The history of Vancouver’s flag (and thus its coat of arms) was suggested by a reader the other day so I have dug up some research about our city’s icons. Coat of Arms Vancouver’s first Coat of Arms was drawn up by alderman Lauchlan Hamilton (as in Hamilton Street) and assumed in 1886. However, as […]

Being a seaside town, Vancouver has always had several lighthouses standing guard atop rocky perches. This morning I put the call out on Twitter for history post suggestions and the theme of lighthouses came from Tyler Ingram. Three lighthouses in particular came to mind so I have decided to profile them in a “Then and […]

It was 1915 at one of Canada’s first indoor ice rinks, the Denman Arena, where the Vancouver Millionaires lifted the Stanley Cup. Named after the same man for whom Stanley Park has its title, it’s been an interesting 95 years of hockey in this town ever since. Denman Arena from the Rowing Club in Stanley […]

If you’re into local history there are a few events coming up with Heritage Vancouver this month that may be of interest. Saturday, April 17, 2010 Annual Top Ten Endangered Sites Release and Bus Tour Each year Heritage Vancouver publishes a list of its Top Ten endangered heritage sites and this ride (inside a Transit […]

Update February 2011: Read about Vancouver’s 125th anniversary. It was 124 years ago today (on April 6, 1886) that the City of Vancouver was incorporated. The [incorporation] ceremony was delayed when it was discovered no one had thought to bring paper on which to write down the details. Someone had to run down the street […]

We may know it as a single complex but the Sinclair Centre started out as four separate buildings, built around 1910 and brought together in the 1980s. I recently featured the buildings in one of my Then and Now posts so when Marc invited me down for a private tour of the heritage building I […]

Inspired by today’s soggy weather, and the recent announcement that English Bay will be getting a Cactus Club, I thought I would profile Vancouver beaches, Then and Now. Tidal Flats at Jericho Beach 1890 Archives item # Be P41 2010 Photo credit: Brad-514 on Flickr Kitsilano Pool / Beach 1931 Archives item # Be N51.1 […]

On this day in Metro Vancouver history the SkyBridge, connecting New Westminster and Surrey (Columbia and Scott Road SkyTrain stations), opened to the public. The $28 million transit-only structure was built by Kerkhoff Bridge and Industrial Division Ltd., of Chilliwack, and Hyundai Engineering and Construction Division Co. Ltd. of Korea. Construction had started October 28, […]

After leaving FibreWorks, John and I made our way to Egmont, on the Eastern side of the Sechelt peninsula as we continued to explore the Sunshine Coast last weekend. View Larger Map From there we met with Bryce Christie of Sunshine Coast Tours out on the dock by the Backeddy Pub. We piled into the […]

The Gastown Business Improvement Association founded the Gastown Blog in the summer of 2009 to breathe some new life into this historic community. With daily features, history lessons and business profiles, it’s a one-stop source for Gastown information. Over the last few weeks the Gastown Blog launched an initiative to put QR codes on old […]