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 […]

As much as I love the diversity of neighbourhoods in Vancouver, from the quiet oak-lined streets of the West Side to the community parks of Strathcona and the sloped views of Sunset, the West End downtown has been my home for nearly seven years now. I love that I can walk in a block or […]

Piping out a steamy tune every 15 minutes, it’s one of the most photographed subjects in Vancouver. While locals may look at it with disdain (since it’s not that old and not even steam-powered), visitors absolutely adore it. On this day in 1977, the Gastown Steam Clock was dedicated and so it’s also today’s Vancouver […]