From Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History In February 2014, Canada Post came out with two stamps in recognition of Black History Month. One shows Hogan’s Alley, the unofficial name for an area near Union and Main Streets and home to much of Vancouver’s early black community. The other is of Nora Hendrix… Continue reading Recognizing Black History: The Canada Post Stamps

Marsha Fuller was cleaning out a client’s attic in Western Maryland a couple of weeks ago when she came across this postcard of a traffic accident featuring a Grandview street car in 1909. Marsha’s company, Your Mother’s Attic, helps the relatives of the newly dead sort out what is often a lifetime of possessions—she often comes across these… Continue reading An Accidental Postcard

Tom Carter is a Vancouver-based artist known for exploring the city’s gritty urban environments. Heritage Loft: I visited Tom Carter in his heritage loft a couple of weeks ago. It was the same afternoon that we climbed up to the top of the Sun Tower, in what was in 1912, the tallest building in the… Continue reading Meet Tom Carter Artist

A couple of weeks ago my friend Tom Carter and I climbed to the top of the Sun Tower, one of my favourite buildings in Vancouver. It’s also one of our most familiar landmarks, and at one time the tallest building in the British Empire when mayor, L.D. Taylor had it built over a century… Continue reading The Sun Tower: On Top of the World

Story from Sensational Vancouver I spent the afternoon with architect Peter Pratt at his home in the British Properties yesterday. Peter’s father Ned Pratt designed the house in the early 1950s and lived there for most of his life. You’ve likely never heard of Ned Pratt, I hadn’t until recently, and I find that really… Continue reading Ned Pratt’s West Coast Modern House

2895 Newmarket Drive, North Vancouver: “Steps to Edgemont Village – exceptional location! This three-bedroom Hollingsworth designed rancher has incredible potential to renovate or build new on this 8050 sq. ft. lot. Classic post and beam style w/open living areas including incredible gardens, a large private rear patio off the family room featuring a built in… Continue reading Our Missing West Coast Modern Heritage: what were we thinking?

Steveston’s Finn Slough. Shanty slum or quaint fishing village? Finn Slough: We biked to Finn Slough last Thursday. It’s located at the end of No. 4 Road about six clicks from Steveston. Depending on what you read or who you talk to, it’s either a quaint little fishing village or a bunch of degenerates squatting… Continue reading Steveston’s Finn Slough

The story of the Alexander Street brothels is featured in Sensational Vancouver.  Janice Abbott, CEO of Atira Women’s Resource Society, took me on a tour of some new real estate Friday—a dozen brightly coloured orange and blue recycled shipping containers piled on top of each other like giant lego blocks. This housing—the first social housing… Continue reading From Brothel to Teen Housing

The Marine Building is one of Vancouver’s most treasured buildings, a gorgeous example of Art Deco. So why did we destroy our other one?  From Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History The Devonshire Apartments, the Georgia Medical-Dental Building and the Marine Building were all designed by McCarter & Nairne architects.* The Devonshire was… Continue reading Our Missing Heritage — What were we thinking? (Part 1)

Almost 40 years ago, Rosemary Eng and her husband Alan Merridew moved to Vancouver from Chicago to take up a job at the Province.  They bought the 100-year-old North Vancouver house, raised their son Peter now 38, and as Rosemary prepares to pack up and leave, she has written the story of her house.  … Continue reading The Story of 323 East 24th Street

Excerpt from Sensational Vancouver When I write a history book there’s always one character that really captures my attention. In At Home with History it was Alvo von Alvensleben. In Sensational Victoria it was Spoony Sundher, and in Sensational Vancouver, it’s Vancouver City Police Detective Joe Ricci—a kick-arse cop from the old school. I got… Continue reading Joe Ricci’s Vancouver

I thought the Marine Building was built by the Guinness family until I started doing some research on this Art Deco icon—one of my favourite buildings in Vancouver.  And while the Guinness family did eventually own it, the developer was a local guy who made a fortune during Prohibition. From Sensational Vancouver Joe Hobbs: Joe… Continue reading The Marine Building – Built on Rum

Asayo Murakami, Canada’s last picture bride, arrived in BC in 1923. She took one look at the man who met her ship, and instead of marrying him, spent the next three years paying back the $250 passage. Asayo is thought to be Canada’s last picture bride–an early version of the mail order bride. What I loved… Continue reading Asayo Murakami: Canada’s last picture bride

Nikki Renshaw is throwing a party to celebrate her house’s 100th birthday. But first she wants to invite as many former residents, owners and relatives as she can find. Thanks to help from uber house detective James Johnstone she already knows their names, but she’s having trouble tracking people who had a connection to her… Continue reading Wanted: Past Residents for a 100th Birthday Bash

I got a call from Bobbi Spark yesterday. Bobbi is a former Hospice boss and runs a research and reporting company in Abbotsford. The Southlands Community Association hired her to look at the issues flying around Casa Mia, the former Reifel-owned mansion on South West Marine Drive. These days the Reifel’s are best known as… Continue reading From Casa Mia to Lynn Valley: Development is coming

From Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History Every year Ross Dyck, general manager of the Sylvia Hotel opens about 600 handwritten letters from fans of Mister Got to Go, mostly kids in Grades one and two. And every year he personally answers every one of them. Dyck has worked in the hotel industry… Continue reading The Sylvia Hotel turns 100

Vancouver Hobbit House has sold. It’s one of three in Metro Vancouver designed by Ross Lort The  Hobbit House has sold. David Mooney already owns the properties to the west and is looking to incorporate the West Kind Edward property into a town house development. Mooney works with W.T. Leung Architects and has retained heritage consultant Don… Continue reading The Hobbit House Sold

I’ve been writing about murder houses for a few years now and I’ve turned up everything from a North Vancouver shop keeper butchered by the Black Hand, to a poet beaten to death in her East Vancouver home, to the quiet Colwood home where a Victoria man murdered his wife and then found her head… Continue reading Would you buy a murder house?

From Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History To the Deep Cove residents who were so enraged by this chunk of steel. Thank you. We love our tree. I was walking my dog in Princess Park last week and came across this fabulous tree sculpture hidden in the forest. According to a small plaque,… Continue reading The Other Tree in Princess Park

*See update Hobbit House sold I toured the Hobbit House this week. The South Cambie house is one of two story book cottages in Vancouver—a third is in West Van. The house has had a ton of media attention since it went up for sale, mostly speculation about its imminent demise. Realtor Mary Ellen Maasik… Continue reading Vancouver’s Hobbit House