The Holborn Group’s refusal to excise the Trump name from their Georgia Street project is an insult to all residents of Vancouver. Regardless of whether it is private property, that there are contracts or operating agreements in place, Holborn is morally and ethically wrong to continue to promote the name of someone who is openly… Continue reading It’s Quite Simple: Dump Trump
Tom Carter and I are at the Vancouver Historical Society in October
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
The conceptual design for the Vancouver Art Gallery was unveiled yesterday. It’s a perfect Vancouver building. There’s no extraneous swirls or doodads ala Gehry, just a thoughtful response to the program and site. There are echoes of the architecture of coastal First Nations, the Pacific Rim (it’s almost pagoda like in some aspects) and the… Continue reading A Very Vancouver Building
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
What Floats to the Top of My Desk 