A previous owner of our 1890s house decided to build all sorts of brick walls in the basement, none of them hold anything up, or actually have a purpose. They just exist. So, when the drain pipe for the kitchen sink needed repairs I had to first dismantle a six foot by three feet by… Continue reading Three Fingers and a Thumb
Upstairs in the library is a favourite chair of mine. It’s a rocking chair made out of an unknown wood, inlaid with some mother of pear and it features some interesting carved and turned details. In 2004, we toured Lebanon and then went back to Damascus for a week. Damascus is one of my favourite… Continue reading A Chair, Coffee and Wondering…
The Vancouver Heritage Foundation and the DVBIA unveiled the latest set of Places That Matter plaques on June 26, 2015. It was a great celebration. The five plaques focus on various aspects of the role West Hastings Street has played in the development of the city; finance, the port, parades, tourism and the early residents.… Continue reading Old Landmarks Going….
Exploring The Other Waterfront: The River District The North Arm of the Fraser River is the city’s other, and unappreciated, waterfront. Industry still occupies much of the shoreline and log booms, barges and tugs make for a fascinating and changing parade of activity. At the foot of Kerr Street, the view was once dominated by… Continue reading New Sunday Walking Tour
This rather sad looking building on Franklin Street near Woodland Drive was once something quite wonderful and unexpected. However, looking at it in this Google Street view, it is clear that whatever renovations have taken place over the years haven’t been very successful and that there’s something missing. It’s not well known but Franklin Street… Continue reading An Unexpected Find
April 11th. 6:00pm Fraser Court Restaurant, 3489 Fraser St. It’s that time of the year again for the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC’s Annual Banquet! The 10th Anniversary edition is honouring historian, and founding CCHSBC director, Jean Barman for her contributions to Chinese Canadian history. She’ll be feted by comedy troupe Assaulted Fish, Jan… Continue reading Jean Barman, Chinese Food & Prizes! What an Evening…
Here’s a screen grab from the fabulous 1956 CBC film Summer Afternoon which follows two boys around Chinatown. There are many great images of a long gone landscape. In a brief segment the two are seen climbing over the gates to Canton Alley and then wander down Shanghai Alley. There are very few good images… Continue reading Shanghai Alley on a Summer Afternoon
Happy New Year from all of us at Old Hastings Mill Store Museum! We hope that you are having an enjoyable winter, wherever you happen to be! It promises to be an exciting year at the museum! 2015 marks the 150th anniversary of Captain Edward Stamp’s Burrard Inlet arrival on a point of land just west of the… Continue reading Get your History Fix At The Hastings Mill
Somethings never change… In 1906 rising property values in Chinatown were forcing smaller businesses out and the community began to think about purchasing property elsewhere in the city to move the Chinese business district to. Here’s the 1906 article.
The former Bank of Nova Scotia at 424 West Hastings is an attractive little building. Built in 1904 and designed by the firm of Dalton & Eveleigh this was the bank’s head office until their new office tower was constructed at the corner of Seymour and Hastings in 1910. At some point the… Continue reading Lost and Found
What Floats to the Top of My Desk 