Elephants in the City Part 4
A parade of elephants at Georgia and Granville Streets in the early 1900s. The Hudson’s Bay Co. is on the right. CVA photo 677-1011
Category: History
What the History Can Teach Us About Adaptive Reuse
What the History of Diocletian’s Palace Can Teach Us About Adaptive Reuse. How will the city of tomorrow adapt and reuse the city of today? I don’t think we ask that question broadly enough, and our day-to-day, property-specific incrementalism can easily overshoot the greatest lessons from history. A hometown case in point transported me from… Continue reading What the History Can Teach Us About Adaptive Reuse
Trouble in Instanbul?
Working-class neighborhoods have been cleared of their inhabitants to make way for villas and hotels. Public schools and hospitals, some in historic buildings, are being sold to private developers. And a third bridge across the Bosporus is planned, which would bring roads and development to a large swath of forest land in the city’s northern… Continue reading Trouble in Instanbul?
Elephants in the City Part 3
Promoting the Columbo Tea Company in a Labour Day Parade CVA Photo Str P379.2
Elephants in the City Part 2
An imitation elephant to promote Columbo Tea and Company in a parade in front of 579 Burrard Street near Eveleigh Street – ca. 1900 CVA Photo Str P327
A Visit to the Theatre in 1898
My first visit to the Chinese Theatre in Chinatown, Vancouver, was in the winter of 1898. Precisely how we got to it I cannot tell. We turned off Hastings Street and went south on Carrall Street. Then, at some point, we turned into an alley between old wooden buildings. There were no lights. It was… Continue reading A Visit to the Theatre in 1898
Poking Around Shanghai Alley
“By the 1890s there were more than a thousand people living in Shanghai Alley, a block-long dirt laneway bustling with activity. Restaurants, laundries and stores operated at street level while small apartments were located in the tenements and rooming houses above. One block to the west there was a second short laneway, called Canton Alley.… Continue reading Poking Around Shanghai Alley
The Louvre Hotel and Saloon
I’ve always been curious about this little building on Carrall Street. I’m writing the text for the Heritage Foundation’s Places that Matter plaques (with Michael Kluckner) and this is one of the selected locations. It’s been interesting to dig into the history and sort it out since the official Statement of Significance for the Louvre… Continue reading The Louvre Hotel and Saloon
The Joy of Summer
We’re half way through the summer walks for the Heritage Foundation and this was our Market Alley tour in July! My thanks to Rebecca Bishop for snapping this.
Architect to realize vision for remand centre
Architect to realize vision for remand centre. I like this idea. Now if they can do something about the lack of activity on the street level.
What Floats to the Top of My Desk 