The old Hastings Mill store was one of the only buildings in Vancouver at the time to survive the Great Fire of 1886 and it now resides near Jericho Beach in Kitsilano. Photo credit © SqueakyMarmot on Flickr The store carried the staples of the day when it opened in the 1860s; tabacco, pipes, overalls, […]

It was 124 years ago last Sunday (June 13th, 1886) that Vancouver was completely destroyed by fire. It began as a controlled fire to clear brush on the land, however it quickly spread out of control. The Great Vancouver Fire of 1886 Vancouver before the Great Fire, Water Street 1886. Archives item #Str P8 The […]

There are few places in Vancouver where public can get a panoramic view of the city without heading up one of the North Shore mountains. There’s the Lookout at Harbour Centre (which recently celebrated a birthday), then Cloud 9 restaurant atop the Empire Landmark Hotel. The other vantage points are mostly from private suites. However, […]

33 years ago today Harbour Centre was officially opened and at 481 feet, it was the tallest building in Vancouver at the time.1 Harbour Centre is the home of The Vancouver Lookout, a revolving restaurant, a mall, various businesses and tech firms, as well as one of SFU‘s downtown campuses. In 1977 it was called […]

Trying to come up with themes for history posts is sometimes a bit tough. I’ve done everything from feature photos of long-gone hotels and aerial images of the region, to people walking dogs down Hastings Street a hundred years ago. Sometimes it’s the oddities that are the most interesting, such as that time an elephant […]

After a bit of a break from the Then and Now series I’ve decided to get it up and running again. Usually I explore the Vancouver Archives online database however I’ll be pulling from the Vancouver Public Library‘s collection for today’s “then” images. The “now” images have been captured from Google Maps. 1908 – Hamilton […]

The Vancouver Art Gallery is icon in our city and was a central hub of activity during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and although the building won’t be going anywhere… it’s what’s inside that counts. Photo credit: rodefeld on Flickr A relocation, that would see it move out of the old courthouse building, has […]

After hearing the loud rumble that caused the curtains to blow in my mother walked over to the crib to check on me. It was Mother’s Day. She thought the noise came from someone slamming lids on dumpsters but soon found out on the news that Mount St Helens in Washington State had erupted. I […]

Craigdarroch Castle, legacy of the Dunsmuir family, has been perched overlooking Victoria since the turn of the 20th century. Nowadays its red spires are barely visible over the stretching Garry Oaks but it’s definitely a main attraction on many tours and personal trips to the capital city. History The Dunsmuirs are pillars of BC’s industrial […]

The Pacific National Exhibition or PNE will be celebrating 100 years this summer. From livestock, pig races, demolition derbies, and the “As Seen on TV” marketplace, to cotton candy, fried onions, mini donuts and The Mousetrap, it’s a Vancouver tradition. While the PNE won’t be around for its limited engagement until summer is in full […]