I was recently browsing the Vancouver archive GIF goodness that is Vancouver Rising and I noticed that one of the animated images was a series of photos from the City of Vancouver Archives that were simply stitched together. It reminded me of this collection of “Under Construction” photos I posted last year and made me […]

April is one of the most significant months in Vancouver history since it was incorporated on April 6th in 1886. Here are a few more interesting moments in our city’s story that occurred this month, sourced from The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver. April in Vancouver History April 2, 1920 The Japanese-Canadian War Memorial, […]

Vancouver Whitecaps FC are celebrating 40 years of Whitecaps soccer in this city, promoting previous team members, traditions, and the beloved “White is the Colour” chant, heard best when coming from a record player. In honour of this anniversary, I have put together a collection of Vancouver photos from May-August of 1974, when the Whitecaps […]

It seems that “March Weather” in Vancouver has always meant that a stroll at the beach is in order, making us the envy of our East Coast counterparts who may still have snow in their forecast. In my search for early spring photos in the City of Vancouver Archives today I found an image of […]

Converted from apartments in 1929, The Ritz Hotel in Vancouver was located at 1040 West Georgia. Radio station CJOR started there in 1926, before moving out in 1930, and the building was demolished in 1982. [Source: Emporis]. The hotel had another prominent tenant whose name keeps coming up in relation to the property: Mabel Ellen […]

The Sinking of The Greenhill Park is one of my favourite tracks off The Matinee’s latest album We Swore We’d See the Sunrise. It’s a beautiful and haunting song with a very real — and very tragic — event behind its name. An event that took place 69 years ago (tomorrow) in Vancouver’s harbour. March […]

The Academy Awards (Oscars) are taking place on Sunday, March 2, 2014 and when I was browsing the City of Vancouver Archives recently, I found the iconic statuette in a most unusual place: perched outside a building on Burrard and Georgia. Zoomed in. May 1955: Photograph by Walter E. Frost. Archives# CVA 447-330 Oscar’s Steakhouse […]

Over the last few of years I have featured themed collections of photos from the City of Vancouver Archives on my site. However, this month I thought I would change things up a bit and issue a challenge to my readers and local photographers. The challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to create […]

The PNE Forum building at Hastings Park holds its share of history, from hockey and lacrosse, to war-time injustices, roller derby and Nirvana. 1931: Archives# CVA 99-4015. Photographer: Stuart Thomson. Vancouver Exhibition Forum This 45,000 gross square foot building was constructed on the Vancouver Exhibition grounds in 1931. 1931: Construction of the Forum. Archives# CVA […]

One hundred years ago, our fair city was 28 years old and already survived a Great Fire, erected the tallest building in the British Empire, built a courthouse that stands today as the city’s art gallery, had a thriving interurban transit system and a population well over 100,000 (a fifth of what it is today). […]