When Google launched Cities in 3D I asked readers what their favourite buildings were in Vancouver. Answers included the Marine Building and the Dominion Building, and since that time I’ve wanted to do a roundup of these historical pieces of Vancouver’s past. As there are actually too many to list (unless you read about them […]

As we were taking a stroll down Dunsmuir Street in Cumberland this weekend, Keira was filling me in on all of the regional history. I realized that even though I’ve profiled the origins of street names in Vancouver, I have never mentioned Dunsmuir and the family’s impact around the province. Aside from the street traversing […]

Samuel Brighouse was one of the earliest settlers on Burrard Inlet (he was one of the Three Greenhorns) and in later years also had a farm on Lulu Island in Richmond.

Last night on the Vancouver Sun’s site I came across a list of “British Columbia’s Best: A quest to determine the most influential person in BC’s history.” In November 2008 a poll including hundreds of names was setup and the results were then revealed in early January 2009 (while we were away in Iowa). Photo […]

The first time I heard of St Paul’s Hospital was when I was talking to my friend (and neighbour) about where we were born. We were about 9 or 10 years old and she told me she was born at St. Paul’s in Vancouver, which seemed strange to me since my brother, sister and I […]

For some reason this morning Avalon Dairy popped into my head and I figured that having a farm in the middle of a single-family residential neighbourhood in South Vancouver is definitely something worth exploring. Photo credit: SqueakyMarmot on Flickr Last year John and I did the Amazing Hunt, a really fun, local version of TV’s […]

With dozens of centimeters of snow on the ground (and still falling) the city is muffled in a powdery silence. Photo credit: John Biehler on Flickr Here’s a quick roundup of Vancouver History notes, with a Christmas theme. December 24, 1951. Sultry Hollywood actress Yvonne De Carlo, dubbed the “most beautiful woman in the world,” […]

My husband has a pretty interesting work environment, from mingling with rock stars and hockey players, to hanging out with the Stanley Cup like he did yesterday. Lord Stanley’s cup has actually been won in our city before, in 1915 the Vancouver Millionaires captured the Challenge Cup at the Denman Arena. To celebrate this heritage, […]

Photo credit: david on Flickr Last year I included a note about the great poppy debate in a blog post. I first heard about white poppies through a BBC article in 2006, and also from DaveO, who does an amazing White Poppies series on his podcast year-round. Both red and white are the colour of […]

I’m a history buff and I’ll be the first to admit that if I could sit in on my grade 12 AP European History course again, every day of the week, I would. I’m also the grandchild and great grandchild of men who fought in the “war to end all wars” and the one that […]