This is going to be fun, the images look amazing. Here’s the blurb from the Space centre: Join John Atkin and Michael Kluckner in the Space Centre’s digital Planetarium Star Theatre for a look back at Vancouver as you’ve never seen it before. This “indoor” digital walking tour allows a unique way to experience the… Continue reading The Space Centre Presents: Through the Lens: Building Vancouver’s History
For the last evening showing of the IMAX film Rocky Mountain Express we’re running the All Aboard tour again. August 29th – All Aboard! 2: The railway and industrial history of the eastern False Creek. False Creek was home to a number of railway companies including the Great Northern, Canadian National, and the Canadian Pacific. On… Continue reading Special Event! We’re collaborating with Science World for an evening walk and movie.
In 1942 it seems the Canadian National Railway were looking for ways to use the exhaust steam generated by the heating system, the laundry and kitchen operations. Their solution was to dig a tunnel 400 feet long to the Georgia Medical Dental building and the Devonshire hotel across the street and run heating pipes to… Continue reading Tunnels in the City
Grand Hotel Walking Tours on Sundays! From humble structures hugging the shoreline on the edge of a forest, to the grandeur and elegance of the iconic railroad hotel along with today’s luxury offerings, this tour takes a look at the fascinating history of spending the night in Vancouver. Tours will depart the Hornby Street entrance to the Vancouver Art… Continue reading A New Walking Tour
“The city council board of works regards as impracticable a proposal to substitute fruit for ordinary shade trees on the streets. The presence of the small boys is a fatal objection to the scheme.” Interesting note from 1897 found in the Colonist newspaper.
The Alhambra Cafe offering coffee and pie for 5 cents, meals start at 15 cents. 1916 prices. CVA 371-757
In this photograph of Alexander and Powell Streets between Jackson and Princess taken in the 1950s sits the second and possibly the third oldest houses in Vancouver. I discovered the third house while doing some research for a client on the street. 502 Alexander is acknowledged as the second oldest surviving house in the city,… Continue reading Really Old House!
I received a great document today, it’s a list of highlights culled from the minutes of the Vancouver Park Board compiled in 1948 by Superintendent P.B. Stroyen. In 1906, the Vancouver Moral Association raised objections to one piece bathing suits and the low class of music… Continue reading Great Moments in Park Board History
What the History of Diocletian’s Palace Can Teach Us About Adaptive Reuse. How will the city of tomorrow adapt and reuse the city of today? I don’t think we ask that question broadly enough, and our day-to-day, property-specific incrementalism can easily overshoot the greatest lessons from history. A hometown case in point transported me from… Continue reading What the History Can Teach Us About Adaptive Reuse
Working-class neighborhoods have been cleared of their inhabitants to make way for villas and hotels. Public schools and hospitals, some in historic buildings, are being sold to private developers. And a third bridge across the Bosporus is planned, which would bring roads and development to a large swath of forest land in the city’s northern… Continue reading Trouble in Instanbul?
What Floats to the Top of My Desk 