After publishing almost 100 posts with collections of photos from the Vancouver Archives and Vancouver Public Library, I have taken note of some important and prolific photographers from Vancouver’s earlier days. One name that comes up often is Artray Studio“>Artray Studios or Artray Limited. Today’s collection of photos from the Vancouver Library Archives features the […]

If you’ve lived in Vancouver long enough there are a few things that become a part of your everyday routine. At noon the O! Canada horns will sound at Canada Place, at 9:00pm the Nine O’Clock Gun will fire, and at around 5:30pm tens of thousands of crows will retreat to Burnaby from Vancouver. Photo […]

Vancouver has always been a hot tourism destination. From being marketed as the “City of Destiny” to visitors sending postcards around the globe to say: “wish you were here”. I searched the Vancouver Archives and Vancouver Public Library Archives this week to find some old postcards that tourists and locals alike could purchase and send […]

Vancouver’s known for its H-shaped telephone pole alleyways which have been featured in film and television series for decades. Some have names given to them by historians or businesses but others, like Ackery Alley between Granville and Seymour, were named in tribute. Ivan Ackery with framed caricature and letters at desk. VPL Accession Number: 59306 […]

This afternoon Krista Rand sent me a message on Twitter with a photo of the Orpheum sign coming down. Many panicked at the news that the iconic neon beacon on Granville was being removed however it has been determined that it’s all part of a master plan. Photo credit: Krista Rand on Twitter Since the […]

The Vancouver Curling Club is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year with a special event on Saturday, October 13, 2012. This quintessentially Canadian sport is enjoyed by all ages and has a continuing legacy in Vancouver. What Celebrate the Decades Funspiel Where Hillcrest Centre (4575 Clancy Loranger Way) When Saturday, October 13, 2012 from 10:00am […]

It was on this day in 1939 that Vancouver’s first aquarium opened, headed up by Dr. Leonard Klinck who was the President of UBC. According to Chuck Davis’ Vancouver History, it was “a tiny thing, dimly lighted” at the old English Bay Bathhouse and its main attraction was Oscar the Octopus. The aquarium’s first manager […]

The other day I saw Mark Pilon (@atomos) post a photo of an old sidewalk stamp on Instagram. The caption read: “1912, this is the oldest sidewalk stamp I’ve seen to date in Strathcona.” I immediately recognized and identified the concrete marking with one in my neighbourhood — a sidewalk stamp at Robson and Bidwell […]

Author Michael Kluckner (“Vanishing Vancouver”, “Vanishing Vancouver: The Last 25 Years“) is hosting a talk, Selling Vancouver in the Kodachrome Era, this Sunday in support of the Vancouver Archives. With Michael Kluckner and special guests: An illustrated talk on commercial photography and filmmaking in Vancouver in the decades after the Second World War, focusing on […]

In 1910 it was the tallest commercial building in the British Empire as well as Vancouver’s first skyscraper. The distinct Dominion Building still commands attention today, standing above Victory Square at Hastings and Cambie. (Left) 1908 Construction. VPL Accession Number: 6884. Photographer: Philip Timms (Right) 1912 VPL Accession Number: 13678. Photographer: R. Broadbridge. The nearby […]