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Archives Photos of the Day: The Bay

Comments 4 by Rebecca Bollwitt
Disclosure: Unpaid, Personal Opinion — I was not paid or offered any compensation for this post. I saw the date of the first store opening on VancouverHistory.ca and ran with the theme. Images are courtesy of the Vancouver Archives and the Vancouver Public Library. Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.

It was on this day in 1893 that the Hudson’s Bay Company opened a store at the corner of Georgia and Granville streets. 118 years later, the company is still in the same location (albeit in a different building). It’s been a shopping destination, a meeting place, and a gleaming beacon of Canadian pride during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games.

The first Bay store in Vancouver actually opened in Gastown, on January 17, 1887. It sold things like saws, axes, and lanterns. The following collection features the Hudson’s Bay Company in Vancouver over the years.


1893 – Hudson’s Bay Store (on the corner) at the 600 block of Granville. Archives item# Str P170.


1901 – Hudson’s Bay Store decorated for the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall.
Archives item# Duke of C and Y P7.


1917 – Roof of the Hudson’s Bay Store. Looking at Granville.
Birks Building, Vancouver Block, and the 2nd Hotel Vancouver. VPL Accession Number: 20150


1917 – Policeman at the intersection of Granville and Georgia. VPL Accession Number: 20388


1923 – Hudson’s Bay Store on the right. Looking North on Granville from Georgia.
Archives item# Str P428.


1923 – Hudson’s Bay Store decorated for US President Harding’s visit. Looking North on Granville.
Archives item# Port P942.10. Photographer: W.J. Moore.


1927 – Hudson’s Bay Store. VPL Accession Number: 11261. Photographer: Leonard Frank.


1935 – Hudson’s Bay Store. Archives item# Bu P217.


1936 – Hudson’s Bay Store. Archives item# Bu N520.3. Photographer: W.J. Moore.


1956 – Hudson’s Bay Store. VPL Accession Number: 43364. Photographer: The Province Newspaper.

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4 Comments  —  Comments Are Closed

  1. Robert W. WhiteThursday, October 6th, 2011 — 10:27am PDT

    What a great sequence! I so wish we could get those awnings back, as seen in the final 4 photos, at the entries and above the windows. The current (and dreadful) version does wonders for shelter from the rain, but is just awful to look at, and blocks much of the building from the sidewalk.

  2. JoshThursday, October 6th, 2011 — 5:34pm PDT

    I love it when you dig through those archives.

  3. Stuart DesBrisayThursday, October 6th, 2011 — 8:01pm PDT

    Thanks for sharing these, I love the historical photos you find! I have to agree with Robert’s comment on the useful-but-ugly awning that blights The Bay now, if they could make a more attractive version somehow… Please keep on with the vintage pics, they’re always fascinating!

  4. Natalie BennettThursday, October 6th, 2011 — 11:10pm PDT

    Love this! I was just in the Bay this evening looking at all their fun Canadiana merchandise. What a great tribute to one of the major historic landmarks of the greatest cities in the world!

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