Being a city surrounded by waterways, bridges are an important part of our history. Did you know we’ve had three Cambie Bridges over the last 100+ years? We’ve also had two iterations of the Knight Street Bridge, two Port Manns, and just one Pattullo. There have also been three Granville Street Bridges, which are the […]

A new year has been rung in and while we look ahead to what 2017 might bring, here’s a glimpse at the past to see what our city was like back in 1917. Vancouver in 1917 Thanks to the late, great Chuck Davis for his History of Metropolitan Vancouver that was used as a reference. […]

Stretching from BC Place to Stanley Park, Robson Street has been one of the city’s most popular thoroughfares, and shopping destinations, for the last century. Thanks to the City of Vancouver Archives, we can take a peek at what this bustling retail corridor looked like decades ago. Shopping on Robson Street in the 1970s Archives# […]

The first public garden in Vancouver was once buried and forgotten, until the storm that decimated the park in 2006 unearthed its history. It’s the Stanley Park Rock Garden was laid out in 1911, the same year that the quarry that would become Queen Elizabeth Park was closed. The First Public Garden in Vancouver The […]

Frisbees, footballs, bikini-clad bodies, blankets, and bicycles parked along the Sea Wall are scenes of summer at Vancouver’s beaches. From Third to Locarno, English Bay to Spanish Banks, the seaside landscape has changed almost as much as the summer fashion trends. Thanks to the City of Vancouver Archives, and my niece who curated this collection, […]

Bowen Island: The Happy Isle. Postcards and advertisements painted a picture of a stunning island getaway just a quick boat ride from Vancouver, where the waters were emerald green and the cottage life was bustling. Picnics, socials, dances, company retreats, hikes, swims, dives — it was the original summer getaway from Vancouver. I had my […]