Vancouver is the largest city in British Columbia and third largest CENSUS METROPOLITAN AREA in Canada. It lies on a peninsula in the southwest corner of the province's mainland. The surrounding waterways - Burrard Inlet, the Strait of GEORGIA and the FRASER RIVER - provide an excellent sheltered deep-sea port, convenient access to the Pacific Ocean and an easy route to the rich agricultural lands of the FRASER RIVER LOWLAND and the interior.

Economy
Vancouver today is a post-industrial city. Although approximately one-sixth of the work force in Greater Vancouver depends directly or indirectly on the forest industry for employment, heavy industry has all but disappeared from the city. Wholesaling and distribution continue to be important, but the city has welcomed new or expanded industries such as management, financial, legal and engineering services, telecommunications, marine technology and film.
The Vancouver Stock Exchange (1907) finances BC and Alberta developments, especially of the more speculative kind.
Tourism and conventions also contribute substantially to the city's economy as visitors come to enjoy the city's beauties and amenities or to use it as a transfer point to nearby destinations such as the resort at WHISTLER.

Cultural Life
Vancouver has long enjoyed a variety of cultural activities. The Art, Historical and Scientific Association (one of the first groups organized) established a museum in 1894. In honour of the 1958 BC centennial, the city built a new museum, a Maritime Museum and, with funds from lumberman Harvey R. MACMILLAN, a planetarium. As soon as the CPR opened an opera house in 1891, Vancouver became a regular stop for touring concert artists and theatrical companies. As well as supporting local amateur musical and dramatic groups, the city also has such professional bodies as the VANCOUVER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, the Vancouver Opera Association and the Playhouse Theatre. The last was one of many professional theatrical companies that mushroomed in the 1960s and 1970s. The opera and Playhouse Theatre use the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, a civic auditorium opened in 1959. The symphony plays in the restored Orpheum Theatre, while touring musicals are the mainstay of the Ford Theatre (1994).
Since October 1983 the Vancouver Art Gallery (established 1931) has been located at the Old Courthouse, a larger site than its previous home and redesigned by architect Arthur ERICKSON.
Erickson also designed the Museum of Anthropology (1976) on the campus of the University of British Columbia. That museum, a popular tourist attraction and a research institution, is especially noted for its collections of First Nations material.
Equally striking, but in a different way, is Library Square (1995), home of the central public library, which is modelled on the Coliseum of Rome.
Institutions of higher learning have also stimulated the arts. The Vancouver area has 2 public universities, the UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (founded 1908) and SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY (founded 1963); several regional colleges, including Vancouver Community College (1965); and the BC Institute of Technology (1964).
The Vancouver area offers many opportunities for outdoor recreation, including skiing and year-round boating, golfing and diving. Within the city are 159 parks, of which the largest and most important, Stanley Park, has many recreational facilities including a 7 km seawall, a favourite location for walkers and joggers.