What was once a vital food source for Indigenous communities is now a bustling waterway in the heart of Vancouver. False Creek, a narrow inlet, cuts through the city, separating downtown from areas like Kitsilano and Mount Pleasant. It wasn’t always a scenic spot for paddleboarding and dragon boat races. False Creek earned its unusual name from a mistake made by surveyor George Henry Richards. He mistook the inlet for a creek during his explorations, and the name stuck.
Before the arrival of European settlers, False Creek was a bountiful source of food for the Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam, and Squamish peoples. They harvested salmon, shellfish, sea asparagus, and more from its waters and shores. However, the influx of industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries transformed False Creek. Sawmills and port operations sprang up, leading to pollution and earning the waterway the unfortunate nickname “Shit Creek”.
The area continued to change over the decades. A large section of False Creek’s eastern end was filled in to make way for a rail yard. There were even discussions in the 1950s about filling in the entire inlet! Fortunately, a different vision for False Creek emerged. The city embraced urban renewal, transforming the former industrial wasteland into a vibrant waterfront community we see today.