jerk with a camera
One of my favourite parking garages.

One of my favourite parking garages.

Jun 24, 2026

There is this parking garage that sits on a prime piece of real estate in downtown Vancouver. It is smack dab between Richards and Seymour, right off of Georgia Street. It has been here forever! And it looks like it. It is old, falling apart, and for the most part seems to be always empty.

I discovered it almost 20 years ago when I first moved to Vancouver, and even back then, I fully expected this decrepit, falling-apart structure to be torn down and replaced with a tall office tower, condos, or something similar within a year or two! 

Red neon TO PARK sign at darkest exposure. Sign glow is most vivid. Concrete ceiling nearly black. Light from below visible at bottom.
Camera: Hasselblad 503CXI with its 100 megapixel CFV 100 digital back
Lens: Carl Zeiss planar 80mm f/2.8

Here we are ~20 years later, and it is here, still standing, still going strong. It is definitely showing its age these days, and with everything around it, like the Telus tower thingy across the street,  already developed, I wonder how many years it has left. 

Wider view of glass block grid on white concrete block wall. Black drainpipe and Pay and Sign sign at right. More of the wall visible.
glass block window
Widest view of P4 stairwell entrance on white concrete block wall with PayByPhone and Pay and Sign signs and teal awning.
P4 stairwell entrance
P4 stairwell entrance with teal awning and green door frame. Tighter framing than preceding frame. Pink stucco wall at right.
P4 stairwell entrance
Multi-level parking ramp with teal painted edges and white columns beside it. Neoclassical building visible behind.
parking ramp
Parking ramp with teal edges, neoclassical building, and a modern glass high-rise tower visible behind them under a blue sky.
parking ramp
Empty parking garage drive lane at night. Fluorescent ceiling lights recede into the distance. Red neon directional arrow sign on the right wall.
empty parking garage
Wider view of neoclassical building facade with white brick wall at left and parking ramp structure at right. Empty paved lot in foreground.
parking ramp
Parking garage interior with curved spiral ramp, concrete column, metal railings, and partial Caution Traffic sign at upper right.
Parking Ramp
Green double door in a white concrete block wall with gas meters and piping mounted on the wall to the upper left.
Utility room

It is also one of the places that I always feel has some amazing photo potential, and yet every time I explore it with my camera, I am always left wanting. I guess I feel like I never really capture the space and the ‘charm’ of this place the way I see it.

Wider view of parking garage stairwell corner with diagonal sunlight shaft, metal railings, concrete block wall, and teal lower band.
Camera: Hasselblad 503CXI with its 100 megapixel CFV 100 digital back
Lens: Carl Zeiss planar 80mm f/2.8

As such, I have been taking photos of this place for years now, so I probably have quite the collection of images taken here. I should gather them from all ages and then do some sort of compare-and-contrast to show how places can change with age. 

Parking garage interior lane with metal louvre panels above a railing, a pendant light, a teal lower wall band, and an orange directional sign.
Camera: Hasselblad 503CXI with its 100 megapixel CFV 100 digital back
Lens: Carl Zeiss planar 80mm f/2.8

Like, I know I have many, many, many photos of this wooden, hand-painted No Parking Water Meter Sign. I should really dig all of them up and show how it has aged over the past 20 years. 

Weathered yellow no-parking sign reading Water Meter centred on a wall painted grey below and white above.
Camera: Hasselblad 503CXI with its 100 megapixel CFV 100 digital back
Lens: Carl Zeiss planar 80mm f/2.8

If I ever finish getting my 25+ years of photowandering sorted and cataloged, I might just do that :)

Architecture Arrow Sign awning barred window Blue sky Carl Zeiss Plannar T* 80mm f/2.8 Caution Sign cloud Column concrete block Concrete Ceiling concrete column Daytime digital back Digital Back • Hasselblad Digital Medium Format double door downtown Drainpipe Drive Lane facade Fluorescent Light Gas meter Georgia Street Glass Block Glass Block Window Glass Tower Green Door Grey Wall Hasselblad CFV 100C High-Rise indoor Medium Format Neoclassical Building neon sign night No Parking outdoor P4 Parking Parking garage Parking Lot Parking Ramp Parking Sign Pay and Sign PayByPhone Piping Railing Ramp Red Neon Shadow Sign staircase Stairwell sunlight Teal to park Vancouver wall Water Meter white wall Window