Maple Tree Square - Where Gastown Began
A stop on Vancouver Cruise Day Walk, a free self-guided tour.
This small square where several old streets meet is where the city began. In 1867 a former sailor named John Deighton landed here and opened a saloon for the workers at the nearby Hastings Mill. He was famous for talking endlessly, earning the nickname Gassy Jack, and the little settlement became Gassy's Town, then Gastown.
A big maple tree stood here, and early residents gathered under it for meetings and events. In 1886 it was lost in the Great Fire, and a newer maple marks the spot today.
For decades a statue of Gassy Jack standing on a whisky barrel stood in the square. Many people criticised it because Deighton, at about 40, had married a 12-year-old Squamish girl. During the Downtown Eastside Women's Memorial March in February 2022, protesters pulled it down. It is now in storage while the Squamish Nation leads the decision about what comes next.
Getting here: Walk a few steps east out of Gaoler's Mews to the square where Water, Carrall and Alexander Streets meet.
Did you know?: The boundaries of Gastown still follow the 1870 survey of the Granville townsite, the settlement's official name before it became Vancouver.
Photo op: Stand at the point of the flatiron-shaped Hotel Europe building and frame its narrow brick prow.
Nearby: Cafes and restaurants around the square.
More on Wikipedia: Gastown · John Deighton · Hastings Mill
Stops on this tour
- Canada Place - The Ship with Sails
- Olympic Cauldron - Vancouver's 2010 Flame
- Coal Harbour Seawall - Floatplanes and Yachts
- Lost Lagoon - A Lake That Was Once the Sea
- Stanley Park Seawall - A Lifetime of Stonework
- Brockton Point Totem Poles - Carved Stories
- Nine O'Clock Gun - The Cannon That Tells Time
- Waterfront Station - Where the Railway Ended
- Gastown Steam Clock - Whistles on the Hour
- Gaoler's Mews - Vancouver's First Jail
- Maple Tree Square - Where Gastown Began
- Canada Place Promenade - Back on Board