Every Place Has a Story

Hastings Mill and the Flying Angels Club House

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The Flying Angels Club House was built in 1906 by the BC Mills  as their offices for sales of pre-fabricated houses, schools and churches.

Story in Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History

Kathryn Murray’s association with the Mission to Seafarers goes back to 1902—the same year the Flying Angels Club came to Vancouver.

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Cube House

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Just before you hit the bike only section of Point Grey Road at Alma you may have noticed that the corner lot is missing a lovely old heritage house. The lot sold for $4 million last year, and of course was advertised with a demolition permit and plan for a “brand new 2,800 sq.ft. house on a fantastic view lot” attached.

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The Collectors

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If you think that museums are full of old fossils and boring exhibits, it’s time to get yourself down to All Together Now: Vancouver Collectors and their Worlds.

I went on opening night this week when 20 collectors were hanging out with their obsessions and it’s one of the craziest nights I’ve had in a long time.

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The Second Narrows Bridge Collapse

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The Second Narrows Bridge Collapsed on June 17, 1958, tossing 79 workers into Burrard Inlet and killing 18 of them.

Sounded like an explosion:

Some described the noise of the bridge collapsing into the Second Narrows as gunfire or an explosion, others as a rumble or a loud snapping sound. On June 17, 1958 at 3:40 p.m., people from all over Vancouver stopped to listen, as two spans collapsed, tossing 79 workers into Burrard Inlet and killing 18 of them.

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West End Heritage–a chance to have your say

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There are two vastly different West End housing proposals going before Vancouver council this week and both have implications about how we view heritage in our development-mad city. One, in Mole Hill, involves the community’s desire to designate Mole Hill as a Heritage Conservation Area; while the other is a way to redevelop and save a deteriorating 1920s West End apartment building.

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Vancouver Heritage House Tour and Manson’s Deep

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Never heard of Manson’s Deep? You’re not alone. It’s one of the deepest points in Howe Sound just off Point Atkinson. It’s also been a burial ground for old sailors since 1941.

Manson’s Deep gets its name from Captain Thomas Manson who came to Vancouver from Scotland in 1892.

According to an article by Kellsie McLeod*, Manson, himself was buried there in 1946.

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Foncie’s North Vancouver Connection

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When Foncie Pulice was 21 in 1934, he quit house painting and went to work for Joe Iaci and his street photography company Kandid Kamera.

Foncie, to my knowledge, never crossed the bridge or took the ferry to North Vancouver—at least not for his work. He did capture many of our most colourful citizens.

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Van Tan–North Vancouver’s Nudist Camp

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From Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History

I’ve lived in Lynn Valley for 20 years and while I’ve heard rumours of a nudist camp at the top of Mountain Highway, I always thought that it was an urban myth. After reading an article this week, I found their website, fired off an email, and accepted an invitation from PR director Daniel Jackson to spend this afternoon at Van Tan.

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