The proposed temporary fire hall at Union and Gore has echoes of an old Strathcona/Chinatown controversy when in mid-1971 two east side sites were found to be under consideration for the new home of Fire Hall No. One. The block of Union, Keefer, Dunlevy and Gore, home to about 96 residents not yet displaced by… Continue reading Ghosts of Fire Halls Past…
Reading the Statements of Significance (SoS) written for Vancouver’s Chinatown can lead to a reasonable amount of teeth grinding and the occasional outburst of profanity given the number of errors, uninformed assumptions and lack of detailed research found in many of the texts. Unfortunately, these Statements live on the Historic Places website – the national… Continue reading 46/80 Dupont/Pender
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
That was the headline in the August 18, 1965 edition of the Vancouver Sun and the report went on to say that the then 49 year bridge “full of humps and bumps, is slowly collapsing under its own weight, city engineer Ran Martin reported Tuesday. Martin told city council $100,000 in maintenance work could keep… Continue reading Georgia Viaduct Overweight…
When working on research into Chinatown buildings, it’s common to come across newspaper reports of police raids on the area’s “gambling dens.” Reporters highlighted the number of men arrested and in some cases, the haul of money confiscated. Following up on these busts is interesting. After the initial publicity around the police action it was… Continue reading Chinese Social Clubs, Gambling Raids and a Lawyer…
Years ago I had heard of a tour bus operator who arranged for a couple of guys in costume brandishing knifes that would run across Pender Street near Carrall on the edge of Chinatown as the bus came down the street so that the driver could announce “oh my a tong war!” to the apparent… Continue reading Rubber Knives, Ketchup and the Persistence of Tourism Myths…
When working on research into Chinatown buildings, it’s common to come across newspaper reports of police raids on the area’s ‘gambling dens.’ Reporters highlighted the number of men arrested and in some cases, the haul of money confiscated. It was interesting to following up on these raids and note that cases brought forward for prosecution… Continue reading Chinatown, Gambling Raids and a Lawyer…
Squirrels are everywhere in the city and it seems they have been with us forever. While it’s hard to believe now, squirrels were not a common sight in early 19th Century cities, in fact they were considered somewhat exotic and desirable. My curiosity was peaked when I found references to the mayor of New York… Continue reading Squirrels Were Once Desired…
In Chinatown sitting next to the Chan Society building and hidden behind the red painted stucco of the Soo Yuen Society is the last house on the 100 block of Pender Street. Passing by on the street there’s nothing to draw your attention to the building, but if you happen to look up you can… Continue reading Last House Standing…
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…
What Floats to the Top of My Desk 