In the stuff that lies around on my desk, I have a photo of the figurehead of the Empress of Japan taken in 1928 just after it was installed in Stanley Park. As the ship was being broken up near the Second Narrows bridge on the North Shore, Vancouver Province publisher Frank J. Burd had… Continue reading There be Dragons…
In researching the construction chronology of the Hastings Mill Store, both original and post move, I’ve been reading numerous newspaper articles, all celebratory, about the saving of the building and its move by barge from Burrard Inlet to its current site at the foot of Alma Street. Once installed on its new foundation the building… Continue reading On the Junk Pile…
When I originally wrote this post it was about my father, Peter who died in October 2018. This past week my mum, Donna died, somewhat unexpectedly after suffering a fall. My brother and sister and I were all in Victoria and we able to spend time and say good bye. Both parents were influential in… Continue reading We are shaped by those around us…
Top left: MMM, Top Right: OOO, Bottom Left: MM, Bottom Right: Concrete hybrid Fernie, BC has had its share of bad luck in the past. The town was destroyed in 1908 in a devastating fire that levelled the town except for 37 houses and three other buildings. Rebuilding got underway quickly. The brickworks ramped up production… Continue reading BC Mills “Ready Made” Houses and Fernie
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
Fernie BC to be exact. My colleague Elana Zysblat and I are doing a couple of walking tours for the annual Fernie Chautauqua and Fall Fair – September 13 to 16, 2018 – based on some of the work we’re doing there. Checkout the full program at ferniechautauqua.com and of course their facebook page
Vancouver Police Museum and Archives 240 East Cordova St. Vancouver, BC V6A 1L3 Tickets Here
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′
Eat, drink, laugh – see and be seen! Friends of the Vancouver City Archives are hosting the Hugh Pickett Gala October 16, 2017, at the Sylvia Hotel – one of Hugh Pickett’s favourite Vancouver hang-outs. An evening of live music, bubbly, hors d’oeuvres and many guests from the local entertainment industry – ‘a good time to be had… Continue reading Gala Ala Hugh…
