Vancouver's Gastown becomes national historic site

Vancouver's Gastown district has been designated a national historic site, federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice, who oversees Parks Canada, has announced.

Prentice said the designation recognizes the role of the architecturally significant area in shaping western Canada's economy. Many of the neighbourhood's commercial buildings date from 1886 to 1914, representing an early example of an urban historic district, he said.

Gastown was named after Captain "Gassy Jack" Deighton, who persuaded some mill workers to build him a saloon on the south side of Burrard Inlet in 1867.

The settlement eventually grew into the city of Vancouver and now sits between the city's modern downtown core and the troubled Downtown Eastside.