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Category Archives: street scenes
Sea of Hats
Updated (Originally posted September 2015) This is a somewhat unusual view of the Cambie Street Recreation Grounds (for some later years, the site of the long-distance bus station, later still – optimistically – dubbed Larwill Park and serving as a City … Continue reading
Posted in people, sport, street scenes, stuart thomson
Tagged bc, bus station, cambie street recreation grounds, hats, head wear, history, larwill park, men's hats, vancouver
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Public Drinking Fountains
Early A very early (if not the first) Vancouver water fountain was situated at the corner which, from the 1930s, was known as Pioneer Place but is better known, today, as Pigeon Park. This piece of real estate was useless … Continue reading
Posted in street scenes, Uncategorized
Tagged bc, bubbler fountain, charles marega, history, James Blomfield, Joe Fortes, King Edward VII Memorial, Kiwassa monument, Maple Tree Monument, memorial fountain, Pauline Johnson, pigeon park, Pioneer Place, public health, Queen Victoria Memorial, Tuberculosis, vancouver
3 Comments
‘Bailey Bridge’ in Downtown Vancouver, 1944
Updated (First Published August 2015) This photograph shows a 240-foot Bailey Bridge (1 of 2 by Don Coltman; the other image appears below) spanning Georgia Street at Howe Street in 1944. Zooming on the image reveals a sign on the structure … Continue reading
Spencer’s Details
This post is about David Spencer, Ltd. This is a now-long-gone but once much-beloved B.C. department store chain with a store located in downtown Vancouver (which most residents of the city today know as the locations of Harbour Centre tower and … Continue reading
Views of CPR Right of Way: Before and After 1932
Re-Posted February 2018 (First Posted Jan. 2016) I was recently struck (again) by what excellent images these two are of 1930s Vancouver. How exemplary of how I often have thought of the ’30s in this city, and how great an … Continue reading
Southern View (Pender at Seymour), 1892
This view of Vancouver as it appeared to early Vancouver photographer, Charles S. Bailey just six years after incorporation as a city has appealed to me since I first clapped eyes on it a couple of years ago. Vancouver may … Continue reading
Posted in churches, First Baptist Church, Vancouver, street scenes
Tagged bc, congregational church, Cosman & Son, empire building, Father Patrick Fay, Father Patrick Fey, First Baptist Church, history, Holy Rosary Church, Homer Street Methodist Church, Lady Superior Mary Alexander, Mary Casher grocer, Ontario House, pender street, Rev. E. D. McLaren, Rev. James W. Pedley, Rev. K. K. Maitland, Rev. W. C. Weir, Sacred Heart Academy, seymour street, St. Andrew's Presbyterian, vancouver, Walter Middleton grocer
8 Comments
Up Granville from Hastings, 1909
This is another outstanding scene by early Vancouver photographer, P. T. Timms. Timms would have been standing with his back to the second C.P.R. station (1898-1914; Edward Maxwell, architect) at Granville and Cordova. His camera was pointing up Granville from the … Continue reading
Posted in P. T. Timms, street scenes
Tagged bc, Birk's Jewelers, C. D. Rand Real Estate, canadian bank of commerce, fairfield block, history, Iroqouis Seattle steamship, James A.McIntyre, McIntyre's Cafe, O. B. Allan Jewelers, Post Office, Purdy's Chocolate, Roger's Building, Second CPR Station, vancouver
2 Comments
Nina Raginsky’s ‘LIP Grant’ Images
I have recently been introduced to British Columbia photographer, Nina Raginsky. How I have managed to live this long without being aware of her amazing photographic skill and talent, I don’t know! Raginsky makes her home on Salt Spring Island … Continue reading
Posted in Nina Raginsky, street scenes
Tagged bc, black and white, portraits, vancouver
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First Baptist Church in Disguise?
Update: February 10, 2017 This postcard of mis-identification was presented to me about a year ago as a gift by JMV of Illustrated Vancouver. The image appears to have been made between 1911 (when construction of FBC at Nelson & Burrard was completed) … Continue reading
Ackers’ Shoeshine Shop
I like this photo. It has a strong human element but enough contextual content that it isn’t exclusively about the two men who are its subjects. If I’d had my ‘druthers’, I would like to have seen the image in proper exposure … Continue reading
Posted in businesses, street scenes
Tagged 132 W. Cordova, Carrie Smith, Dougall House, Fred Ackers, Shoeshine/Tobacco Shop
3 Comments
Where W.E.C. Shopped?
Updated October, 2016 This image appears to have been made sometime in the 1970s; right around the same period when the hapless Wile E. Coyote was entertaining fantasies of terrorizing the nameless Roadrunner using machines built from products made by Acme. The company portrayed in the image, … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, automobiles, street scenes, theatre/vaudeville/cinemas
Tagged acme novelty, bc, burnaby, history, looney tunes, Roadrunnner, vancouver, warner brothers, Wile E. Coyote
5 Comments
Use Your Head (With IBM)
Updated September, 2016 This is an exterior shot of IBM’s Vancouver presence on Georgia Street (on north side, between Seymour and Richards Street) in 1936 (there is another image showing the building and NCR’s office in context with St. Andrew’s … Continue reading
Posted in businesses, street scenes, stuart thomson
Tagged bc, georgia street, history, IBM, vancouver
5 Comments
Designated Alien Landing Zones?
Real estate in Vancouver is at a premium. That is a truism. It has nearly always been the case in this city. Sure, there have been periodic and relatively short-lived dips. But only rarely has the real estate market here been … Continue reading
Posted in Opinion, street scenes
Tagged 181 W Pender, Avalon, bc, cambie, history, pender, real estate, vancouver
2 Comments
The Lumberman and His Boy
This is one of my favourite early photographs of Vancouver, the condition of the negative, notwithstanding. I love it for the usual reason for love . . . just because! But also for compositional and historical reasons. It seems to … Continue reading
Posted in J. D. Hall, people, street scenes
Tagged bc, cambie, flack block, hastings, history, inns of court, news-advertiser, vancouver, victory square
2 Comments
Answers to “Find The Errors”
1. CVA 99-3791 The image is not the Marine Building (which is decorated with terra cotta marine features such as seahorses); it is the Georgia Medical-Dental Building (decorated with healthcare-related features (such as the nurse figure at the very top of the … Continue reading
Posted in street scenes
2 Comments
Find the Errors
If you’ve been following VanAsItWas for awhile, you’ll recall that a few months ago, we played Name Those Streets. This consisted of me showing three images which were misidentified by the City of Vancouver Archives (CVA) as to their street locations.* … Continue reading
Posted in street scenes
3 Comments
West Cordova Unit Block*
It is a pity that we don’t know who made this photograph. To me, it is one of gems in the City of Vancouver Archives (CVA) collection. Why do I say that? The muted colour tones, for one thing, speak … Continue reading
Posted in hotels/motels/inns, street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged abbott street, Arlington Hotel, BC Umbrella Co., Cansino Hotel, carrall street, Float House, Fortin Building, Hildon Hotel, New Fountain Hotel, Rainier Grocery, Stanley Hotel, Travellers Hotel, West Cordova unit block
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Mudge the Poultry Man
William Mudge’s business was known in early Vancouver as Mudge & Son and (probably better) as Mudge the Poultry Man. As indicated in the latter name, he specialized in providing chicken products to hard-working, hungry Vancouverites. He hung his shingle … Continue reading
Posted in biography, businesses, P. T. Timms, street scenes, stuart thomson
Tagged bc, City Market, cobble hill, history, poultry, seed potatoes, vancouver, William Mudge
4 Comments
Lest We Impress
It is all too easy to impress the present onto the past. Especially in cases where there has been an attempt made by contemporary architects to ‘nod’ to a prior building that once occupied a lot. A good example of this … Continue reading
A Block of Libraries
In 1925, Mrs. A. J. Davidson would start a little bookstore business across the street from the home shown above (later she would move the business next door to the home, later down the block a few doors; it would never … Continue reading
Posted in books/reading, businesses, street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged bc, fairview, granville street, history, south granville, stanley library, the library, vancouver
2 Comments
The Lesters and their Dance Schools/Halls
It’s Hazy in Detroit There isn’t a lot known about the proprietress of M. Lester Dancing Academy. Maud was an Ontario girl (although exactly where in Ontario she was born and raised or what her maiden name was isn’t clear to … Continue reading
Posted in A. L. Yates, businesses, street scenes, stuart thomson
Tagged AOUW Hall, bc, burrard, Davie, Driard Hotel, Embassy Ballroom, granville, history, Lester Court, Lester Hall, M. Lester Dance Acadamy, vancouver, Victoria
8 Comments
Church Parades and Church Street
I think I may have a reasonable explanation as to why Church Street (the north-south lane between Seymour and Richards and Georgia and Robson) was so named in the early years of the city. It seems to me that the name … Continue reading
Posted in churches, parades, street scenes, stuart thomson
Tagged anglican church, Christ Church, church parade, church street, georgia street
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325 Howe
The Name Game The building shown above has been known as the “Welton” Building (1912-1919), the “Pacific Coast Fire” Building (1920-?), and recently, probably, simply as good old 325 Howe. Who decides what a building shall be called? It is usually safe to … Continue reading
Fairview/Roxy Theatre
There isn’t much known about the Fairview Theatre (1912-38), later called the Roxy Theatre (1939-55?). In fact, I have never before seen a photograph of the theatre. According to the building permit for the Fairview (which appears in the permit database … Continue reading
Belmont Grocery and Quality Gifts
These are two separate images of adjacent shops made at the corner of Granville & Nelson in 1969. Left image: CVA 780-26 – Belmont Grocery, Theatre Row, [at 999 Granville Street] 1969. Right image: CVA 780-24 – [View of a] … Continue reading
Posted in street scenes
Tagged bc, belmont grocery, granville, history, nelson, quality gifts, vancouver
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Victory on 500 Block of West Hastings
This is a very nice image made by Jack Lindsay, probably on VE or VJ Day.* The photographer was on ground level for this shot, standing in a vacant parking spot in front of the Bank of Toronto building (later, the … Continue reading
The Foot of Main Street
Posted in automobiles, street scenes, W. E. Frost
Tagged alexander street, bc, burrard iron works, CN Steamships wharf, history, main street, vancouver
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Answers to ‘Name Those Streets’
Image #1 This is Granville Street. The image was made from elevation near the intersection with Georgia; the camera was facing south. The Vancouver block, Castle Hotel, and the Orpheum and Capitol Theatres are visible (among other landmarks). As of today’s … Continue reading
Posted in street scenes
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Name Those Streets!
I will show below three City of Vancouver Archives (CVA) photos. Each photo has been wrongly identified by CVA. Your challenge (if I may borrow from the theme of a 1950s-80s U.S. television network game show) is to correctly Name Those Streets! … Continue reading
Posted in Jack Lindsay, street scenes
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1936 Commissioned Image of Granville
I very much enjoy the image above, made by one of my favourite local photographers, Stuart Thomson. I like the gentle blur of the strolling crowd. And I especially like the lady caught in profile looking into Saba Bros. Silk … Continue reading
Robsonstrasse in Days of Yore
We are looking at the south side of Robson above, between Thurlow and Bute streets in the mid-1970s. Below, is a very fetching scene, in my judgement (note the effective use of light and shadow), of the same block, but across the … Continue reading
Posted in street scenes, W. Roozeboom
Tagged bc, bute, history, robson platz, robson plaza, robsonstrasse, thurlow, vancouver
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Mum (Nothing Needs Saying About this Lovely Street Scene)
Posted in Don Coltman, public transit, street scenes
Tagged 100 block west hastings, cambie street, empire cafe, white lunch
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The Old Cecil
I refer in this post to the “old” Cecil Hotel (on the north side of 100 block West Hastings Street) to help distinguish it from the newer Cecil Hotel with which most Vancouver contemporaries are probably more aware – the one on Granville near … Continue reading
Posted in hotels/motels/inns, street scenes
Tagged "Old" Cecil Hotel, abbott street, bc, cambie street, hastings street, history, The Southern Hotel, vancouver, ymca
2 Comments
Happiness Cafe and Neighbours
I love this Walter Frost image for several reasons. But my three principal reasons appear below. First of all it shows a city block that was on the cusp of huge change. Within a few years of the making of this photo, this … Continue reading
South Granville’s Mid-Century Office Building
The Block Building (CBK Van Norman) stands at the corner of (South) Granville and 11th Ave. It was built in 1965, I believe. The art work over the main door is a work by Lionel and Patricia Thomas and is called … Continue reading
Feeling Less-Than-Fresh in THIS Crush?
These crowds were dispersing up Georgia Street from watching the parade for Vancouver’s 60th Anniversary of civic incorporation (our Diamond Jubilee, 1886-1946). Thanks are due to JMV for the detailed comment and links below. As to landmarks, there is a Standard … Continue reading
Posted in Jack Lindsay, people, street scenes
Tagged bc, burrard street, crowds, georgia street, history, vancouver, Vancouver's Diamond Jubilee
2 Comments
From Lumber to Racquets
The address of the yards of Coast Lumber & Fuel Co. was at a corner of Bodwell Road* (today’s 33rd Avenue) and Ontario Street. According to a City website, there was a streetcar track along Bodwell Road, so that, I’m … Continue reading
Church Street (Lane)
It is not unusual to find a “Church Street” in a Canadian city. Even today, in our post-church-attendance era, streets called “Church” can be found in New Westminster, North Vancouver, and in the Collingwood district of the City of Vancouver (near Boundary … Continue reading
Posted in churches, street scenes, W J Moore, yesterday & today
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Winter on Davie at Homer
A zoomed image on the same (December) day in 1968 appears below.
Posted in advertising, Ernie Reksten, street scenes
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The Gifted Mr. Bradbury
A real pleasure for me in this photo-historical adventure I’ve called VanAsItWas is in discovering and re-discovering crisp, well-exposed images that speak of an attention to detail and a real concern (whether consciously or not) for issues that would ultimately be … Continue reading
Hycroft Towers Service Station
This is an early 1950s image of Hycroft Towers at the SE corner of Granville and Marpole Ave. Hycroft Towers was originally the “kitchen garden” of Hycroft Manor (which today is across Marpole Ave from HT). It isn’t clear to me how long … Continue reading
Posted in Artray, homes/apts/condos, street scenes
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An All But Unknown Burrard Street
This is a northward view along Burrard Street from near Melville Street (the street that today is adjacent to the Burrard St. Skytrain Station). The most striking aspect of this image to me is that the only building I recognize … Continue reading
Posted in Don Coltman, street scenes
Tagged bc, burrard street, history, melville street, vancouver
2 Comments
‘Geeks’ of the ’40s
These gents (I don’t see any women, do you?) were evidently having a mid-tourney smoke break at the time Jack Lindsay captured this moment. I imagine that the location was at the club headquarters of the Vancouver Chess Club at the … Continue reading
Posted in Jack Lindsay, people, sport, street scenes, W. E. Frost
Tagged bc, chess, clubs, history, vancouver
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Fur Vault
The first and second image in this post were apparently commissioned by Nelson’s Laundry to local pro photographer Jack Lindsay to demonstrate the secure fur coat storage service offered by the launderer. It is difficult to recall/conceive in this day when fur … Continue reading
Posted in businesses, Jack Lindsay, street scenes, stuart thomson
Tagged bc, cambie street, fur coats, history, nelson's laundry, vancouver, vaults
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China Creek Cycle Oval
This cycling oval was originally built for the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver in 1954. After the Games were over, it became known as China Creek Cycle Oval. The oval seems to have been located just east of where … Continue reading
Handsome Garage
Ah, these were good days; when architects and automotive dealers/mechanics cared enough to make even a garage appear as though it were a work of art! This was one of two Fred Cheeseman garages in Vancouver at this time. This one was … Continue reading
Posted in businesses, street scenes, stuart thomson
Tagged Auburn Auto Sales, bc, Fred Cheeseman Garage, history, howe street, vancouver
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Neilson’s Chocolate – Almost Makes Being Ill Seem Like a Treat
The sweetest drug of all – chocolate – brought to you by Neilson’s at Burn’s Drugs Co. Burns Drugs was in a building adjacent to the Vancouver Block (sharing space in 1920 with West End Nurseries). Neilson’s is a Canadian dairy success story.
Posted in businesses, cafes/restaurants/eateries, street scenes, stuart thomson
Tagged Burns Drug Co., granville, neilson's chocolate, pharmacy
2 Comments
80 Years
There are differences that leap to my attention when I consider these two images together. A principal one is how much more clothing we Vancouverites wore 80 years ago as against today (although it must be admitted that the seasons shown are … Continue reading
Posted in P. T. Timms, people, street scenes
Tagged bc, dunsumir, granville, history, pender, vancouver
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PNE Parade on East Hastings
The scene above captures well the enthusiasm of PNE Parade spectators at East Hastings and Princess Street in the mid-1950s. There would be parades to kick off the Pacific National Exhibition each year for another 40 years (ending in 1995). … Continue reading
Posted in parades, people, street scenes
Tagged 1957, bc, east hastings, history, PNE, princess street, vancouver
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Welding Vancouver Streetcar Track
There was something about the image above that bothered me. Something that didn’t look safe. Then it struck me. The fellow standing next to the wagon with the warning: “Danger: 500 Volts. Do not touch machine or watch flame” had … Continue reading
Posted in public transit, street scenes
Tagged bc, BC Electric Railway, BCER, downtown, history, railways, streetcars, vancouver, welders
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Robson Square Ice Rink Formerly Public W.C.
If you are a Vancouver resident or have visited the city, you will probably know that these apparently quite handsome public washrooms are no longer here (there are two remaining sets of these relics, neither in the downtown core and … Continue reading
Wooden Sidewalk, 1914
This wooden sidewalk was, according to the City of Vancouver Archives, somewhere on 16th Avenue in 1914. Where this was on 16th, I don’t know. It might have been almost anywhere — from Collingwood Street (in Dunbar/Point Grey) in the west … Continue reading
Posted in homes/apts/condos, street scenes
Tagged 16th avenue, bc, history, vancouver
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Georgia Through a Windscreen. . . Dimly
The image above seems to have been made through the windscreen of a vehicle that was stopped on Georgia St. for a red light. (Not, in 1963, we may safely assume, taken with the driver’s mobile phone!) It appears to have been shot eastwards … Continue reading
Rectory: Holy Rosary
Posted in churches, street scenes, stuart thomson
Tagged bc, downtown, dunsmuir street, history, holy rosary cathedral, manse, rectory, richards street, vancouver
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Human Traffic Signal
Posted in street scenes, W J Moore
Tagged abbott, bc, hastings, history, olympia confectionery, vancouver
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Northwest Seymour & Nelson (1920/’26)
These two images were taken by the same photographer (Stuart Thomson), the camera is facing the same direction (northwest), and are of nearly the same locations (Seymour Street at Nelson in the first image; Seymour from a bit south of Nelson in the … Continue reading
Posted in street scenes, stuart thomson
Tagged accidents, advertising, automobile, bc, history, nelson street, posters, seymour street, vancouver, wrecks
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Granville at Beach
We are looking toward the northeast corner of Granville Street at Beach Avenue in these two images. The first photo (above) was taken slightly to the east of the second (1909) Granville Bridge; the photo below was made a little ways to the … Continue reading
Posted in street scenes, W J Moore
Tagged auto laundry and paint removal, bc, history, vancouver
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I Scream, You Scream…
Posted in street scenes, stuart thomson
Tagged bc, history, ice cream, kold-hold refrigeration, palm dairy, vancouver
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418 Georgia
We are looking above at the southwest corner of Homer at Georgia in 1933, where Stonehouse Motors was located for about 20 years (ca1926-45). Prior to that, another automobile dealer was at this site, Knight-Higman Motors (ca1920-25). Before that, for … Continue reading
57 Varieties: H. J. Heinz in Vancouver
Posted in businesses, street scenes, stuart thomson, yesterday & today
Tagged 57 Varieties, bc, H J Heinz, history, homer street, ketchup, vancouver, vinegar, yaletown
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Burrard & Pender: A Century’s Differences
Posted in street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged bc, burrard street, history, pender street, vancouver
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Betwixt and Between
This post consists of two 1914 images that appear to have been made on the same day by BCER (and of the mates made last week by the author). The 1914 images were interesting to me because they were made at one … Continue reading
Posted in hospitals/health care, street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged bc, City Hospital, courthouse, history, vancouver, victory square
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Moonlit Night After Late Shift
Posted in P. T. Timms, people, street scenes
Tagged bc, dusk, hastings street, history, vancouver
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Irwinton Apts
This is a crop of a BC Electric photo of Burrard Street looking to the southwest and made in 1914. The Wesley Methodist Church (William Blackmore, 1902) – an ancestor congregation of St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church which would be built a couple decades … Continue reading
Mucky Lane Work
I have become quite fond of the work done in the early years of the 20th century by BC Electric Railway photographers. Most of these anonymous souls don’t seem to me to have been amateurs (although a few images are very over-exposed). … Continue reading
Posted in people, street scenes
Tagged bc, BC Electric Railway, granville street, history, Horse, lane, vancouver, wagon
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Old Kits Presbyterian Church (1911-1925)
A friend noticed this striking older building at 1855 Vine Street (between 3rd and 4th Avenues), which today consists of private condo units. She asked me if I’d encountered it and if I had any idea what the original purpose was of … Continue reading
Posted in churches, street scenes
Tagged Kitsilano Presbyterian Church, St Stephen's United Church
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George H. Hewitt Co., Ltd.
When I first saw the George H. Hewitt rubber stamp company in the image above, it occurred to me that this was a business that must surely have disappeared with the dawn of the 21st century – until I started to … Continue reading
Posted in people, street scenes
Tagged conference badges, George H. Hewitt Co., industrial markers, pet tags, rubber stamps
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Yellow Sub Records
The Yellow Submarine record shop shown above in 1975 and the commercial building to the left of it appear still to stand. Unfortunately, the baby-blue-coloured home on the other side of the Sub seems to be gone.
Posted in street scenes
Tagged 319 East Broadway, 323 East Broadway, fairway used cars, yellow submarine records
3 Comments
The Shark Has Pretty Teeth, Dear
Posted in hotels/motels/inns, street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged black cat, fort garry's, sandman inn, shark club
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I Can Live on Peanuts…
Posted in department stores, street scenes
Tagged army & navy, hastings street, labour, strike
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One of Our Early Flatirons
The building which was formerly the Hotel Europe (and, indeed, is still remembered as such) was designed by Parr and Fee for Angelo Calori and was constructed in 1908-09. It was, apparently, the third of Calori’s hotels. It isn’t clear where … Continue reading
Who is He When Not in His (Sentry) Box (1914-18)?
Posted in people, street scenes
Tagged bc, beatty street drill hall, duke of connaught's own rifles, great war, history, sentry, vancouver, world war I
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Strathcona Lane
The image above shows a former back lane in 1978, apparently then used principally for accessing the garage of 808 Hawkes Avenue (home on the right; not visible). The image below was made this week. It shows the home on … Continue reading
Posted in street scenes
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Wilson’s
This retail corner (SE Cordova and Granville) was anchored by a newspaper vendor called The Checking Depot in the 1910s (I suspect that this image was made in 1914 – the only year I could identify in BC Directories in which … Continue reading
Dairy, Apartment Block, Big Box
The early image above was made at the 2300 block of Yukon Street (near 7th Avenue and Cambie Street). Later, this block became less industrial and more residential. The wood frame apartment block which appears below was on the same side of the block … Continue reading
Posted in street scenes
Tagged apartmemts, bc, canadian tire, dairy, history, home depot, vancouver, winners
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Meet me at Birk’s Clock
Posted in street scenes
Tagged bc, castle hotel, georgia, granville, henry birks and sons, history, international cinema, vancouver
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Ashnola Area
This is a photograph which I believe has been misidentified by CVA. The City of Vancouver Archives identifies this scene as being on Cambie Street near 12th Avenue. But in fact, I believe it is the 2200 block of Main … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, people, street scenes
Tagged 2200 block, 6th avenue, bc, history, main street, vancouver
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The Arcade
Both of these images are looking roughly in the same direction (although the 2014 photo was taken a block further north from Hastings than was the ca1900 one). At the time the ca1900 image was made, the Dominion Trust Building … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, street scenes, yesterday & today
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Percy’s and Flo’s Garage
Nye’s Garage was designed by architects Townley and Matheson and built in 1922 at the corner of 2nd and Cambie for Percival and Florence Nye. The couple. who apparently ran the operation very much as a partnership, lived in an apartment … Continue reading
First Against Thirst
The image above was not taken too many years ago (relative to many images that appear here), and it is difficult to determine if the original wood frame structure has been demolished or given a new ‘skin’. It served as the home … Continue reading
Appropriated Orthodoxy
Work on the Fir Street off-ramp for the most recent Granville Bridge (construction 1952-53) has just begun in the image above and was at a more advanced stage in the photo below. The question that was most pressing for me was: Which church was … Continue reading
Seymour Billiards
The first image was taken on Nelson Street from near the back lane between Granville and Seymour streets. The second image was made on Seymour from Nelson Street looking north toward Smithe. The Vancouver (Ford) Motors building (which today houses Staples on … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, people, sport, street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged bc, nelson street, pool, seymour billiards, seymour street, sport, vancouver
2 Comments
Love the ‘Paint-In’ of ’66
The “paint-in” at the court house (which is, today, the Vancouver Art Gallery) in 1966 was apparently a response by artists to B. C. Premier W. A. C. Bennett’s wish to keep the installation of the Centennial Fountain at the … Continue reading
Posted in art, Ernie Reksten, L. F. Sheraton, people, street scenes
Tagged bc, centennial fountain, court house, georgia street, paint-in, vancouver, vancouver art gallery
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When Craftsman-Style Homes Ruled Nelson
This image of the quiet street of Nelson in the heart of West End, Vancouver, seems to be looking east, from the 2000 block (Chilco Street). The home on the right side of the street with the turret (middle distance) … Continue reading
Posted in street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged bc, byte street, nelson street, rand house, vancouver, west end
2 Comments
CCF-Brill Vancouver Trolley 2341
This trolley is stopped just north of Eaton’s department store (Granville and Robson; the stop is on the east side of Granville) in 1976 ; it is a model T48 (built 1954?) for BC Transit’s fleet of CCF-Brill trolleys. CCF stood for Canadian … Continue reading
Posted in Al Ingram, people, public transit, street scenes
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Ho Sun Hing Printers and Neighbours
The image above is of the 200 block of East Georgia Street (in Chinatown), made in the 1960s. If you compare this image with the one immediately below, there are really very few substantive changes to the buildings on the block, so … Continue reading
Watson Gloves
The image above was taken in an unknown year at the original manufacturing site of Watson Gloves — on East 2nd Avenue, just west of Main Street. I was walking in that neighbourhood this afternoon and spotted the entry to … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged bc, east 2nd avenue, main street, vancouver, watson gloves
1 Comment
Gas Warehouse
This is the last existing structure of Vancouver’s “gas works” (Sharp & Thompson, 1910). The warehouse appears to be the building center-left in the first image above. The city heritage plaque on the building notes that “the choice of this … Continue reading
Posted in street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged 131 keefer street, bc, columbia street, gas company warehouse, history, vancouver
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BCER Men’s Quarters
Architect Robert Lyon designed the Men’s Quarters of the B.C. Electric Railway (1913), shown under construction above. This structure is located at the SW corner of Main and Prior streets, across the street from where the BCER’s car barns were at … Continue reading
Posted in public transit, street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged "Robert Ryan", bc, BC Electric Railway, BCER, conductors, dormitories, Luxton, men, motormen, quarters, vancouver
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Vancouver Opera Association
These photos of the 100 block of Dunsmuir Street (between Cambie and Beatty) reveal quite different structures within a relatively brief period. In 1941, the YMCA (Edward E. Blackmore, 1905) was located here (although it faced onto Cambie, its longest wall was … Continue reading
Posted in books/reading, street scenes, W J Moore, yesterday & today
Tagged amec, bc, beatty street, dunsmuir street, opera association, Stantec, vancouver
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Rae-Son Shoe Rack?
The image above, made in 1974, is of 615-619 Seymour Street. At the time, tenants of the building were the Rae-Son Shoe Rack and the Salon George beauty salon. During the years that this art deco structure has been here (from 1936, … Continue reading
St. Regis
For some history on the St. Regis Hotel (W. T. Whiteway, 1912), see here.
Posted in hotels/motels/inns, street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged bc, dunsmuir street, history, seymour street, st regis hotel, vancouver
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The Murray
Posted in hotels/motels/inns, street scenes, stuart thomson, yesterday & today
Tagged bc, history, hornby street, murray hotel, vancouver
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Astor Hotel
The image above shows Vancouver Buisness College at 147 West Hastings (just east of Cambie) in 1904. By 1909, the space had been taken over by the Hotel Astor (not to be confused with the Hotel Astoria, which still stands today in … Continue reading
MacEwan Arts
This is the west-facing side of the Hartney Block. In 1974, McLeod’s Books was the principal retailer on the main floor. Holding down the back end of the building were MacEwan Art Supplies and Cassels Window Shade. Today, a funky … Continue reading
E. A. Morris
The E. A. Morris block has been restored to appear much as it looked in 1938 (to get some idea of how much restoration work was required, have a look at version of this building in 1974 that housed The … Continue reading
The Workingman’s Store
This is an image from the City of Vancouver Archives which I hadn’t noticed before. It is most interesting. First, it is worth getting oriented. We are looking north on Main Street and Stuart Thomson, the photographer, is standing with … Continue reading
Burrard Skytrain Station
Posted in advertising, churches, hotels/motels/inns, public transit, street scenes, stuart thomson, war, yesterday & today
Tagged ailsa lodge, ailsa rooms, bc, Belfred Hotel, burrard skytrain station, burrard street, Glencoe Lodge, history, hyatt regency hotel, macMillan bloedel building, melville street, Staples, vancouver, wesley methodist church
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Stuart Thomson’s Shop
This set shows “yesterday/today” images of an early shop of one of my favourite Vancouver photographers, Stuart Thomson. It was his shop in the 1910s and ’20s. He later moved up to Robson at Burrard (adjacent to the Toronto Dominion Bank). … Continue reading
Posted in people, Photographers, street scenes, stuart thomson
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Agnew Surpass Shoes
Posted in advertising, street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged agnew surpass, bc, history, shoes, vancouver
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Wesley Methodist from Thurlow
The view above is an atypical one. In the distance, of course, is the (unfinished?) Vancouver Block. The church in the middle distance/right is Wesley Methodist Church which in the 1930s would be demolished to make way for the Burrard Building … Continue reading
Remember to Tie Up Your Horse on Georgia
The “empty lot” where the horses are in the image above was then known as the CPR Park. By the 1970s, it would be Pacific Centre. The building across Georgia Street from the horses is Hotel Vancouver #1, where the Toronto … Continue reading
Whales Trumped Product Ads
The Whaling Wall on the former Continental Hotel is bowing to the wrecking ball this week. However, according to this link, there are plans to install a new whale mural somewhere in East Vancouver. The Orca mural, in my opinion, … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged bc, continental hotel, granville street bridge north, history, vancouver
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Hot Dog or Hamburger: 10 Cents
One could be forgiven for not recognizing this as one of the most popular and well-known spots in Vancouver’s Chinatown. The slimmest building in the city and home to Jack Chow Insurance today, it was in the 1930s, apparently, where … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, people, street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged bc, carrell street, history, jack chow insurance, lender street, vancouver
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Chocolate Shop Cafe
The building in which the Chocolate Shop Cafe once was housed has plainly been replaced since the 1920s. The toughies glaring out the window of the second story of the building might have given Stuart Thomson pause! Note: The sign atop … Continue reading
Model Boot Shop
These two images have a number of common features. Most of the buildings in this block have been retained over the years, including the Hotel Strathcona. And the space where the “Model Boot Shop” was located in 1936 today is occupied today by … Continue reading
Famous Cloak and Suit Co.
The first business occupying this site (adjacent to the Royal Bank building on the north side of Hastings near Granville) was the Leland Hotel Annex. The Leland Hotel’s main building (with its four big Greco-Roman columns at the front) was across … Continue reading
Downtown Granville Street
Among the intriguing elements to be seen when you click on the image above (for a closer view), is Harrron Bros., Undertakers (mid-image on the right). Note: I checked the name of the firm against BC Directories for the early years of … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, hotels/motels/inns, people, street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged bc, downtown, granville street, history, nelson street, smithe street, vancouver
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Hornby at Robson
Why is it that I cannot look at an image of a post-rainy day in Vancouver without seeing a scene with a noir-ish aspect — where all the men in their raincoats have slightly seedy motives and where even the … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, L. F. Sheraton, people, street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged bc, CFC loans, court house, credit fancier building, devonshire hotel, history, Hong Kong Shanghai Bank of Canada, hornby street, hotel vancouver #3, photolec cameras, robson street, vancouver, vancouver art gallery
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Hollywood Cafe
Before this space housed the Hollywood Cafe, it was the Blue Goose Cafe; later (by 1949) the Good Eats Cafe. Still later (1950) – and (if you are inclined to put faith in dates offered by CVA) earlier (1930) – this … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, street scenes, stuart thomson, yesterday & today
Tagged american apparel, bc, granville street, hollywood cafe, vancouver
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Esquire Cafe
For a 1969 image of the same space, see this earlier posting.
Posted in advertising, street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged bc, esquire cafe, granville, movieland arcade, smithe, vancouver
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Three Views of the Casa Loma Cafe
CVA 1184-3262. Cafe Casa Loma, 1940-48. Jack Lindsay photo. Note: This image has been cropped and otherwise edited. To see original image, go to CVA,)
Posted in advertising, people, street scenes, theatre/vaudeville/cinemas
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Third CPR Station/Waterfront Station Viewed from Seymour at Hastings
Posted in public transit, street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged bc, cordova street, cpr station, downtown, seymour street, vancouver, waterfront station
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BC Permanent Loan Co.
This building lived with the contradiction that was its name for a number of years (there is no such thing as a permanent loan, except in the nonsense-world of art galleries and museums). There is at least one other contradiction … Continue reading
Posted in interiors, street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged 330 W Pender, bc, history, Permanent Loan Co., photography, The Permanent, vancouver
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Farewell Ormidale
There are those who argue that preservation of a historic building’s facade is cause for celebration; that the building’s heritage is thereby preserved. I am not of that group. I believe that preserving a heritage building’s facade is preferable to destroying … Continue reading
Posted in people, street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged 151 W Hastings Street., bc, history, ormidale building, vancouver
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Catholic Taste
Posted in street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged bc, history, holy rosary catholic church, st. ann's academy, vancouver
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Hogan’s Alley
Hogan’s Alley, the only predominantly (though not exclusively) black neighbourhood in Vancouver was destroyed by the City in the late 1960s. The reasons were two-fold: partly it had to be demolished to make room for a highway that (thankfully) never … Continue reading
Posted in bridges/viaducts, street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged bc, history, hogan's alley, prior, union, vancouver
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Oakridge As It Was
This appears to be a sign advertising Oakridge Centre Mall at this location (southwest corner of Cambie and 41st). It was taken in 1970. Woodward’s department store was the initial anchor of the mall when it opened in 1959.
Posted in advertising, Al Ingram, people, public transit, street scenes
Tagged bc, history, mall, Oakridge centre, photography, retail, vancouver
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Hambro Building
The structure shown above from the 1930s was the Hambro block. “Hambro” almost certainly is a reference to the private London (UK)-based bank. Sort of a boring building, you say? I tend to agree. The exterior was quite dull – and the exterior … Continue reading
Posted in Photographers, street scenes, stuart thomson, W J Moore, yesterday & today
Tagged 775 dunsmuir, 777 dunsmuir, 791 dunsmuir, bc, E. J. Gibson, hambro, howe, photography, vancouver
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A Few of my Favourite Junk Yards
I confess to a longstanding fondness for junk yards; well, actually it is more accurate to say that I harbour a fondness for the idea of junk yards. This is a holdover, I think, from my pre-teen enchantment with The Three Investigators … Continue reading
Former Strathcona Park, Future City Hall
The photo above is a view of what would become within a couple of years the home of Vancouver’s City Hall. The site was known then as “Strathcona Park” (a name now given to a park that is actually within the … Continue reading
Posted in parks, street scenes
Tagged bc, cambie street, city hall, history, photography, strathcona park, vancouver
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Before Rogers Building
This image was made just prior to (and very likely in anticipation of) the construction on the corner of Granville and Dunsmuir of the Rogers Building. C. D. Rand, whose office is visibly prominent in the single-storey structure at the … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, people, street scenes
Tagged bc, C. D. Rand, granville street, history, pender street, photography, vancouver, VSE
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‘Big Yellow Taxi’ Syndrome
Okay, this block of admittedly quite humdrum-looking commercial properties here on Seymour St. (between Dunsmuir and Georgia and across Seymour from the Hudson’s Bay Company) doesn’t really count as a ‘paradise’, at least in my books. But it serves as an … Continue reading
100!
To celebrate my 100th post, published yesterday, I wanted to choose an image which was, to me, truly new. One I don’t remember ever seeing before, nor knowing anything about. This building was in the 100 (no coincidence) block of West … Continue reading
Posted in street scenes
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Billboardicus Giganticus
The enormity of the billboard showing a bespectacled gent shilling for Nabob is mildly shocking. Even more so that it appears to have been adjacent to a single family dwelling – although one that almost certainly was on a principal automobile route. But … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, street scenes
Tagged art deco, bc, billboards, history, nabob coffee, neon signs, photography, vancouver
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Early Occupants of the Main Flatiron Property
The image above has a semi-rural charm to it that is a feature of many Canadian photographs made during the Victorian period. The lad in the foreground was almost certainly standing where he was at the request of the now-unknown photographer … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged bc, Duthies, history, kingsway, main street, photography, vancouver, w.d.muir grocery
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Railway Club: 1974, 2014
The Railway Club has been at the northeast corner of Dunsmuir at Seymour (579 Dunsmuir) since 1931. The image above was taken in 1974; the one below in 2014. It was originally a member’s-only club, called the Railwaymen’s Club. In … Continue reading
Posted in businesses, street scenes
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Across From Pigeon Park
The corner across from Pigeon Park (or, more formally, Pioneer Square) is shown below in two images: the first was made sometime in the first decade of the 20th century; the second in 1926. This is the northeast corner of … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, street scenes
Tagged Bakery, dodson rooms, joseph dodson, northeast corner hastings and carrall, pigeon park, pioneer park
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Early Days of Labour
This image appears to have been shot on Dunsmuir Street, facing west towards Granville. The Bank of Montreal building at the time was located on the northeast corner of Granville at Dunsmuir and is the castle-like structure visible behind the float. … Continue reading
Posted in people, street scenes
Tagged bank of montreal, bc, carpenters and joiners, history, labour day, may day, trade unions, vancouver
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War Dance and Carnival, 1917
There was a four-day fundraiser called the War Dance and Carnival held May, 1917 on the Cambie Street Grounds and the adjacent ‘old’ Georgia Street Viaduct. The Carnival was sponsored by the B.C. Commercial Travellers’ Association in aid of four charities: the Red Cross Material … Continue reading
HV Fantasia
This HDR image is one I made about a year ago when I was feeling particularly sorrowful for the loss of the predecessor of the current Hotel Vancouver – the much more architecturally interesting hotel that was located two blocks … Continue reading
Posted in hotels/motels/inns, street scenes
Tagged bc, black tower, georgia street, granville street, history, Hotel Vancouver, td tower, vancouver
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Cobblestone Lane
These images were taken from roughly the same location. In both, the photographer was facing south in a back lane just north of Water Street in Gastown and opposite what once was known as Homer Street Arcade and today is called … Continue reading
Posted in street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged bc, history, homer street arcade, le magasin, vancouver, water street
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Wild About Arches
From the incorporation of Vancouver through the early decades of the 20th century, residents of Vancouver were nuts about erecting arches. Most arches were constructed to celebrate special occasions and visits of dignitaries. There are photographic examples in the City of Vancouver Archives … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, street scenes
Tagged arches, bc, Connaught, history, Li Hongzhang, lumbermen's arch, millennium gate, peace arch, stanley park, vancouver
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Burrard Inlet Waterfront Reclamation
These two images, made 78 years apart, were taken from roughly the same location. It is apparent from these images that in the years since the 1930s, much commercial waterfront land has been ‘reclaimed’ by building up and northwards. In … Continue reading
Posted in boats/ships, street scenes
Tagged bc, Burrard inlet, history, marine building, north vancouver, reclamation, vancouver, waterfront
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Electric Vaudeville
The building pictured above at the corner of Main Street and what was then the eastern end of the Georgia Viaduct is what was once a centre of Vancouver vaudeville, the Avenue Theatre building. The Avenue was a little off the beaten … Continue reading
Posted in street scenes, theatre/vaudeville/cinemas, W. E. Frost
Tagged avenue, bc, georgia viaduct, history, imperial, main street, theatre, vancouver, vaudeville, venus
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