Reading the Statements of Significance (SoS) written for Vancouver’s Chinatown can lead to a reasonable amount of teeth grinding and the occasional outburst of profanity given the number of errors, uninformed assumptions and lack of detailed research found in many of the texts. Unfortunately, these Statements live on the Historic Places website – the national… Continue reading 46/80 Dupont/Pender
Like a Zombie 105 Keefer is back… with luck the developer will be told to go away and create a design that actualy relates to and respects the historic location it is being built on and in. The project site was referred to by the developer as a derelict parking lot with no significance or… Continue reading 105 Keefer Again
When working on research into Chinatown buildings, it’s common to come across newspaper reports of police raids on the area’s “gambling dens.” Reporters highlighted the number of men arrested and in some cases, the haul of money confiscated. Following up on these busts is interesting. After the initial publicity around the police action it was… Continue reading Chinese Social Clubs, Gambling Raids and a Lawyer…
Years ago I had heard of a tour bus operator who arranged for a couple of guys in costume brandishing knifes that would run across Pender Street near Carrall on the edge of Chinatown as the bus came down the street so that the driver could announce “oh my a tong war!” to the apparent… Continue reading Rubber Knives, Ketchup and the Persistence of Tourism Myths…
When working on research into Chinatown buildings, it’s common to come across newspaper reports of police raids on the area’s ‘gambling dens.’ Reporters highlighted the number of men arrested and in some cases, the haul of money confiscated. It was interesting to following up on these raids and note that cases brought forward for prosecution… Continue reading Chinatown, Gambling Raids and a Lawyer…
Yes of course, maybe… H-frame power poles have graced most downtown Vancouver lanes for over 80 years but with modernization of the electrical system BC Hydro has been busy putting the power lines underground and the H-frames have largely disappeared from the downtown core. A few lanes in the Downtown Eastside, Gastown and Chinatown still retain… Continue reading H-frame Power Poles: A cultural asset for Chinatown?
In Chinatown sitting next to the Chan Society building and hidden behind the red painted stucco of the Soo Yuen Society is the last house on the 100 block of Pender Street. Passing by on the street there’s nothing to draw your attention to the building, but if you happen to look up you can… Continue reading Last House Standing…
The Friends of the Vancouver City Archives have a walking tour coming up in October. The Georgia Viaducts, the only visible reminder of the grander city-wide freeway plan of the 1950s, will soon be a memory with their impending demolition. On this walk we’ll explore their history and development, the freeway fight and explore a… Continue reading The Roads to Nowhere
July 5, 2018 at 6:00pm its an evening in the Dr Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden hosted by the Friends of the Vancouver City Archives. Join the Friends for Chinese tea, award-winning traditional Chinatown pastries and a presentation by Professor Alison Bailey in the Garden’s Hall of One Hundred Rivers while raising funds for important… Continue reading Tea, Talk & Treats: an evening in the Chinese Garden…
The 105 Keefer project proposed by the Beedie Group doesn’t work for the location or for Chinatown as a whole. The basic problem is that the developer and the architects still have not taken the time to engage in, and with, the community they want to build in. The starting point should have been, and… Continue reading Re-thinking 105 Keefer… by 50′
What Floats to the Top of My Desk 