The Canadian Pacific Station is downtown and now serves as a commuter hub, among other things.
Canadian National, CN, is just a freight hauler. Since 1972 passenger service across Canada has been handled by VIA Rail. So, to make a long and boring story short and boring, somebody, CN I guess, didn't like the idea that the sign on top of the station read Canadian National since the building had nothing to do with them. The sign had historical significance and the usual brouhaha erupted over what to do about it. We ended up with Pacific Central in the same style as the original sign.
Amtak goes south from here and all the highway bus services run from here as well. I'm hoping to take the train to Toronto in the next couple of months. If I do there'll be more train pics on here than any normal person will be able to tolerate.
The Great Northern station is pictured below. It was demolished more than 40 years ago and nothing has been built in it's place. Imagine the creative opportunities for new uses for a building like this. The apparent lack of vision in Vancouver in the 60s is just staggering. I remember the building well and regret that I never got to see the interior.
