When Rich pulled out of my only Vancon to shoot The Winchesters, I toyed with cancelling the trip myself. But then he came through with a list of recommendations that gave me the opportunity to include him in my adventures anyway.
I’m so happy I made the pilgrimage to Hollywood North.
​
From eating burgers in his favourite spot; to staying in the building where ‘The Readout’ was written; to walking in the footsteps of a certain janitor, my friends and I did Vancouver the Speight way.
​
With fans about to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Supernatural in the city where it filmed, I suggested to Rich that we now share his Vancity favourites with you all.
I’ve also added a few highlights from my own time in this incredible place.
RICHARD SPEIGHT, JR.​​
Vancouver is a fricking awesome city. It’s amazing. It’s an unbelievable city for restaurants, so you almost can’t go wrong – but here are some of my favorites:
​​
Rodney’s in Yaletown, for oysters.
Minami (also Yaletown), for Sushi.
Kissa Tanto. You’re going to want to make a reservation for this one, but it’s phenomenal.
And then, Elisa. The best steak restaurant I’ve been to in my life – and I’ve been to my fair share of steak restaurants. It’s spendy, but it’s unbelievable.
For drinks, my recommendation is a prohibition era
cocktail joint in Gastown called​ The Pourhouse.
​
But I don’t hop to a lot of bars, to be honest. I tend to go to restaurants when I have downtime. I just prefer to go eat. But one of my favorite places is a joint that’s in an area of the city called Kitsilano, and the bar is called Local. It’s a burger/bar place, and it’s right across the street from the beach. It’s so beautiful. You’ve got the beach, great burgers, great beer, and it’s just a super fun, friendly, down-to-earth spot.
​
That’s also just an amazing area – that whole Kitsilano neighbourhood. Great place to walk around and find little wine bars, and dress shops, and boutiques. There’s also an Arc’teryx, which of course is a big chain, but it’s mostly a bunch of boutiques, which is really cool. It’s a great walking area.
​
And Granville Island. That whole Granville shopping area is super cool, and worth doing. It’s at the base of the Granville bridge, and you can take a water taxi there, which I always think is really fun - just hopping on a water taxi and floating over to grab a coffee, then floating on back. Another good place to just walk around a little.
​
Everything in Vancouver is walkable. You can walk from the middle of town to these places - it’s not super hilly, so it’s a pretty easy walk just about anywhere. And it’s beautiful, which makes it easier. A 40 minute walk there is going to be 40 beautiful minutes spent outside, which is another boon of being in Vancouver.
RAIN TROWER, FANWORLD
EXT.CRAWFORD HALL – NIGHT
​
A JANITOR locks the front door and saunters away somewhat jauntily. A body falls behind him with a heavy crunch. He turns back to see the Professor dead on the steps.
​
TITLE CARD: SUPERNATURAL
Without a doubt, the sight I was most excited about seeing on my trip was the place where Rich’s Supernatural story started. One of the most recognisable locations from the show, Crawford Hall from ‘Tall Tales’ is actually the Iona Building, on the campus of the University of British Columbia.
​
In addition to Supernatural, this beautiful 1920s building can be glimpsed in ‘Psych’ (115 - “Scare Sherry: Bianca’s Toast), ‘Fringe’ (doubling for Harvard), and in the original ‘Jumanji’ (in a brochure for The Cliffside School for Boys).
The Iona Building is now primarily a student residence. It can be found at 6000 Iona Drive, V6T 1L4. It’s the furthest out place from the con hotel on my list - around 20 minutes in an Uber – but it’s a must see for Gabriel fans.
My next recommendation is far closer to the Westin Bay Hotel – and it’s another instantly recognisable Supernatural location – the site of the first Supernatural convention, from ‘The Real Ghostbusters’. The Stanley Park Pavilion is a 15-minute walk from the hotel, and should be on any Rob fan’s wish-list.
And while you’re in Stanley Park, the Vancouver Aquarium is home to 65,000 animals, including wildlife rescued from the local area, sea otters (my favourites) and even monkeys and a sloth (in their Amazon Gallery). It’s a fun way to spend a dry afternoon (hey, they don’t call it Rain City for nothing!).
.jpg)
A pleasant, flat 20-minute walk along the seawall from the aquarium is my final Stanley Park recommendation, The Stanley Park Totem Poles, at Brockton Point. The most visited attraction in all of British Columbia, the park’s collection of these First Nation red cedar carvings was begun in the 1920s, though some date back as far as the 1880s.
For more on the original inhabitants of the area, the Museum of Vancouver take visitors on a journey through the history of the city from indigenous settlement to the culturally diverse modern city we know today.
(For a more in-depth look at the art of the First Nations of the Pacific Northwest,
UBC’s Museum of Anthropology has extensive First Nations galleries. I didn’t get to visit
this one as it was closed for a seismic upgrade in 2022, but it’s now reopened.)
​
I want to end this on a Rich-centric note, so let’s look at a couple more locations. One you sadly *wont* find anymore is in the previously mentioned Kitsilano. Yaggers Sports Bar, at 2884 W Broadway where a Western-shirted Gabriel famously tended bar in ‘Beat the Devil’. When we visited in 2022, the bar was closed but intact - we were able to recognise the distinctive doors and windows seen in the Joe’s Town Club scene. Now, however, that spot is occupied by another bar and venue - The Painted Ship - so it’s still possible to raise a glass on the spot where Gabriel poured one out.
Two locations you *can* still find, are from Rich’s Supernatural tour-de-force, ‘Unfinished Business’. And both are around a 30-minute walk from the con hotel.
​
Gabriel’s fight with Fenrir takes place in an alley behind acclaimed Chinese brasserie Bao Bei, at 163 Keefer Street, V6A 1X4
And finally, when Gabriel ponders a trick-free future outside the Ophidian Hotel, he and the boys are standing in the alley behind 122 E Pender Street, V6A 1T3.
.jpg)