There is another theme to this week’s roundup of photos from the Miss604 Flickr Pool as I’m still down in Austin for South by Southwest: The SeaBus – faithfully transporting commuters to and from the North Shore across Burrard Inlet. I’ll return to the regular photo collection once we get back above the 49th parallel but for now, I sifted through the Flickr group and plucked out some beautiful images that all feature what our friend Dave calls the “$4 Harbour Cruise”.
As always, please click through on these images to view more work from the photographers and feel free to share your own photos with the Miss604 Flickr Pool. View all photo collections here.
It was in March of 1921 that the Capitol Theatre opened at 820 Granville. The movie palace was massive for its time (the silent movie era) with 2,500 seats. It had a grand marquee and it’s where legendary theatre manager Ivan Ackery got his start in the business as an usher.
On opening night of the Capitol Theatre, March 12, 1921, famous silent film star Wallace Reid, once billed as “the most popular screen idol in America,” burst through a paper screen singing and dancing to great applause. With a blare of trumpets, the Capitol Theatre Orchestra presented an overture, and Mayor R. H. Gale took the stage stating what a great day it was for Vancouver’s progress. Before the “photo-play” began, he hoped the evening would “provide a clean and uplifting picture.” It was probably an earnest wish. The upheaval of the previous decade with the First World War, the Spanish flu epidemic, and housing shortages was fresh in people’s minds, and the evening must have made for welcome entertainment for the 2,076 Vancouverite’s in attendance. The Roaring Twenties were ready to roar. [PSTOS]
Ivan Ackery went on to manage the Orpheum and he was kept on his toes by the Capitol’s manager Charlie Doctor as each constantly tried to out-do the other with stunts and showcases. This was the heyday of movie houses on Granville.
When the Capitol theatre premiered the Elvis Presley film Love me Tender in 1956, Doctor invited all Vancouver citizens with the last name “Presley” to attend the film’s premiere for free. The publicity for the Love Me Tender opening hosted by radio DJ Red Robinson made for a lineup of excited teenagers that extended down the block. [PSTOS]
It wasn’t until 1977 that the Capitol was converted to a multiplex cinema, it was the first movie house with more than 3 screens to appear in the Lower Mainland. The grand marquee was gone. Escalators ushered you in off Granville and looped you around to the screens on the Seymour street side of the building.
1967 – Archives Item: CVA 780-50.
It was a beacon for a new type of theatre experience that would only last until 2005, but it was pretty amazing that it survived that long, in some form, given the evolution of the area. All around the Capitol, things were changing on Granville and other theatres on the block were converted to bars. From The Puget Sound Pipeline: “Liquor licences now hang where movie posters used to be. In the buildings where the warm hum of the Wurlitzer organ echoed, the sound of a DJ’s redundant beat plays out onto the sidewalk.”
After demolition and re-build, the front location of the Capitol on Granville is where Quicksilver and Urban Outfitters are today and around the back, it’s the VSO School of Music, the Orpheum Annex (which I hear is a beautiful venue) along with a residential tower and Dunn’s on street level. It hasn’t stood the test of time like the Orpheum, but the Capitol is still a venue and a legacy, in the heart of our entertainment district, that is worth remembering and celebrating.
Take a bunch of Canadians, set them down in Texas and a hockey game just might break out. Five Hole For Food in partnership with Vancouver’s hottest startup, HootSuite, hosted a charity street hockey game in Austin at South by Southwest (“SXSW”) on Sunday, March 10, 2013.
John Bollwitt and Richard Loat setup the nets
They took the Five Hole formula — playing pick-up games of street hockey in communities while collecting donations for the local food banks — and hosted company teams, the Dallas Stars Ice Girls, Texas Stars players, and heavy-hitters in the tech realm like Guy Kawasaki for the afternoon.
Some of the teams who came out to play
The HootBus (HootSuite’s shuttle bus here in Austin for the SXSW conference) delivered players while the Dallas Stars community team setup a fantastic arena (with inflatable boards) in the parking lot of a church on 9th and Trinity. The Capital Area Food Bank of Texas was on hand to collect monetary and non-perishable food item donations from players and spectators.
Five Hole for Food team members, including founder Richard Loat, have traveled coast to coast across Canada playing summer street hockey for several years and this was their first event in the USA. Richard reported on Facebook that they raised the equivalent of 7,500lbs of food for the Capital Area Food Bank, making the campaign in Austin quite the success.
Team HootSuite with Guy Kawasaki and mascot, Owly
Canadians have been making a splash at SXSW for years, with innovative individuals, ideas, and companies, but this is the first time that they’ve brought sticks, nets, and supported the local food bank. Follow Five Hole for Food on Twitter and Facebook to see where they’ll be facing off next and for more information about their Canadian tour this summer.
On Saturday, March 16, 2013 the Vancouver Canucks will be wearing throwback replica jerseys that pay homage to the Vancouver Millionaires, a team that changed hockey as we know it and paraded down Denman Street with the Stanley Cup in 1915.
1920s – VPL Number: 17996 & 17995. Photographer: Stuart Thomson.
The Vancouver Millionaires were the first professional hockey team on the West Coast, playing in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) from 1912 through 1922. The Millionaires swept a best-of-five interleague series to win the Stanley Cup in 1915 against the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey Association (which later became the National Hockey League). The Millionaires played that series at home in the 10,500 seat Denman Arena built by Frank and Lester Patrick at the corner of Georgia and Denman.
Seeking a faster paced level of hockey, the Patrick brothers revolutionized the game and were founding fathers of professional hockey in Vancouver as they introduced the PCHA and a number of new rules. The Patricks oversaw significant innovations including adding numbers to players’ sweaters, allowing forward passing in the neutral zone, implementing the penalty shot and utilizing artificial ice.
Saturday’s game is against the Red Wings, which also holds significance. The Patricks’ other original PCHA team, the Victoria Cougars, transitioned leagues from the PCHA to Western Canada Hockey League then Western Hockey League before the NHL Detroit Cougars (now the Red Wings) purchased Victoria’s roster in 1926.
You can purchase Vancouver Millionaires merchandise at Rogers Arena and the Canucks Team Store for two weeks starting March 16th so be sure to pick up some gear while supplies last. Pre-orders are also available at this time and you can also inquire about game-worn gear.
I have a Vancouver Millionaires t-shirt and a hat to give away thanks to the Canucks as well. Here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment with your favourite Canucks team look over the years (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win Vancouver Millionaires gear from @VanCanucks & @Miss604 http://ow.ly/iL0td
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Monday, March 18, 2013. Follow the Canucks on Facebook and Twitter this season for more special events, game information, and news from the team.
Surrey Librairies are ramping up programing for teens over Spring Break including a week of free movie screenings:
City Centre Library – Photo credit: colink. on Flickr
Captain America: The First Avenger
Rated PG
Wednesday, March 20, 2013 from 1:30pm to 3:30pm
Newton Library, meeting room
Rise of the Guardians
Rated G
Wednesday, March 20, 2013 from 2:00pm to 3:45pm
City Centre Library, Dr. Ambedkar Room (418)
The Hunger Games
Rated 14A
Wednesday, March 27, 2013 from 1:30pm to 3:30pm
Newton Library, meeting room
The Adventures of Tintin
Rated PG
Thursday March 28, 2013 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Guildford Library, meeting room
Won’t Back Down
Rated PG
Thursday, March 28, 2013 6:30pm to 8:30pm
City Centre Library, Dr. Ambedkar Room (418)
Life of Pi
Thursday, April 25, 2013 6:00pm to 8:15pm
City Centre Library, Dr. Ambedkar Room (418)
All movie events are free & drop in. For family movies, children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult. Follow Surrey Libraries on Twitter for more free event information, workshops, and news.
