Dozens gather for celestial spectacle at Esther Short Park

The eclipse cast shadows and prompted street lamps to turn on in Propstra Square, downtown Vancouver’s so-called living room, where dozens of people gathered to take it all in.

That southeast corner of Esther Short Park afforded a clear view of the eclipse. A couple of people had cameras set up while others sat on the rocks in front of the clock tower. Some people meandered from the Hilton Vancouver Washington, where they got eclipse viewing glasses.

And others — drivers, joggers and cyclists — passed by as if nothing unusual was happening.

The park was relatively quiet during the height of the eclipse, save for the occasional sound of bagpipes. Patrick Hogan of the Fort Vancouver Pipe Band came to the park on his own to play solo during the eclipse, performing “Amazing Grace” during the point of near totality.

Lamps in the park turned on for a few minutes when it was darkest. Once the sky started to bright again, as the hands on the clock approached 10:30 a.m., people started filtering out of the park.

Kathy McKinley of Vancouver watched from the foot of the clock tower. She had some pangs of regret that she didn’t make the trek south to the path of totality. Still, she enjoyed what she could see from the park and didn’t regret missing out on the traffic. Her only surprise: “I thought it would be a lot darker than it was.”