Ballantyne Pier

Ballantyne Pier (also called the Ballantyne Cruise Terminal) is a commercial and passenger dock of the Port of Vancouver, Canada, located at 851 Centennial Road. It sits at the west side of Rogers Sugar across the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks from Powell Street. Passenger terminal access is via Clark Drive or McGill Street Overpass only.

In 1995, the pier was renovated to create two modern cruise ship berths: the East Berth (#1) is 366 metres (1,201 ft) and the West Berth (#2) is used as an overflow berth. The dock is equipped with two automatic gangways and a terminal building with baggage handling and customs areas.

The pier stopped cruise operations at the end of 2014.

History

It was built in 1922-1923 by the Vancouver Harbour Board to alleviate dock shortages in Vancouver which came to a head during the First World War. Also, competing railways such as Great Northern, Canadian Northern, and Grand Trunk Pacific Railway needed wharf space in a Canadian-Pacific-monopolized waterfront. A Canadian National diamond crossing allows 'foreign' trains to Vancouver waterfront. The CNR Prince fleet sailed from this dock.

During the early construction foreman Edward J. Gorman died of injuries sustained during a pile driving accident. Mr. Gorman succumbed to his injuries on April 24, 1922.

The pier was the scene of a vicious 1935 strike, the Battle of Ballantyne Pier.

The dock was gutted in 1992 and rebuilt after a period of dis-use. Modern teflon sails and steelwork erupt from the original, beautiful Beaux Arts facade. It is now used as an overflow for cruise ships. Direct to cable TV productions such as Captain Courageous have been filmed there, uranium ships and the liberty ship SS Jeremiah O'Brien have also docked at the pier.

See also

• Canada Place, the main cruise ship terminal in Vancouver.