I love stepping under the canopy of Stanley Park‘s forest trails, detouring from the concrete paths of the Sea Wall and surrounding thoroughfares. A few years ago I profiled the origins of several Stanley Park Trail Names including Merilees, Rawlings, Tatlow, Thompson, and Tisdall. Tourism Vancouver recently launched their ultimate guide to Stanley Park (useful […]

It was on March 10th 1870 the settlement know locally as Gastown was given its official name: Granville Townsite. Lord Granville was the Colonial Secretary at the time and the Granville Townsite was selected as the terminus for the Canadian Pacific Railway. It wasn’t until 1886 that the townsite was renamed, when it incorporated, as […]

Painted on the sides of brick buildings that lined Hastings and other downtown thoroughfares that have existed for the better part of the last century, there was obviously a time when Vancouver’s ghost signs were just signs. Thanks to the Vancouver Archives, here’s a quick look at these painted adverts in their heyday. 1917 – […]

Art Deco Chic, the latest exhibit from the Museum of Vancouver, opens March 7, 2012 and I am currently doing a ticket giveaway for opening night. In conjunction with this, I thought it would be fun to browse the Vancouver Archives and preview some historic style from Vancouver’s earlier years. (Left) 1916 – BC Sugar […]

The Bailey brothers, Charles S. and William, setup shop in Vancouver at the end of the 19th century. Charles was the first to arrive from Ontario and form a photography company partnership, Neelands & Bailey, which lasted about a year. In 1890 William joined his brother in Vancouver and Bailey Bros Photography was born. 1886 […]