January 27, 1897 British Colonist – “The usual permission to Chinese to celebrate their New Year has been refused by council owing no doubt to the anti Chinese wave which is sweeping over Vancouver.” At least some things do change. Update: Maybe not. The Quebec legislature voted to ban Sikhs from the building if they… Continue reading Miscellaneous Research Notes
Check out the Heritage Foundation’s Places That Matter project: 125 commemorative plaques for the 125th birthday of the city. And the public is invited to nominate their favorites here.
Speaking of walking… In October 2010, I had the privilege of being invited to present two walking tours for the Walking Home project. For the first walk, the focus was on Carrall Street which for me is great fun because the street cuts through three historic neighbourhoods; Gastown, Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside, and touches… Continue reading The Walking Home Project
February 12th 10:00 am Victory Square Meet at the corner of Hamilton and Pender Streets at the entrance to Victory Square February 19th 10:00 am Downtown South Meet at the corner Richards and Davie in Emery Barnes Park. March 12th 10:00 am Around False Creek and up Main Street Meet at the front of the… Continue reading Upcoming walks from The Changing City
Our new book, with Andy Coupland, The Changing City will introduce you to much of the recent development in Vancouver, some classic Modernism, and some of the heritage, in two formats. It is both an architectural guidebook and a walking tour. The tours cover 13 areas of the downtown and central area of the city,… Continue reading The Changing City is out and in bookstores
Chuck Davis passed away today and Vancouver has lost it’s biggest fan. Chuck always found delight in uncovering the obscure fact that helped bring that little extra to the story of the city. I’ll miss his emails filled with interesting photos, facts and trivia sent at all times of the day and night. And I’ll… Continue reading Chuck Davis 1935-2010
The book will be back at the end of November and available at better bookstores everywhere. It’s a look at new architecture in the central core of Vancouver. My co-author Andy Coupland and I are looking forward to holding a copy in our hands.
All Souls at Mountain View Cemetery Originally uploaded by lookingatdamascus One of the largest audiences for All Souls came out last night to listen to music, view the shrines. warm themselves around the fires and enjoy the the evening.
The sixth annual All Souls event at Mountain View Cemetery (39th and Fraser) is this weekend. Music, candles, shrines, fire and tea. The main event is Saturday, with the opening prayer at 6:00pm. Check vancouver.ca/cemetery for further details.
Parliament Buildings driveway Originally uploaded by lookingatdamascus I have walked the driveway of Victoria’s Parliament buildings many times, but I haven’t paid much attention to the pavement until this small bit of brass caught my eye. A quick Google and the patent and company history comes to life. There are many such things out there… Continue reading Noticing the Small Things.
What Floats to the Top of My Desk 