One of my favourite Vancouver events is the annual Salmonberry Days held in May and sponsored by the Dunbar Residents Association. I have had the pleasure of presenting a walking tour as part of the event for the past 20+ years. Each year we explore a different part of the neighbourhood accompanied by 65 or… Continue reading Dunbar Street’s Japanese Business History
I recently received a photo album filled with snapshots of houses in a variety of Vancouver neighbourhoods. As I was flipping through the pages a post card fell on to my desk. It’s a blue tinted card showing the Eiffel Tower as viewed from the Trocadero. Nothing special, except on the back of the card… Continue reading A Post Card, and the Story of a Lost House
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…
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
This image has bugged me for some time. It is a Vancouver Archives photo (CVA 371-2061) showing the Bijou Theatre. But it’s not the Vancouver Bijou which was on Carrall near Hastings facing what is now Pigeon Park. Looking at the image, which shows the aftermath of a flood, you can see a sign for… Continue reading When the Bijou is not the Bijou…
Friends of the Archives Fall Fundraiser: Wednesday, October 22, 2014 7:00 pm-9:00 pm Doors open 6:00 pm H.R. MacMillan Space Centre 1100 Chestnut Street Join Andy Coupland and John Atkin as they explore the changing nature of Vancouver through before-and-after images selected from the blog Changing Vancouver and the Vancouver Archives. Set against the background… Continue reading An Ever-changing City
Sitting by an open window, this seamstress is at work upstairs at Famous Clothiers on Hastings Street. The photo taken in 1927, shows the former Leland Hotel annex in the 600 block of Hastings Street near Granville. Vancouver Archives photo Bu N295
The Vancouver Archives has put some 500 plus maps up on their site! Maps are so much fun and this collection is a great resource. “The project makes these maps available to everyone quickly online, and makes them easy to re-use. It reduces damage to the oversized originals due to handling, as they no longer… Continue reading Maps, Maps, and more Maps
The Vancouver Archives full resolution images are great. It makes for all sorts of discoveries. Here’s 132 W. Hastings and the detail. The photographer and his camera set on a tripod are visible in the reflection.
What Floats to the Top of My Desk 