Like a Zombie 105 Keefer is back… with luck the developer will be told to go away and create a design that actualy relates to and respects the historic location it is being built on and in. The project site was referred to by the developer as a derelict parking lot with no significance or… Continue reading 105 Keefer Again
Given Vancouver’s crazy real estate market it’s not surprising that so many interesting and unique bits of architecture get consigned to the landfill. So it’s a delight to find that all five of the houses (and a garage) designed by Dutch-born architect Jan Adriaan Pauw during his short time in Vancouver have survived. Jan Adriaan… Continue reading It’s Not Just Five Houses: The Architecture of Jan Adriaan Pauw
Historic Colour Analysis and the True Colours Palette My colleague Elana Zsyblat and I are presenting a workshop on paint and historic colours for the Vancouver Heritage Foundation on April 4th at Rodde House in the West End. Apart from the fabulous 19th Century interior of the house, Elana and I will be talking colour,… Continue reading Throwing Paint Around
Doing a bit of research recently I came across a picture of lovely looking Craftsman style house in the December 6, 1947 edition of the Vancouver Sun but instead of a house surrounded by a garden this house was was sitting on a flatbed trailer. This was the home of Mr C. L. Bennett and… Continue reading Moving House With Breakfast
The recent fire and demolition of the Winters Hotel at Water and Abbott Streets was a shock and is a loss for Gastown and the city. Designed in 1907 by W.T. Whiteway for Mrs Alice Winters, the hotel welcomed travellers and businessmen to Vancouver. For its day it was a good hotel with 120 rooms,… Continue reading The Winters Hotel, John McAfee and a Trunk…
This summer we’re looking at some quirky and interesting bits of the city. Walks start at 7:00pm and cost 10 bucks. No reservations needed, just show up at the location listed. Walks go regardless of the weather. July 13 – Strathcona: the other side of the tracks The area between the CN tracks and Clark… Continue reading Wednesday Night Heritage Walks!
Sometimes the third time isn’t lucky. The Beedie Group has revamped their proposed tower at 105 Keefer yet again. But they really haven’t learned much in the intervening months since pulling their previous design. If you are going to build on the edge of a nationally significant community, it pays to understand the place and… Continue reading Around and Around We Go…
The vast majority of homes built in Vancouver and the surrounding municipalities were not the work of local architects but from designs found in plan books. Published in the US and Canada, these books illustrated a variety of designs that were available in plan form from the publisher. Companies such as Radford, Keith, Wilson and others… Continue reading Plan Books and Vancouver
It’s fun to poke around in the background of photographs. This section from a 1913 photo from City of Vancouver Archives shows the view east over downtown towards the False Creek flats. In the enlarged view – checking to see details of a building in the background – I noticed these three ladies with wonderful hats up… Continue reading In the Background: Ladies up High
Looking across False Creek from the West Coast Shipbuilder’s yard to downtown, this is what the shore of the creek looked like in the 1940s. The extraordinary mess on the shoreline, roughly where BC Place is today, is the debris from the Empire Box Company and various sawmill operations. (CVA photo M-7-1)
What Floats to the Top of My Desk 