Pantages Theatre

On January 1, 2020 the Polar Bear Swim celebrated its 100th anniversary. It was by far the biggest year ever, with about 7,000 people hitting the water of English Bay. Being an Aussie, I really don’t get the appeal of plunging into frigid salty water, but I do love the history behind this crazy local… Continue reading Peter Pantages and the Polar Bear Swim

I’m writing a book about John F.C.B. Vance, the first forensic scientist in Vancouver, and this week I wrote about his first day of work as the new City Analyst. My book is non-fiction, but sometimes you need some creative license. My challenge was to get to get Vance from his house in Yaletown to… Continue reading May 1, 1907: A Trip Across Vancouver

This is part four in an occasional series that asks people who work in and around heritage to tell us their favourite buildings and the one that we should never have destroyed. Anne Banner: Anne Banner is the proprietress of Salmagundi, an antiques, oddities and novelties shop located in the J.W.Horne Block.  My favourite existing… Continue reading Heritage Streeters with Anne Banner, Tom Carter, Kerry Gold and Anthony Norfolk

Continuing on with a series I started earlier this year, I’ve asked a few friends to tell me their favourite Vancouver building and the one they miss the most. Michael Kluckner      Michael is the author of a dozen books. His most recent is Toshiko, a graphic novel set in BC in 1944. He… Continue reading Heritage Streeters with Michael Kluckner, Jess Quan, Lani Russwurm and Lisa Anne Smith

It’s hard to imagine that 100 years ago the Hastings Street area had a thriving theatre district, filled with opulent buildings, cafes and people, and known as the “Hastings Great White Way.” Story from Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History In past blogs I’ve written about the Strand, the Pantages and the Empress;… Continue reading Vancouver’s Missing Theatres

I was standing on the 7th floor of the Regent Hotel a few weeks back when a rat the size of my miniature schnauzer blew past. I just managed to stop myself from vaulting on top of John Atkin’s shoulders (the tallest structure in the hallway). John, it turns out, doesn’t just know buildings and… Continue reading Vancouver’s Regent Hotel

This is one list you don’t want your name on. Crosscut, a blog out of Seattle, released it’s Heritage Turkeys of the Year list, what it calls “who did most to raze, wreck, uproot, neglect and generally trash our historic treasures in 2011” Metro Vancouver made the cut twice. The Pantages for demolition of historic theatre… Continue reading Heritage Turkeys

The Empress Theatre on West Hastings went up in 1908 and came down in 1940, and in its heyday it had the biggest stage west of Chicago. In the 1930s it was owned by Hollywood stars Fay Holden and David Clyde who also owned a house on 51st Avenue in East Vancouver