Changing Vancouver Then and Now

Thanks to Bob from Vancouver is Awesome, I discovered a new blog to add to my link list. It’s Changing Vancouver and it features “then and now” images of our city.

As Bob kindly noted in his post, I’ve had my own Vancouver History: Then and Now series, I’ve helped the North Vancouver Museum promote their Then and Now Digital Photo Contest and Entheos Fog has an amazing Flickr set where he personally takes the present day photos to match the historic photos.

Changing Vancouver launched on Boxing Day and they have already published a month’s worth of posts. It’s being run by local historians Andy Coupland and John Atkin – two men who definitely know about this city’s 125-year history.

What impressed me, aside from 27 posts in 2 days, is that they’re not just publishing photos. They’re writing out the history of the locations as well:

“The Alhambra Hotel at Maple Tree Square where Carrall and Water Streets meet looks almost identical today to the 1931 photograph on the left. That’s because it’s recently had a comprehensive restoration by Acton Ostry Architects for Salient Developments, who seismically upgraded the building while putting it back to close to original appearance. In the meantime it didn’t look quite as tidy – as this 1968 image shows.”

Changing Vancouver even shares its secrets about how the image comparisons are captured and aligned. The authors state that: “it’s a companion blog to the Changing City blog which tracks contemporary development projects in Vancouver BC and buildingvancouver a blog that looks at who built some of the heritage buildings that are still standing in the city.”

If you’re a fan of local history, would like to learn more, or would like to see how our city has changed over the years, this new blog is worth bookmarking. And, if you haven’t already done so, check out AuthentiCity – a blog by the City of Vancouver Archives.