Eve Lazarus
Muriel “Capi” Wylie Blanchet of Vancouver Island died in 1961 without ever knowing what an incredible success her book would become.
Capi’s story is part of the “Legendary Women” chapter in Sensational Victoria.
Capi Blanchet was found dead in 1961, slumped over her typewriter while writing a sequel to The Curve of Time.
The Switzer house of West Vancouver was designed one Sunday, painted pink, and received attention from all over the world.
840 Mathers:
In 1960, the Taylor Way interchange on the Upper Levels Highway looked radically different than it does today. That year, local builder Henry Switzer placed his shocking pink house at 840 Mathers Avenue at the end of 9th Street.
Fred Herzog, Foncie, Selwyn Pullan, Michael de Courcy, Bruce Stewart, and Angus McIntyre were just a few who took up a camera in the Vancouver of the ‘70s, and were documenting images of everything from buildings to the changing skyline, and from neighborhoods to neon.
Do you remember the Seven Seas Restaurant? It was moored at the foot of Lonsdale from 1959 to 2002. The restaurant had a crazy 48-foot neon sign easily visible from East Vancouver, and it was the place where locals had their first drink, got engaged, and ate at the city’s biggest seafood buffet.
Joe Fortes arrived in Vancouver in 1885 and quickly became one of the city’s most loved citizens. As our first official lifeguard and Beach Avenue resident, he saved dozens of lives.
This story is excerpted from: Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History.
Joe Fortes:
In 1904 Joe Fortes was living in a sweet little cottage at the foot of Gilford, right by where the Sylvia Hotel is today.
It was common in the 1970s to get in an elevator with an operator at buildings such as Woodwards and the Bay. Where did they go?
“Going up, she said,” is the opening line in the 1970’s pop song Heaven on the 7th Floor about a tryst between a female elevator operator and a male passenger.
Gordon Price called it “the most important thing that never happened” to Vancouver, and certainly if Project 200 and the rest of the freeway plans had gone ahead, Vancouver would be virtually unrecognizable today.
This story is from Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History
The plan was to construct a $340 million freeway system that would connect Vancouver to the Trans-Canada Highway and to Highway 99.
It’s the first week of January, 2017 and if you own a house you’ve received your BC Assessment notice. If you’re like us you’re not popping open the champagne quite yet because your house has smashed through the ceiling of the home owner grant and you’re on the hook for a lot more taxes, all without putting out one lick of paint.
