Rise of Metrotown

I remember when I was a kid I used to walk 60 minutes in the snow to get to work, there and back.

And so the stories go. And yes, that one is true.

I would walk from my childhood home in Burnaby, along a few sides streets, and then a few major ones, eventually passing Metrotown to get to a restaurant on Kingsway. 60 minutes in the snow, 45 in the summer. There and back. (Truth be known, I was a teenager, not a kid, but who's counting?)

But I remember when Metrotown wasn't there. It was mostly a parking lot, for Woodwards. Or maybe Sears. I don't remember too much about it. Except once upon a time, my grandpa took me to the department store so I could spend the gift certificate he gave me for my birthday. I went in by myself, and came out with my first CD. The Clash. I listened to that CD over and over and over. (How much fun was that to sing "Should I Stay or Should I Go" on Rock Band last night!! Over and over and over!!)

And then, the buildings came. And the people. And then more buildings, and more people. Build it and they will.... you know how that goes.

This picture was taken on Boxing Day morning, when the snow had finished falling and everything was quiet. (I had to truncate it... or should I say tunicate it... to get it to fit here. It looks better in bigger, but you get the idea.)

I call it Rise of Metrotown. I expect in another 25 years the buildings will rise even higher. And then, so will the memories.

Except, perhaps I will be the one taking my grand daughter there for her first memories at the mall.