‘Hidden treasures for everybody’: Gemé Art a downtown Vancouver iconSubscriber Exclusive

Opened at Columbia and Sixth in 1978, the Wills have watched Vancouver change and grow while their business endured

By Erin Middlewood, Columbian Managing Editor for Content

Published: November 4, 2023, 6:13am

8 Photos

From the left: Gemé Art owners Jennifer Will, Gene Will, Nathan Will, and Stephanie Will stand in front of the store's collection of 3D art made with paper tole, a staple of the store's business. (Tommy Rhodes/for The Columbian) Photo Gallery

When Gemé Art opened in downtown Vancouver in 1978, the business shared the intersection of Columbia and Sixth streets with Lucky Lager brewery and a Greyhound bus station.

“There was a train that ran up the center of Columbia Street,” said Gemé founder Gene Will, 87.

That train delivered grain to Lucky Lager, which closed in 1985.

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