The Firehall is proud to be located in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Despite its fearsome reputation, this neighbourhood plays host to artists, community members, businesses, and organizations striving for positive change.
Our neighbourhood boasts delicious restaurants, vibrant galleries, historical buildings, welcoming community gathering spaces, and interesting startup businesses.
We invite you to feel part of this vibrant neighbourhood. We have numerous initiatives to help you feel safe and welcomed here.
Getting Here
By Transit:
The Firehall is accessible by transit, bike, or private vehicle. Located at the corner of Gore and Cordova, we’re within a block of the 14, 16, 20, R5, 4 & 7 bus routes. Plan your trip with Translink’s trip planner.
By Bicycle:
For evening performances, we have personnel stationed outside for the duration of the performance to keep an eye on bikes and vehicles. We also have bicycle storage space in our gated courtyard. Ask a member of staff for assistance upon arrival.
The closest Mobi Bike stations are at Pender & Gore, or Alexander (at Main).
By Car:
There is ample metered street parking in the area, including right out front on Cordova Street and on Gore Ave. There is also a parkade two blocks away at Cordova and Columbia.
There are numerous other parking options nearby. Click here for a map on Parkopedia.
Community Navigators:
We’ve partnered with Mission Possible’s Employment Readiness Program to provide escorts to and from your vehicle. They are also stationed outside the theatre to keep an eye on vehicles parked on the street outside during the show.
Mission Possible empowers people typically excluded from the traditional workforce—like those facing homelessness and housing insecurity, poverty, and other barriers to employment—by paving a pathway to jobs and lasting change. Our Community Navigators come from our Downtown Eastside community and are paid for their time.
Theatre Policies
At the Firehall, we want everyone’s viewing experience to be memorable for all the right reasons. In service of this goal, we have a few general policies to keep in mind when you visit.
In consideration of your fellow patrons, we ask that our audiences turn off their cellphones before performances.
Photography and video recording of performances without permission is not allowed.
Since crunching, crinkling and strong food aromas can be disturbing to others, the consumption of outside food in the theatre is not permitted. Snacks and drinks from the Firehall bar have been chosen to ensure they do not interrupt your viewing enjoyment.
Our neighbourhood is full of incredible businesses and organizations that need your support! Why not plan a delicious dinner, after-theatre drinks, or a gallery visit as part of your Firehall experience?
Belgard Kitchen
55 Dunlevy Avenue
Small plates of creative local fare, plus beer and wine.
55 Powell St
Neighbourhood cafe offering
fresh sandwiches, salads and drinks.
Cuchillo Restaurant
261 Powell St
Award winning Latin American Restaurant
with bold flavours and exciting cocktails.
Our Place in the World
The staff were kind, informed and
pleasant.
Patron Response Patron Survey
We’re Grateful to Be Here.
The Firehall Arts Centre is located on the unceded and traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations where they lived and gathered together for thousands of years. Acknowledging their connections to these lands is a significant part of what the Firehall considers when choosing the productions and presentations we undertake and how that work shapes and impacts those around us. We ask our community to reflect on what being present here means to you and those around you.
