Drenched to its core on a bleak and dreary Monday morning, the city has come alive for another workday. Even though I do not have a commute, I can still feel the cold damp chill of downtown’s enveloping concrete soak through my skin, as though I were standing on a corner mid down-pour. It’s just one of those mornings.
For this reason, I’ll start off my own blogging work week with some local history notes and even some lighter tidbits to help part those Monday morning clouds just a bit.
The forward pass, the blue line, and the playoff system are all some of the rules of hockey as we know it today that were invented here in Vancouver at the turn of the last century. [source]
In 1939 Vancouver’s first public aquarium was opened and managed by an America, Ivar Haglund. He later moved to Seattle and opened the restaurant (and now food court chain), Ivar’s Acres of Clams. [source]
The statue of Lord Stanley at the entrance to Stanley Park was almost a statue of Lord Strathcona (who would have had the park named after him as well). Strathcona was City Council’s first choice however he urged that Stanley was more appropriate.
Mark Twain was a guest lecturer at the Vancouver Opera House in the summer of 1895. [source]
In 1920, five-pin bowling (which was invented in Toronto) came to the Lower Mainland and overtook ten-pin in popularity by 1945. [source]
What we know as “Gastown” was incorporated as the Town of Granville in 1870. [source]
CBUT, Vancouver’s first TV station, went on the air in 1953. It is currently our CBC, channel 3. [source]
On Remembrance Day in 1935, the cornerstone for St. James Anglican Church at Gore and Cordova streets was laid. [source]
April 1924, the Cenotaph at Vancouver’s Victory Square was unveiled in a ceremony presided over by Mayor William Reid Owen. [source]
If readers have any suggestions or requests for a history follow-up post this week, with Remembrance Day in mind, please feel free to leave a comment or contact me.
3 Comments — Comments Are Closed
Wow… you really were feeling poetic this morning, huh? I don’t think you’ve ever written anything like the first paragraph of this post on this site before. Good imagery!
Thanks, Will.
I have before though, those posts are just hidden among the rest. Most are from my emo 2007 days (like the Homecomings post series)
It’s posts like this that are why I read this blog. Thanks so much for another wonderful blog post, this is my absolute favourite Vancouver based blog.
Also, go Canucks go!