False Creek today flows in and out of English Bay, ending with the waterfront walkway at Science World. In the early days, through grasslands and a network of creeks and streams, False Creek soaked all the way back to where Clark Drive runs now.
False Creek Flats
1898 – Vancouver City and Park Tourist Map. Archives Map 35.
1890 – View looking north on Main from 7th Ave before the fill. VPL Number: 36.
Photographer: H.T. Devine.
1908 – South side of False Creek looking at the Main Street Bridge. VPL Number: 4989.
Photographer: Philip Timms.
The False Creek back-fill began around the time of the first World War, with railways and roads from New Westminster to Vancouver being the top priorities. Main Street, the route from New Westminster that came down from Kingsway, had a bridge across the flats. When the train station was built even more of the creek was filled in.
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It’s no secret that Canadians love their coffee and Vancouverites have a specific affinity for those hot brewed beverages that get us through rainy days. You can resolve to spend a little less on coffee this year by brewing your own at home, saving several dollars a week with your own system and your own reusable travel mug.
To help you out this year, Keurig has offered up a prize pack for one reader of mine. This includes a Keurig® B60 Special Edition brewing system and an assortment of K-Cup® packs.
Features of the Keurig® B60 Special Edition: programmable, choice of 3 cup sizes: 175 ml, 240 ml and 300 ml (6 oz., 8 oz. and 10 oz.), removable 1,42 L (48 oz) water reservoir, Quiet-Brew Technology®, Energy Savings Mode – auto on/off.
The value of the prize pack is over $180. Find Keurig brewing systems and K Cup packs (which come in over 100 varieties) at a retailer near you. Here’s how you can enter to win this prize pack:
- Leave a comment naming your favourite kind of brew-at-home coffee (regular drip, lattes, cappuccinos, etc.) – (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner next Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 12:00pm. Update The winner is Sharon D.!
Vancouver is hosting a Gluten Free Expo on January 13th that will include products, education, demonstrations, and plenty of samples. Browse the offerings of over 100 vendors and exhibitors while Registered Dieticians take to the main stage to talk about living gluten free.
Where: Vancouver Convention Centre East (Canada Place)
When: Sunday, January 13, 2013 from 10:00am to 5:00pm
Tickets: Available online for $9 or at the door on the day of the event for $12. All prices include HST and service fees. The first 2000 attendees also receive a re-usable shopping bag.
Exhibitors and sponsors include (but are not limited to) Canadian Celiac Association Vancouver Chapter, Choices Markets, BC SPCA, Delight Gluten Free Magazine, Five Hole for Food, Edible Canada, Nature’s Path Foods, Noodlebox, Wendel’s True Foods, and a large number of bakeries like Cloud 9 Specialty Bakery, The Sweet Tooth Cakery, PatsyPie Gluten-Free Bakery, Bakery on Main, and Lemonade Gluten Free Bakery.
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and triticale. Removing gluten from your diet means excluding foods that contain these ingredients. It’s no wonder that so many bakeries signed on as exhibitors – proving that you can be gluten free and still enjoy breads, sweets, and treats.
Follow the Gluten Free Expo (that also stops in Toronto and Calgary) on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
Port Coquitlam is kicking off a series of celebrations that will take place throughout the year in honor of their 100th birthday in March. Join the community on Friday, January 4, 2013 at the Port Coquitlam Rec Complex (2150 Wilson Ave) from 5:00pm to 9:30pm to see what’s in store for the rest of the year.
Port Coquitlam History
Today Port Coquitlam is a community of 57,000 with commercial and industrial areas, 217 hectares of parkland (including the Traboulay Trail), and residential neighbourhoods. Here’s a brief history from the PoCo100 site:
When European explorers discovered this region in the early 1800s, the Coast Salish people had already been hunting, fishing and farming between the Pitt and Coquitlam rivers for thousands of years. In addition to fertile land, rivers teeming with salmon and forests providing wood and game, the area offered a strategic location near the important transportation links of the day: rivers and, after 1885, rails.
By the time the 1860s arrived, homesteads, businesses and roads were starting to sprout up throughout the area. Surveyed land was selling for 10 shillings an acre, and two reserves were set aside for the Kwikwetlem First Nation, named for Chief Kwikwetlem William (later the namesake for Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam). In 1886, the first train passed through the Westminster Junction railway station on what is now Kingsway Avenue, further spurring growth.
An estimated 1,200-1,500 people had settled in the area when the City of Port Coquitlam was incorporated on March 7, 1913, splitting off from the largely rural District of Coquitlam. Lively Kingsway Avenue, the town centre at the time, was lined with businesses and wooden sidewalks, while Canadian Pacific Railway was the biggest employer. A devastating fire on Kingsway in 1920 shifted the downtown core to the Shaughnessy Street area, where the City Hall had been built in 1914.
Growth was slowed by war and the Great Depression, but the end of the Second World War in 1945 and completion of Lougheed Highway in 1948 brought an influx of residents and businesses to both the north and south sides of the CP Rail operations. Between 1941 and 1951, the population more than doubled from 1,539 to 3,232. By 1961 it had more than doubled again, to 8,111.
By 1980, when a young Port Coquitlam hero named Terry Fox inspired the world with his Marathon of Hope, the population was approximately 27,000. The late 1990s and 2000s saw more population and infrastructure growth, with the renovation of City Hall, Hyde Creek Recreation Centre and the Port Coquitlam Recreation Complex, and construction of Fire Hall #1, the Operations Centre, Leigh Square Community Arts Village, Coast Meridian Overpass and other facilities. The population reached 50,000 in the early 2000s.
PoCo 100 Events
After the launch on Friday, there will be over a dozen other events that will showcase community pride and spirit including: Spirit Week (February 9 to 16, 2013), Taste of PoCo Spirit (February 16, 2013), the Community Birthday Celebration (March 7, 2013), May Day Trolley Tours (May 11, 2013), Homecoming Event (August 17 to 18, 2013) and much more. Follow Port Coquitlam 100 on Facebook for event information.
It’s a new year and soon it will be time to take down decorations and slip into post-holiday routines. If you’re looking to recycle your Christmas tree, there are a handful of chipping events around town that will take it off your hands and support a great local cause in the process:
Mount Pleasant
When: Sunday, January 6, 2013 from 10:00am to 4:00pm
Where: Kingsgate Mall (370 E Broadway)
What: Mount Pleasant BIA’s 4th annual tree chipping event to raise field trip funds for Mount Pleasant Elementary School. Free cookies and hot chocolate. Chipping by donation.
UBC Botanical Garden
When: Now until Wednesday, January 9, 2013 from 9:30am to 4:30pm
Where: UBC Botanical Garden (6804 SW Marine Drive)
What: Christmas tree recycling fundraiser for the food garden expansion at Thunderbird Elementary School. There is a suggested donation of $5.
City of Vancouver Tree Recycling Stations
When: Saturday, January 5, 2013 from 10:00am to 4:00pm
When: Sunday, January 6, 2013 from 10:00am to 4:00pm
Where: Kerrisdale Community Centre ice rink parking lot (5670 East Blvd)
Kitsilano Beach parking lot (Cornwall Ave and Arbutus)
Sunset Beach upper parking lot (Beach Ave and Broughton)
Rona Home and Garden Grandview (2727 E 12 Ave, overflow parking lot south of 12th)
What: City of Vancouver and volunteers from the Lions Club are providing Christmas tree chipping events in several locations. After the trees are chipped, they are taken to the Vancouver Landfill to be composted. Cash and non-perishable food donations collected at the events will be distributed to local charities.
You can also set out your tree with your food scraps and yard waste in the City of Vancouver. Be sure to remove all ornaments and tinsel.
Surrey
When: Saturday, January 5th, 2013 from 10:00am to 4:00pm
Where: Newton Athletic Park (128th St and 74th Ave)
What: Surrey’s 28th Annual Chip-In is by donation to the Surrey Firefighters Charitable Society.
When: Saturday, January 5th, 2013 from 10:00am to 4:00pm
Where: IGA Mall (17710 No 10 Hwy)
What: By donation, hosted by 1st Cloverdale Scouting.
Burnaby
When: Saturday, January 5th, 2013 from 10:00am to 4:00pm
Where: Lougheed Town Centre (corner of Austin & North Road)
What: Presented by Burnaby Firefighters Charitable Society. Come on down to the full service Christmas Tree Chip! Hot dogs, pop & firetrucks.
