The ThunderBlogs

Yaletown has miniature dogs and boutique shopping.

Kitsilano has maternity stores and yoga studios.

East Vancouver has an 18-metre tall gang sign lit up in white neon.

It’s not your average district.

Installed in January 2010 in anticipation of the 2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver artist Ken Lum’s Monument for East Vancouver is an irreverent homage to the colourful roots of its host.

The brash and imposing neon crucifix is a former local gang symbol that takes its shape by intercrossing the letters ‘V-A-N’ with ‘E-A-S-T’. Like a soldier posted to sentry duty, it stands atop one of East Vancouver’s tallest hills, staring down residents and would-be visitors who reside in the trendier, more upscale sister districts to the west.

“It (makes) me smile,” said local restaurateur Flavio Testani. “We’ve got this thing here that screams… ‘don’t mess with East Van.’”

The message just might be appropriate, given the community’s notorious history. “I remember it being a seriously hard neighbourhood,” said resident Geoff Bowers. “It was a full-on zoo.”

The district’s ill-gotten reputation seemed to speak for itself. “There was no such thing as Vancouver east of Main Street. You never went east of (there) because you’d either get beaten up or whatever,” said Guy Babineau, who grew up in Vancouver’s Westside, but now resides near Commercial Drive.

So does Lum’s nod to East Van’s grittier side reflect the current state of the neighbourhood, or is East Vancouver shifting away from its infamous roots?

“I think it’s a good place to live,” said Rob King, rolling a cigarette outside his home north of Hastings. “It’s not like it used to be.”

“The neighbourhood’s come up so much,” said Bowers.

Joanne Whiteman, who has lived in the community for the past six years, is not so certain all that much has changed. It’s “not very safe,” she said. “It makes me watch my back every time I’m walking down the street.”

It’s a reminder that although East Vancouver is in transition, it may yet possess a touch of the same hardened spirit that inspired Lum’s installation.

Monument for East Vancouver, located at the corner of Clark Drive and East Sixth Avenue, can be safely viewed from kilometres away. For those who want to risk a closer look, be forewarned – you’ll be treading on East Van turf.