The City of Vancouver’s boundaries as we know them (Burrard Inlet, Boundary Road, the Fraser River, and Pacific Spirit Park) were not always part of Vancouver. Throughout its 125-year history, Vancouver has expanded and amalgamated several times. When it was incorporated on April 6, 1886, it was made up of what we would now call […]

Checking in on my favourite website this morning I saw a small announcement at the top of the page: “The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver goes to press! Chuck Davis’s final gift to the people of Greater Vancouver, his History of Metropolitan Vancouver, has been completed and will appear in bookstores November 15, 2011.” […]

A boy and girl playing with a chained bear in their front yard in Kitsilano, a horse-drawn taxi rolling down Cordova Street, the Hotel Vancouver on the corner of Granville and Georgia. These are all images that I have featured during my weekly history photo series and which have been sourced from the City of […]

Vancouver 125 presented Summer Live this weekend in Stanley Park that saw dozens of local acts take to two stages in our city’s most beautiful setting. Hoola hoops, mini donuts, Frisbees, dancing, and more took place on the lawn with a backdrop of evergreens, surrounded by water. Since we were away most of the weekend […]

All year we will be celebrating Vancouver’s 125th Birthday through public events and celebrations. Since the city was incorporated on April 6, 1886 I thought it would be interesting to see what happened after City Council was formed and our little townsite of Granville became Vancouver. September 1886 – Mayor, Council, City officials. Archives Item#LGN […]

Over the last seven years I have published over 3,700 posts about our region, 229 of which have been specifically about Vancouver’s history and 22 so far for Vancouver125. As the City of Vancouver celebrates 125 years since incorporation today I’m almost at a loss for words so I figured a bit of a video […]

Vancouver’s 125th birthday celebration is coming up in just a few days however throughout the year dozens of community organizations are hosting their own series of events in honor of the city’s history so far. As a part of the Vancouver 125 series, the SFU Undergraduate Semester in Dialogue presents “Tales from Terminal City” April […]

UPDATE 2022: The Gassy Jack statue has been toppled during the Women’s Memorial March. UPDATE 2016: This is an important read: “Indigenous activists say the story of Gassy Jack is missing sordid details.” Captain John “Gassy Jack” Deighton is a local legend and namesake for the area of downtown Vancouver known as Gastown. The Gassy […]

Earlier this week I began a new series called “Vancouver Icons” that will combine information about famous city landmarks with a collection of photos I find on Flickr. When I first started blogging I wanted to showcase the lesser-known aspects of Vancouver life, history, and culture – helping people explore beyond the tourist traps and […]

As a part of the Vancouver Heritage Foundation’s ‘Places that Matter‘ committee, I get my fix of local history at every meeting. I was recently looking through some of the sites already nominated for designation and found the Angel of Victory. Installed in 1921, it is one of the city’s most prominent statues, located along […]