Category Archives: people
Stauffer’s and Mitten’s Arctic Club
The Arctic Club was one of several cocktail and supper clubs in Vancouver in the ’30s, 40s, and ’50s (including the Quadra, the World, and Jean Fuller’s). According to recollections of the Arctic Club at the Vancouver Jazz Forum, it was a … Continue reading
Posted in cafes/restaurants/eateries, interiors, people
Tagged 718 W Pender, Arctic Brotherhood Club, Arctic Club, Bob Mitten, Chris Gage, F. A. Menzies, history, Ken Stauffer, leonard's cafe, liberal party, Lulubelle, Quadra Club, Robert White, Rolph Harris, Stan Grozina, The Cave, Tom Carter, vancouver, Vancouver Jazz Forum, World Club
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Vending Before Food Trucks
Posted in Al Ingram, people, street scenes, yesterday & today
Tagged bc, beatty street drill hall, Canadian Youth Hostel Bike Hike, commodore lanes, english bay, european-style wieners, expo 86, food vendors, granville street, history, hot dog stand, hudson's bay company, japadog, lemon soda, Pineapple Vending Machine, popcorn stand, Sea Festival, stanley park, vancouver
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When Flying Was Still Exotic
Update This image is one of several available online at VPL showing Clancy’s Sky Diner Cafe. This unusual cafe took clever advantage of the long, narrow interior space to create the impression of a DC-3 aircraft fuselage. The Sky Diner … Continue reading
Remembrance Services Past at First Baptist Church
Update I was browsing through images in the Vancouver Public Library historical photos database this morning; I saw the image above and almost immediately recognized it for what it was (and what had, apparently, been forgotten or mislaid in the … Continue reading
Sea of Hats
Updated This is a somewhat unusual view of the Cambie Street Recreation Grounds (for ome later years, the site of the long-distance bus station, later still – optimistically – dubbed Larwill Park and serving as a City car park with … 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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J. H. Carlisle: A Man of Firsts
Update First Posted July 2015 J. H. Carlisle (1857-1941) accomplished several “firsts”. He was the first Sunday School Superintendent of First Baptist Church (FBC), before it was formally organized; his name was the first listed among the charter members of FBC when the … Continue reading
Pet/Person Fountain . . . Gone.
On October 1, 1986 – in Vancouver’s centennial year – this fountain was established on the north side of Robson street, a half-block east of Burrard (in front of the retail space that at that time housed the main store of … Continue reading
Posted in people
Tagged bc, history, robson and hornby streets, theresa galloway, vancouver, vancouver centennial, water fountain
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Lads and Strays BENEATH the Platform, Please!
The photo above was made in 1943 on the occasion of (among other things, perhaps) the crowning of the Air Raid Precautions (A.R.P.), District 16 “Queen” Viola Balzer from among other contenders for the crown (some of whom, I assume, … Continue reading
Posted in Don Coltman, parks, people
Tagged A.R.P., Air Raid Precautions, amputee, bc, boys, East Indian ancestry, girls, history, Queen, vancouver, Viola Balzer, world war 2
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An Audi Baritone: Update
Originally published October 2014. Who is the apparent rock star above? A fellow who, in his day, was a household word: American opera baritone, John Charles Thomas. Today, his vocal stylings are not quite forgotten (although his name is all … Continue reading
Posted in biography, music, people
Tagged bc, history, john charles thomas, kellys appliances, photography, vancouver
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The ‘Heebie Jeebies’
When I first ran across this image in the City of Vancouver Archive online images, I was inclined to be scornful. Until I remembered some of the ads I’ve seen in recent years for so-called ‘body sculpting solutions’ and a wide … Continue reading
Posted in Artray, First Baptist Church, Vancouver, people
Tagged bc, glamour, history, nelson street, retail, slenderizing, vancouver
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A Five-Hour Tour
87 years ago this month, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester,** came to Vancouver for a few days of R & R (or, rather, G & P . . . Golf and Polo) before a planned itinerary that was to include a stop … Continue reading
Posted in people, stuart thomson
Tagged bc, British Royal Family, Duke of Gloucester, history, Prince Henry, Tour, vancouver
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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
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Cecil Akrigg and Stan Lowe Go for a Climb
Cecil Akrigg and Stan Lowe were in their 20s when they made these images to remember their adventures in and around the Lion’s Gate Bridge ca 1939. No mention is made as to whether their climb up the bridge tower (of … Continue reading
Posted in biography, bridges/viaducts, people
Tagged bc, history, lions gate bridge, photography, vancouver
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Risky Swinging in the ’20s
This couple appear pretty relaxed, given that they are suspended by a none-too-sturdy-looking cable over what I believe (but cannot prove) is Seymour Creek in North Vancouver. I’m led to conclude that it is probably Seymour Creek mainly from context. There are a … Continue reading
Posted in parks, people, Uno Langmann Collection
Tagged bc, cable tram, history, north vancouver, vancouver
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Val Quan
Late-breaking information on Val Quan (June 13, 2016): See comment from Bonnie, Val’s grand-daughter. She kindly provided some additional details. The information she supplied has been incorporated below. Val Quan (sometimes spelled Quon), his second wife, Pauline, and their family … Continue reading
Posted in biography, churches, First Baptist Church, Vancouver, people
Tagged bc, history, Pauline Quan, Val Quan, vancouver
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John Morton
CVA 677-509 – [Studio portrait of John] Morton and second wife Ruth Morton 190- John Morton (1834-1912) was one of the first residents – arguably the first resident, although others have laid claim to the distinction – of modern-day Vancouver. … Continue reading
Posted in biography, churches, First Baptist Church, Vancouver, people
Tagged bc, Bruce A. Woods, Convention Baptists, Donald O. Anderson, Fellowship Baptists, history, John Morton, Mountainview Christian Fellowship, Regular Baptists, Robert K. Burkinshaw, Ruth Morton Memorial Baptist Church, Ruth Mount Morton, vancouver
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Rev. Dr. Elbert Paul, First Baptist Pastor
This is an image of a Senior Minister of First Baptist Church, Elbert Paul (1902-1985). He served the church for nineteen years (1932-51), the longest period to date. He took on the pastorship in a time of significant challenge: it … Continue reading
Vancouver DIDN’T Need Vander Zalm, as it Turned Out.
This image is from one of three Non-Partisan Association TV advertisements made for Vancouver mayoral candidate in 1984, Bill Vander Zalm, and the other NPA candidates for City Council that year. You may well have forgotten (or not realized) that ‘the … Continue reading
Posted in biography, people, politics
Tagged bc, Bill Vander Zalm, Don Bellamy, George Puil, Gordon Campbell, history, Mike Harcourt, Philip Owen, vancouver
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PNE Multiplex vs. BC Place
According to a very good history of the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE), Vancouver’s Fair, a Multiplex was formally endorsed by the association in 1978 as a way of overhauling the PNE physical plant in Hastings Park. It was proposed that the Multiplex … Continue reading
Posted in people, PNE, politics, Robert Dibble, sport
Tagged B-C Pier, bc, BC Place Stadium, Bill Bennett, Breen & Coates, Canada Place, Erwin Swangard, history, Multiplex, vancouver, Vancouver's Fair
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Reg Rose
Reg Rose was born in England in 1901 and came to Canada in 1912. After serving in the Royal Canadian Volunteer Reserves, 1916-19, and taking several short-term jobs, he began working for the YMCA, serving in Calgary, Lethbridge and Edmonton as the Secretary of that organization. In … Continue reading
Scenic Subterranean Studio 20
The above portrait is of gently eccentric Jurgen Gothe (1944-2015), during his years as CBC Radio’s host of DiscDrive. He died in April. DiscDrive was produced from what Gothe regularly referred to on-air as “Scenic Subterranean Studio 20” in Vancouver’s CBC building at … Continue reading
Posted in broadcasting, music, people
Tagged bc, cbc, DiscDrive, history, Jurgen Gothe, Michael Enright, radio, Rewind, vancouver
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Zukerman’s Bassoon
This portrait shows Greater Vancouver solo bassoonist, George B. Zukerman, in his prime in 1951. There are online bios of GBZ available here and here (and elsewhere). Here is Zukerman playing his “calling card”, Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto in B-Flat Major (First Movement), among a … Continue reading
Posted in biography, music, people
Tagged bassoon, CBC Radio 2, classical music, George B. Zukerman, This is My Music
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Congregational Church Picnic?
The image below is an early one from the City of Vancouver Archives (CVA). On the glass positive of the image, there are notes; these are difficult to make out, but I’m pretty sure it reads as follows, starting at the … Continue reading
Funland Amusement Arcade (The Orillia)
This is an inspired image by Otto F Landauer of part of The Orillia block (SW corner Robson and Seymour) in its full colour (in every way!) in contrast with the duotones of the new RBC building on Robson at Granville. For … Continue reading
Canterbury Coffee Shop
This photo makes me smile. It shows one of my favourite things (a coffee shop) on one of my most frequented walking streets (Burrard) and features a marching band, to boot! The band appears to be on one of the … Continue reading
The Robert Marrion Family
I find the photograph above to be a very charming early Vancouver vignette. It was made, according to City of Vancouver archivists, in 1897 at Greer’s Beach – which today is known as Kitsilano Beach – and shows (among others) … Continue reading
Posted in people
Tagged bc, cornwall avenue, Greer's Beach, history, John McLaren, Kitsilano Beach, vancouver, Yew Street
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A Man of Influence from UBC
The undergraduate pictured third from the left in the UBC photo above would become an Ottawa ‘mandarin’ within a few years of the date this exposure was made. In 1929, Norman Robertson joined the Department of External Affairs in Ottawa, and by 1941 … Continue reading
Posted in biography, people, politics
Tagged bc, department of external affairs, history, jack granatstein, mandarins, norman a. robertson, ottawa, vancouver
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Photographers of the Pacific Northwest in Vancouver
With panorama images of this sort (of which W J Moore was an acknowledged local professional specialist), I like to use the magnifying icon to inspect individual faces and speculate on what each person may have been thinking at the time … Continue reading
Posted in people, Photographers, W J Moore
Tagged 1920s, bc, history, pacific northwest, photographers, vancouver
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Which of These Things Doesn’t Belong (Today)?
Posted in hospitals/health care, L. F. Sheraton, people
Tagged 1959, ashtrays, bc, Centennial Pavillion, history, smoking, vancouver, Vancouver General Hospital
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1960s Camera Shop Interior
The images below show a couple of interior views of an unnamed camera shop taken (it is estimated by the City of Vancouver Archives) sometime in the 1960s. I wondered if these were early shots of Leo’s Camera Supply on Granville near … Continue reading
Posted in businesses, L. F. Sheraton, people
Tagged 1960s, bc, cameras, history, Leo's Camera Supply, vancvouer
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Gift of the Gods
This image of a PNE float is, in my judgement, one of the most outrageous of those I have seen. It was a bit of a puzzle, at first, as to just what was being advertised. The central figure – … Continue reading
Posted in L. F. Sheraton, people, PNE
Tagged apple blossom festival, bc, gift of the gods, history, vancouver, Washington state, wenatchee, women
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27,000 Miles Through Space!
The programming available in 1978 from Jerold Cable Converters seems uninspiring, but perhaps that’s just me. Maybe there was more of an audience at that time for House of Commons TV, the CBC Northern Service (in both official languages, no … Continue reading
Forgotten Chinatown Playground
The newly-opened playground (in 1928) which is shown in Photos A and B was, according to CVA’s notes, somewhere near the intersection of Carrall and Pender Streets in Chinatown. But where exactly the playground was located is a bit of … Continue reading
Posted in P. T. Timms, people, sport
Tagged bc, carrall street, chinatown, Chinese Freemasons, Chinese Times, history, Peking Chop Suey House, pender street, Sam Kee, vancouver
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Richard “The Troll” – Former Rhino Leader – Missed in 2015
Canadians are in the midst of a tedious federal election campaign with no truly interesting leaders nor stimulating platforms. I for one am missing Richard “The Troll” Schaller, of North Vancouver, the former western caucus chairman of the Rhinoceros Party (their ‘prime directive’: … Continue reading
Posted in people, politics
Tagged bc, federal elections, fringe parties, history, north vancouver, Rhinoceros Party, Richard "The Troll" Schaller, vancouver
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Mystery of the Dog in the Manger
If you look closely at the blackboard of this image of the Model School (at Cambie and 12th; still standing, although the interior has been altered to make it City Square shopping mall), you can see part of the lesson for the … Continue reading
Early Tech for “Readin’, ‘Ritin’ and ‘Rithmetic”
Most of the school supplies in this office building are recognizable to me. The 1930s version of the Remington typewriter, of course (with that almost unheard of technology, carbon paper inserted), variations on early document copiers (which I’m tempted to refer … Continue reading
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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Jubilee Methodist Men in Drag
This amusing photo may be one of the final images made (and certainly one of the last professional photos made) at Jubilee Methodist Church in Burnaby before it became Jubilee United Church later in 1925. Jubilee Church was located on Kingsway near Imperial … Continue reading
The Grants
This wedding party photo is important, in my opinion, for a couple of reasons. It is one of the first records of an outdoor wedding in the Lower Mainland, to the best of my knowledge. And it is the last photograph … Continue reading
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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Whetham Block/CP Telecom Building
The City of Vancouver Archives claims in the Scope and Content section of the record for this photo that it “shows the Wetham Block”. This is a typographical error; it should read “Whetham Block”, named after Dr. James Whetham. There is … Continue reading
When the Subject was Not Human
Although one might be tempted to identify the humans in this photograph as the principal subjects, I don’t think that is the case. It seems more likely to me that the prime subject of this image is the huge living … Continue reading
Posted in homes/apts/condos, interiors, people
Tagged 1940s, Don Coltman, home, Mrs. C.J. McIntosh
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Pollard’s Lilliputian Opera Company in Vancouver
The troupe appearing above was one of the touring groups of the Australian theatre troupe known as Pollard’s Lilliputian Opera Company. The company was made up of actors under 14 years of age, and most of them were female. They specialized in offering comic/light operas … Continue reading
Pierre Berton (1920-2004) at UBC
For a pretty good summation of Berton’s life and accomplishments, see this CBC television news broadcast on the occasion of his death.
Posted in people, yesterday & today
Tagged bc, berton, history, journalist, pierre, post-secondary education, UBC, ubyssey, vancouver
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Scads of Humans Watching the ‘Fly’
According to the Vancouver dailies of the time, there were 10,000 people watching as Harry Gardiner, the “human fly”, climbed the exterior of the World Tower (later, the Sun Tower) without any special climbing equipment, wearing street clothes and his … Continue reading
Posted in people, sport, stuart thomson
Tagged bc, beatty street, harry gardiner, history, human fly, skyscraper, sun tower, tallest building in british empire, vancouver, world tower
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Timeless Reminder
Posted in people, stuart thomson
Tagged bc, Forest fire prevention, history, vancouver
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‘My, but you are a wee lass’
Posted in people, sport, stuart thomson
Tagged bc, caledonian games, discus throw, highland games, history, scots, scottish games, vancouver
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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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First Baptist Footie Champs
This photo makes me smile. It was taken in 1925 by one of my favourite early Vancouver photographers, Stuart Thomson, at the present site of First Baptist Church (Burrard and Nelson Streets). The young men in the image were apparently a … Continue reading
Hooray for (un-sung) Eveleigh!
Sydney Morgan Eveleigh (1870-1947) was a Vancouver architect. He was born in England, coming to Vancouver in 1888. He worked with early Vancouver architect Noble Hoffar for several years and later struck a partnership with William T. Dalton. After Dalton … Continue reading
Things Still are a Little Chaotic Here
Posted in people, public transit
Tagged carrell street, crowds, main street, streetcar
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Fisherman’s Union
Untitled art. Fisherman’s Union Building (1968), Leonard Epp artist. This pre-cast concrete relief triptych is on three sides of the former Fisherman’s Union building (1968) at NE corner East Hastings and Hawkes (today, home to AIDS Vancouver). According to Steil’s and Stalker’s … Continue reading
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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The Burger with the Brand (1954)
These photos were made by Artray apparently to accompany advertising copy. These two were part of a series of several similar images.
The Original Cellar, 2514 Watson (1956-63)
Partly visible behind the head of the fellow far left is The Trio (1954), an enamelled linocut by Vancouver artist Harry Webb. Go here for the only known film images of the original Cellar club (and a few seconds showing bearded artist … 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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Caretaker, Beatty Street Drill Hall (1973)
Posted in people
Tagged 1973, beatty street drill hall, caretaker, duke of connaught's own vancouver, dunsmuir street, staff
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We’re Here for Joe
This image was made during the 1978 Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) at Hastings Park. It takes me back to the beginnings of my political awareness, Joe Clark’s all-too-brief period as the last of the Red Tory leaders of the Progressive … Continue reading
Posted in biography, people, politics
Tagged bc, Fraser Valley, history, PNE, Progressive Conservative Party, Robert L. Wenman, vancouver
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Banjo King at Tea for Opening of Burrard Bridge
This image puzzled me at first. When I first saw it, I assumed that the people were at the head table of the tea following the opening ceremonies of the Burrard Bridge. But why would world-renowned vaudeville banjoist (centre), Eddie … Continue reading
Posted in biography, people, Photographers, stuart thomson
Tagged banjo, bc, eddie peabody, history, mayor ld taylor, vancouver, vaudeville
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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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Early Church Memories
This image reminds me of growing up in church, as I did in an Alberta town in the 1960s-70s. Our church was much smaller than the one pictured above (which was, in turn, probably considered ‘small’ for its time in … Continue reading
Posted in churches, people, Photographers, stuart thomson
Tagged 1920s, bc, church, clothing, history, kids, Stuart Thomson photographer, Sunday best, vancouver
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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
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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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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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Sweat of the Brow
CVA doesn’t identify who these workers were, nor what kind of work they did. The gent in the waistcoat holding the rope looked familiar to me and so I sifted through some of the CVA “industrial” images made roughly in … Continue reading
Posted in interiors, people
Tagged bc, history, labourers, managers, supervisors, vancouver, workers
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Live Long, and Prosper
Leonard Nimoy died yesterday, and so I’m re-posting this — one of my earliest Vancouver As it Was posts from almost a year ago — in honour of Nimoy. As I argue at the end of this post, I still think it … Continue reading
Posted in books/reading, parks, people
Tagged bc, harding memorial, jewish, leonard nimoy, live long and prosper, stanley park, star trek, vancouver, vulcan
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Charles “Clixby” Watson
This Vancouver longshoreman (I’m assuming) was painted by UK artist Charles “Clixby” Watson (1906-64) sometime in the 1950s. On this fellow’s back appears a tattoo of the Vancouver coat of arms, as it then was. The city’s motto was “By Sea … Continue reading
Posted in art, people
Tagged bc, charles "clixby" watson, longshoreman, sea worker, vancouver, vancouver coat of arms
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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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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
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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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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Aimee Semple McPherson in Vancouver
The image above shows Aimee Semple McPherson with a welcoming crowd shortly after arriving in 1930 at Vancouver’s Great Northern Railway Depot (demolished in 1965, the GNR Depot was just north of the CN Rail Depot which still stands and today serves as the long-distance bus … Continue reading
Posted in biography, books/reading, churches, people, stuart thomson
Tagged aimee semple mcpherson, anna d. britton, bc, canadian foursquare church, David Raymond Elliot, evangelist, great northern railway, history, L.I.F.E. college, matthew avery sutton, minnie kennedy, pacific life college, pentecostal, 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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Latter-Day Ornithopter?
I’m pleased that there was someone on hand – someone who knew something about wingsuits, I hope – to check this guy’s equipment. But where is the head examiner?!
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A ‘Tent’ for French
The building under construction in the photo above is what would be the setting of evangelistic meetings from May – July, 1917. The structure was known as the Evangelistic Tabernacle and was located on the site where Victory Square is … Continue reading
An Insincere Star? Never!
The image above seems to have been taken as part of a fund-raising effort by the Kinsmen and Kinettes clubs of Canada to raise cash for the purchase of powdered milk in wartime Britain. The female model is unknown to me. The male … Continue reading
Posted in advertising, people, Photographers
Tagged bc, history, jack lindsay, milk-for-britain drive, photography, vancouver, Victor Mature, world war 2
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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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Fred Hartsook Photo
The portrait shown above is of vaudeville (and later motion picture) actor, Broderick O’Farrell. Not very much appears to be known today of Mr. O’Farrell except the little that may be found here. (Could he have been anything but an … Continue reading
Posted in Fred Hartsook, people, Photographers, theatre/vaudeville/cinemas
Tagged avenue theatre, bc, broderick o'farrell, Fred Hartsook, history, vancouver, vaudeville
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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
Precursors
Charles Bradbury (1871-1950) is the amateur photographer who made this image. Camera Workers has this to say about him: Originally from Great Britain, Bradbury emigrated to Canada from Borneo. A telegrapher, he photographed throughout the Vancouver region as well as along the … Continue reading
Posted in biography, interiors, people
Tagged alexander street, caligraph typewriter, charles bradbury, cpr, glass insulator, james h. field, telegraph
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Fearless Loathing?
The look on the face of the girl looking over her shoulder is, in my opinion, priceless. She seems to be looking toward one of the leaders of this (early girl scouts?) group — a male. And it’s plainly not a look of … Continue reading
Posted in parks, people, Photographers, sport, stuart thomson
Tagged bc, girl scouts, history, Stuart Thomson, vancouver
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Vancouver As It Was: A Photo-Historical Journey 