A little bit of Vancouver's history was lost forever when the old Blue Eagle Cafe was torn down back in 2011. The cafe had a long run and had operated at 130 East Hastings street from 1944 until it was finally closed down by the City in 1999 for drug infractions. Being right in the Downtown Eastside and just a stones throw from Main and Hastings the Blue Eagle was in a bit of a rough stretch of town. But this is nothing new as the neighbourhood has always had its problems going back many decades. Another classic Vancouver cafe the Only Seafoods just down the street would later suffer the same fate in 2009.
The building was of course very old and had three distinct storefronts. These were home to a revolving door of businesses and eateries over the years. Back in 1916 the space at 130 had once been home to the White Lunch which went on to have a few locations around town as well as some great neon signage. A few doors East at 134 was The Golden Gate Cafe which once sported a tall neon sign with a coffee cup at the top. Years later just next door to that at 138 was the infamous Kit Kat Klub. Before the Blue Eagle arrived on the scene this part of Hastings Street was Vancouver's downtown and cafe's were literally everywhere along the street. Today the only one left is the Ovaltine Cafe just East of Main Street. You can see what the street looked like back in 1973 in this great photo by Vancouver photographer Greg Girard.
Sadly the old building that housed the Blue Eagle was neglected for years like many in the Downtown Eastside. For just over a decade the Blue Eagle's classic neon sign sat abandoned with the eagle keeping watch over the sidewalk on Hastings Street. It wasn't until 2010 that the sign was finally acquired by the Museum of Vancouver.
The sign at its new home in 2011
It's really too bad the Blue Eagle is gone as it makes me think the old place could have lived again if it had been renovated in time. Upscale restaurants are now making inroads into the Downtown Eastside and especially into Chinatown. Of course many are calling this gentrification but it's nice to see empty storefronts coming back to life. The Blue Eagle's interior was pretty spiffy and the floor was covered in amazing mosaic tile work. Done up right it would still look fabulous today!
The Western wall was also covered in beautiful tiles no doubt from its days as The White Lunch.
But in Vancouver nothing lasts forever and the deal was finally sealed for the Blue Eagle when the Pantages Theatre up the block at 150 East Hastings was condemned after suffering years of water damage. At one time there were serious plans to restore the theatre to its former glory. But by 2010 all those plans had gone seriously off the rails and all the old buildings had an appointment with the demolition man. As artist Keith McKellar wrote in his 1999 book Neon Eulogy "Everybody knows the room with a mischevious soul. The Blue Eagle Cafe". At least we have the old neon sign to remember the place by!
March 2021 - Just a quick update as I recently discovered an old photo from the 1920's in the VPL's collection on Flickr. The photo is by Stuart Thomson and shows 130 East Hastings when it was the White Lunch. A few doors East at 134 was the Golden Gate Cafe with its big electric sign!
