This summer, Granville Square Plaza in downtown Vancouver becomes even more vibrant with the addition of a striking new temporary “VANCOUVER” sign.
Albeit temporary, it is poised to become a must-visit landmark for the area’s many cruise ship passengers, other tourists, residents, and passersby.
The sign is part of Junction Public Market’s summer-long takeover of Granville Square Plaza, which is a unique food, beverage, and retail destination constructed out of customized shipping containers.
Impossible to miss, the giant fuchsia-coloured three-dimensional sign spells out the nine letters of the city’s name. It is strategically located at the plaza’s designated Burrard Inlet Lookout — the northern end of the plaza, providing the sign with an unobstructed backdrop of the five sails of the Canada Place cruise ship terminal, berthed cruise ships, and the North Shore mountains.
Location of the new temporary “VANCOUVER” sign and Junction Public Market at the Burrard Inlet Lookout at Granville Square Plaza. (Google Maps)
New temporary “VANCOUVER” sign at Granville Square Plaza, as seen on June 29, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
New temporary “VANCOUVER” sign at Granville Square Plaza, as seen on June 29, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
New temporary “VANCOUVER” sign at Granville Square Plaza, as seen on June 29, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
New temporary “VANCOUVER” sign at Granville Square Plaza, as seen on June 29, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Granville Square Plaza is located at the northernmost end of Granville Street in downtown Vancouver, immediately west of the historic Waterfront Station building. The market is a free, accessible, ungated attraction on the plaza, which is at the base of the Granville Square office tower. Organizers of the market partnered with Cadillac Fairview, which owns the Granville Square and PricewaterhouseCoopers Place office towers, the plaza, and the historic Waterfront Station building.
The market soft opened on Friday, June 28, 2024. Both the market and its sign will remain in place through September 29, 2024.
Although the new temporary “VANCOUVER” sign has only been in place for one day, it has already seen a non-stop flow of people capturing photos with it, as observed by Daily Hive Urbanized on Saturday.
New temporary “VANCOUVER” sign at Granville Square Plaza, as seen on June 29, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
New temporary “VANCOUVER” sign at Granville Square Plaza, as seen on June 29, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
New temporary “VANCOUVER” sign at Granville Square Plaza, as seen on June 29, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
The first-ever container market Junction, has just opened in #Vancouver, and we couldn’t be more excited 🎉🍴
Naturally, Dished had to be one of the first ones there to check out all of the great eats available.
Read more 👉https://t.co/veV5uRCpTM pic.twitter.com/gXec4JDeHz
— Daily Hive Vancouver (@DailyHiveVan) June 29, 2024
This summertime sign follows the immense popularity of last winter’s temporary ‘VANCOUVER’ sign on the sidewalk of Canada Place Way, located on the west side of the Canada Place cruise ship terminal. It was part of the area’s wintertime lighting activation, with the sign installed in early December 2023 and taken down at the end of February 2024. This previous sign remained in place for an extra month due to its highly apparent success in capturing the attention of visitors, residents, event-goers, and other passersby with photo-worthy moments for sharing on social media.
The success of the temporary wintertime sign prompted Vancouver City Council’s decision in March 2024 to direct City of Vancouver staff to report back by no later than the third quarter of this year on potential locations, funding sources, and implementation timelines for a “high-profile permanent public outdoor ‘VANCOUVER’ sign.” Signs that are permanent are also designed to be resistant to harsh weather conditions and vandalism.
The intention is to have this public art sign designed and installed in time for some of Vancouver’s hosting of major upcoming events, including the 2025 Invictus Games and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
New temporary “VANCOUVER” sign at Granville Square Plaza, as seen on June 29, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
New temporary “VANCOUVER” sign at Granville Square Plaza, as seen on June 29, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
New temporary “VANCOUVER” sign at Granville Square Plaza, as seen on June 29, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
New temporary “VANCOUVER” sign at Granville Square Plaza, as seen on June 29, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Some of the world’s most iconic city name and destination signs are in Amsterdam and Toronto, but there are also signs in places such as Lisbon, Puerto Vallarta, Ottawa, and more locally, like in Nanaimo.
A “CANADA 150” sign installed in the same area — just outside the Canada Place pier entrance — in 2017 for Canada’s 150th anniversary celebrations, also became one of Vancouver’s most photographed objects that year on social media.