A Highlander Fan's
Guide to Vancouver
2015

DAY 4: Sunday, Sept. 20
?8:00 am?	I was a bit scared to try my phone too soon, so I probably left it in its bag of rice longer than I really needed to. I decided to depend upon the rest of my group for photos of the morning's adventures, which I haven't collected yet but definitely plan to. At any rate, when I did finally put the phone back together, it worked just fine, and the rest of the trip was dry enough that I had no further issues. That being said, we were supposed to meet up with Steve Geaghan for a tour of the Bridge Studios, but he couldn't meet with us as early as planned, to we switched things around and swung by the Season 5 production offices first, instead of after the studio tour. (Exteriors seen in 5x01,5x02,5x07,5x10,5x11.) We also visited the Bad Day in Building 'A' courthouse (actually a college campus) and Altnadene House (Deadly Medicine).
?9:00 am?	(taken w/Jill's phone) Toured The Bridge Studios with Steve Geaghan. The studios get their name from the fact that bridges used to be built there, including San Francisco's Golden Gate bridge. It has been home not only to Highlander, but to MacGyver, Poltergeist, Outer Limits, ALL of the Stargate franchise, and many other TV shows and movies. At the time of our visit, the following were associated with the studios: Once Upon a Time, Motive, some Frankenstein thing (I think), and... Star Trek Beyond!!! A couple of the Star Trek sets were on the green screen soundstage, but we weren't allowed to take photos of any of the standing sets, so I guess it's a good thing my phone was still in its bag of rice during the tour because I *really* wish I could have gotten some photos there! (see below for more details on this) Of course, we looked around Sound Stage 3, where the antique store / apartment set was located. Steve brought blueprints of the set along with him, so we could see exactly how everything had been arranged. Steve pointed out the window of his production manager's office, and we visited the building that served as the establishing shot exterior of the police station in The Gathering, The Innocent, & Manhunt, and the background for Randy's news report in 'See No Evil'. Duncan's warehouse from The Gathering and 'Free Fall' was across the street from the studio lot, but it's not there anymore. Here are some screenshots from Star Trek Beyond featuring the two green-screen sets we saw. The first is at the very beginning of the movie. The set we saw was a 360-degree matte black set -- I don't recall exactly how tall it was, but it had green screen at the top. The protrusions around the sides had alien markings but did NOT glow! The second set appears during the space swarm attack at 20:33 in the movie. The set consisted of a green-screen ramp leading up into a hole 'torn' in the side of an Enterprise corridor, as if a projectile was going to be sent through it... which is pretty much exactly what happens. Scene 1 Scene 2         We each got a commemorative Bridge Studios umbrella as part of the tour. A day too late to be useful during the mountain monsoon, but still a nice gift. After parting ways with Steve, we had some time available for more locations before meeting back up at his house for dinner.
11:20 am	Visited Central Park (Columbus Park in See No Evil). The anchor statue seen in the episode was a prop.
12:00 pm	Visited Chapters, the bookstore in the Metropolis at Metrotown mall. (Dramatic License)
1:00 pm	Took photos of the roads seen as Richie (on his motorcycle) follows Tessa (in a police vehicle) toward the safehouse. (Eyewitness) Then took a break for lunch.
3:00 pm	Visited the parking lot of Lions Gate Hospital, where Delaney asks MacLeod to 'do the guy thing'. (Unholy Alliance I)
4:00 pm	Met back up with Steve Geaghan at his house and drove over to nearby Caulfeild Cove where Axel's schooner was docked and where the Webster's house is located. (Rite of Passage)
5-8 pm	Burgers and socializing with the Geaghans and Susan "Suki" Parker. Suki has worked (as art director) on a number of shows with Steve. She made a lot of the scultures and props for Highlander, including Garrick's gargoyles. The beach a short walk from Steve's house. For once it didn't try to rain on us while we were with him! Taylor (Steve's wife) with Jill Suki Parker Steve with the photo he signed for Andy We had a great time looking at all of Steve's Highlander memorabilia and chatting. Among other things, he told us about his (and Suki's) latest project, Lucifer, and how he became the production designer for that show. (He replaced the previous production designer starting with episode 5.)
9:30 pm	After saying goodbye to the Geaghans and Suki, we went back to the Plaza of Nations and explored the parking garage under what used to be the Production Office for seasons 2-4. (The Samurai, The Lamb, Reunion, & Reluctant Heroes) The Production Office building has since been torn down, so Joe's Bar no longer exists. :-(
10:15 pm	Went inside the plaza casino. Although we weren't allowed to take photographs inside, we did go up to the second floor balcony where the photo exhibit was staged. (Studies in Light) We located the exterior 'hospital' doors Anne comes out of at the end of Courage, and we also found three bandits lurking around nearby.
10:30 pm	Drove around the end of False Creek to take some night photos of the TELUS dome. (Eyewitness)

DAY 5: Monday, Sept. 21
We hit a TON of locations throughout Gastown and Chinatown on this day, so here it goes...
7:00 am	Main St bridge walkway (Run For Your Life)
7:10 am	Alexander St, where Macleod & Richie drive from the park to the hotel. (Family Tree)
7:20 am	Intersection seen as MacLeod & Richie drive away from police station, exterior establishing shot of orphanage. (Family Tree)
7:28 am	Alley where MacLeod chases and beats up the Watchers who were spying on the bookstore. (The Watchers)
7:33 am	Alexander St police station exterior. (Family Tree)
7:40 am	Gaoler's Mews and Maple Tree Square. (Family Tree, Free Fall, Deadly Medicine, The Darkness)
8:00 am	Exterior of the dojo. (Seasons 2-5)
8:50 am	New Jessup Street & N. Jay St, looking for Joe's bookstore. (The Watchers)
9:00 am	Joe's bookstore, now a coffee shop. (The Watchers) Not only were we able to take photos inside, but we were able to go up the stairs to where Joe is sitting when MacLeod enters the store.
9:30 am	Trounce Alley and Blood Alley Square. (multiple episodes in Season 1, plus the 1st 4 episodes of Season 2)
9:45 am	Spinning Wheel Hotel. (Family Tree)
9:50 am	Taxidermist shop. (The Darkness)
10:00 am	Abbott / Cordova intersection. (Eyewitness, Line of Fire, and The Lamb)
10:15 am	Alley from The Return of Amanda, The Blitz, and Prophecy.
10:30 am	Alley cul-de-sac where Kenny kills Dallman Ross. (The Lamb) We never managed to get the timing right to be in this area when the store with access to the cul-de-sac was open, so we had to be satisfied with taking photos through the closed gate.
10:35 am	Victory Square cenotaph. (Prophecy)
10:40 am	Engraving store and 'Puccini Society' alley. (The Return of Amanda, Glory Days)
10:50 am	Cambie / Hastings intersection where Johnny K sees his photo on a truck. (Glory Days)
11:00 am	Woodwards sidewalk where Mako hits Lauren with his truck. (Under Color of Authority) Richie kills Mako inside the building, which has since been renovated.
11:10 am	Save On Meats sign from 1.5 seconds of night-time driving sequence in Revenge is Sweet.
11:15 am	Hogs Bar and nearby alley. (Road Not Taken)
11:30 am	Passed the Rickshaw Theatre on our way into Chinatown. This is where we saw Jim Byrnes perform on the 19th.
11:40 am	Looking for Kiem Sun - locations 1,3,5,7,10. (Road Not Taken)
12:00 pm	Richie's apartment. (Haunted)
12:05 pm	Morgue near Chinatown. (Road Not Taken)
12:25 pm	Beatty St apartment & Keefer Place cul-de-sac. (Obsession)
12:30 pm	Pender St where Walter Graham tries to run over Claudia. (Timeless)
12:40 pm	Andy Livingston Park. (Timeless)
1:00 pm	Looking for Kiem Sun - locations 8,9,11,13. (Road Not Taken)
1:30 pm	Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Park. (Revenge of the Sword, Timeless)
2-3 pm	Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden. (Road Not Taken, Revenge of the Sword)
3:15 pm	Helliman's Antiques, Nikki's apartment. Police museum. (The Sea Witch & Eyewitness / Leader of the Pack)
3:20 pm	Empty lot where Nikki & Dennis argue. (The Sea Witch)
3:25 pm	Funeral home on the west side of Oppenheimer Park. (Revenge of the Sword)
3:30 pm	Oppenheimer Park. (Family Tree, Revenge of the Sword)
4-5 pm	Late lunch while recovering from the morning's hiking. I walked 8.5 miles according to my Fitbit.
5:15 pm	Visited Spyglass Place. (Comes a Horseman)
5:25 pm	Cambie Bridge from west of Spyglass Place. (Innocent Man, Eyewitness / Band of Brothers / Something Wicked)
5:35 pm	Walked out onto Cambie Bridge to get photos of TELUS and False Creek. (Eyewitness)
5:45 pm	Drove back to the hotel to get ready for our rendezvous with Mr. Byrnes.   The Toyota I wish we could have rented, instead of the Sienna van we had. It would have been SOOOOO appropriate to be driving around Seacouver in a Highlander, after all!
7-9 pm	Drinks at the Sutton Place Hotel with Jim Byrnes. We bought him drinks and he chatted with us and signed a BUNCH of stuff. I got a stack of promo posters from the Rickshaw Theatre the night of the performance, and he signed one for each of us, plus the booklet from the 'That River' CD I had gotten my dad several years ago. He signed our itinerary books, the photo I brought, AND the ones that Andy brought. Jim Byrnes, you are AWESOME!      (unfortunately blurry)   (This one's from Jill.)   After parting ways with Mr. Byrnes, I can't believe we had any energy left, but we actually squeezed in two more locations before calling it a night.
9:30 pm	Re-visited the dojo for some night photos.
10:00 pm	Walked around the outside of Canada Place. (Revenge is Sweet)

DAY 6: Tuesday, Sept. 22
7:00 am	Started the day of in Stanley Park, at the rose garden where Tessa's donut sculptures were displayed. Also looked at the path seen in the Dover flashback, which is nearby. (Revenge is Sweet)
7:30 am	Looked across the bay at the 'establishing shot' sulfur piles, from Brockton Point Lighthouse. (Band of Brothers) While we were in Stanley Park, there was a float plane flying around in circles being followed by a helicopter, most likely being filmed for something. I failed in my attempt to get a photo of them in the rose garden when they flew overhead, but accidentally caught them over the sulfur piles here.
7:50 am	Walked out to the Lions Gate Bridge along the Seaside Bicycle Route around Stanley Park. (The Return of Amanda)
8:20 am	Visited the field where Gregor's hospital tent was located, and the nearby trail that MacLeod drove the wagon along. (Studies in Light)
9:30 am	Explored the area around the stone bridge from the Germany flashback, including the Lagoon platform where MacLeod & Amanda talk. I can't believe I completely missed the park benches when I was there the year before. (The Return of Amanda)
10:00 am	Picked up Travis Macdonald by the Steam Clock in Gastown. We spent the rest of the day with him, taking a guided tower of the locations he was involved in for The Darkness and Leader of the Pack.
10:50 am	Visited Pallin Wolf's house. Travis pointed out the tree his character hid behind before confronting Richie & Tessa. (The Darkness) This location was also used as a brief establishing shot for Lauren's house in 'The Cross of St. Antoine'.
11:30 am	Stopped by Anne Wheeler's house. (Eyewitness)
12:00 pm	Stopped by Hycroft Mansion. Technically not open to the general public, but Andy got us some photos of the interior while the rest of us waited outside. (The Cross of St. Antoine)
12:30 pm	Lunch break. We were going to eat at a sushi place but they were super busy, so we ended up across the street at a different Japanese restaurant.
2-3:30 pm	We spent the afternoon at St. Paul's Hospital. Numerous scenes from Leader of the Pack were filmed all around the exterior, plus the northwest entrance was used as a general 'hospital' establishing shot for many other episodes. Travis seemed to have a fun time revisiting the locations and even 're-enacted' a couple of scenes, including climbing up the fire escape that Richie chased him up in the episode. According to him, the plan originally was to have a car bumper or some crates or something below the ladder for them to use to gain access, but he offered to do it without and Stan Kirsch agreed. It was fine the first couple times, but after multiple takes they were starting to regret the decision, as they were having to pull themselves up from the ground over and over again. Unfortunately, the redevelopment project I had seen a sign about in 2014 was underway in 2015, so the southwest side of the hospital, where Richie first spots Roszca and starts chasing him, was blocked off and under construction. I was glad to have been able to get photos of that area the year before.
3:45 pm	Dropped Travis off and drove up to Gastown. Looked around the parking garage where MacLeod kills Johhny K but since I didn't have screencaps of that scene, I had no idea where the action took place so didn't take any photographs there. (Glory Days)
4-5 pm	Wandered around Cordova St trying to find the parking garage from 'The Colonel'. We checked out several besides the two I had looked at the previous year, but none fit.
?4:50 pm?	Passed the Waterfront Centre where Felicia throws her purse in the fountain and then jumps off the skyscraper. I didn't take photos here as I had gotten some the previous year. (Free Fall)
5:00 pm	Finally, amazingly, managed to find the *correct* parking garage from The Colonel! We had been looking for something 5 stories tall when in reality it was on the 5th level *down*. I took a photo of the entrance because I wanted to document EXACTLY where the dang thing was located!
5:45 pm	Went inside what used to be the Renaissance Vancouver Harbourside Hotel (now it's the Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront). (The Samurai) Andy & I rode the elevator up trying to identify the floor Midori's hotel room was supposed to be on, and we also went down the stairs by the elevators that led to the parking garage and a conference room. In the episode, it looks like Midori runs down the stairs from her room to the lobby, but they stop at the lobby and don't continue upward.
6:30 pm	Supper at Cardero's in Coal Harbour.
7:50 pm	Explored the Coal Harbour Seawalk around the Westin Bayshore Hotel. It has changed so much that pinpointing locations there is challenging. (Dramatic License & The Valkyrie)
?9:00 pm?	On the way back to the car, we stopped by entrance to the department store Amanda & Melissa break into in The Colonel. It was too dark for decent photos and the door windows were completely blocked off, so I didn't bother taking photos. (I got a better photo in 2014.)
9:15 pm	Continuing back to the car, we also stopped by the corner from the tag scene of The Watchers.

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Last updated: August 3, 2021