The Vancouver East Cultural Centre has been battling to save Commercial Drive’s historic York Theatre from demolition, thereby depriving Vancouver of another stunning medium-sized heritage cultural venue. I previously wrote about efforts to save the York, and about some of its history on Beyond Robson.
The Cultch has found a benefactor who is willing to purchase the property and completely restore it to its former glory in exchange for a city-granted density increase on another property. They have run into a speed bump, however, and are asking for the public’s help. A staff report being sent to city council on Thursday, December 18th recommends only partial support for the project, as opposed to the 100% support of the density increase needed to save the York.
If you are interested in showing your support for preserving the York and can head down to City Hall on the 18th, click here for the Cultch’s Facebook event page to find out more details.
Photo of the York Theatre (most recently the Raja theatre) courtesy of Flickr user SqueakyMarmot.
H/T to Deb at Shameless Hussy for the link.
Simon Ogden 
This is exactly what’s happening with the Pantages. C’mon, City Hall, get it together! Culture is important, and in order for us to create art, we need venues.
K? Thanks.
The York hosted so many classic nights of entertainment over the years, it is a shame to let it go.
For me, having an all-ages venue to see punk rock shows which wasn’t downtown, was a life-changer for me growing up in Whalley in the early 80s.
Man, any update on the Pantages either? I remember hearing about the York from an interview I did with a certain DaveO for my Punk History Vancouver series ;-)
Hmm…I’m wondering about what’s going on with the Pantages too. I’ll tweet RC about it…
Hello mate niice post