Eve Lazarus
The PNE kicks off today (Saturday August 17) and runs until September 2.
In 1992, I worked at the Vancouver Sun and that year I spent most of my August shifts at the PNE.
One day I’d write about the rodeo clown who had broken every bone in his body at least once.
Every other week I receive a heartbreaking message from someone asking about a missing friend, or a missing or murdered relative that no one has heard from or about in decades. Mostly, they want to know if that person was ever found or if their murder was eventually solved. I start by looking up the case on newspapers.com, and when I have more information, I write up a post and put it up on my Facebook page on the last day that person was seen or found murdered.
Last week’s blog on Kitsilano featuring Bruce Stewart’s photos, brought back memories and a healthy does of nostalgia from those of you who were lucky to have known Kits in the ‘70s.
In this week’s blog I’m delighted to bring you photos from Angus McIntyre, Gord McCaw, Peter Dobo and a couple more from Bruce, interspersed with your comments.
I lived at three different addresses along West 3rd in Kitsilano between 1984 and 1995. And, while I loved the beach, the restaurants, West 4th Avenue, and Granville Island, I would have liked to have known Kits in the 1970s.
An essay in photos by Bruce Stewart
Kits Pool:
Fortunately, Bruce Stewart spent half of that decade living in a $280 a month (heat and hot water included) apartment at 2340 Cornwall Avenue, just across from Kits pool.
Emily Carr’s 100-year-old Oak Bay cabin could be yours for $5.5 million dollars! The good news is that it comes with a 10-bedroom heritage house designed by Samuel Maclure.
In 1913, Emily Carr paid $900 for a plot of land on Victoria Avenue in Oak Bay. According to a story,* she built a 12 by 20 foot cabin the following year, “nail by nail” at a cost of $150 with the help of “one old carpenter.”
Assessment records show that the builder was Thomas Cattarall, the same “old carpenter” who built Craigdarroch for the Dunsmuir family and later worked with architect Samuel Maclure on Hatley Castle.
The Nanaimo to Vancouver bathtub race ran from 1967 to 1996
When I moved to Vancouver in the mid 1980s, I lived in an apartment at Third and Cypress in Kitsilano. Over the next 12 years, I moved two more times up Third Avenue, and one of my summer highlights was heading down to the beach every July for the Nanaimo to Vancouver bathtub races.
Do you remember the fountain at Lonsdale Quay? It had sails on top of a tiled base of green and blue swirls and whales and octopus and starfish. When my kids were small it was the best part of a visit next to ice cream and the ball room.
It broke down in 2020 and cost $300,000 to fix, now the only thing left to remember it by, is a round piece of asphalt used to patch the hole in the concrete.
June is Italian heritage month, and this year Italian Days was held on Sunday June 9, 2024
I hate crowds, so I can’t give you a first-hand account of Italian Days this year. Having watched a couple of YouTube videos though, I can tell you that it was a gorgeous day that drew thousands of people to eat, drink and be entertained on Commercial Drive in what the Italians (or possibly City Hall) are billing as the largest cultural street festival in Vancouver.
