Missing Heritage

Last week, I wrote a blog about the demise of Henry Hudson Elementary – the 1911 red brick building that housed generations of Vancouver school children. I asked you to share your stories, and many of you did. Japanese Community: Debra Kato’s grandmother (born in 1911 the same year the school opened) went to Henry… Continue reading Henry Hudson Elementary School: (1911-2025)

Last chance to try and snag a brick or two before the 1911 Henry Hudson Elementary School in Kitsilano is just a distant memory. Demolition of the red brick building started Thursday. The Namesake: Since it’s out with the old, I’m wondering if a name change was considered for the new school? Henry Hudson, it… Continue reading RIP Henry Hudson Elementary School

Wanted! The Provincial government is looking for a home for several tons of black marble, currently residing in a Coquitlam storage facility. The marble is about 12 feet high and roughly six feet wide, and that’s all there is left from Vancouver’s Centennial fountain that first sat outside the former Vancouver courthouse in 1966. It… Continue reading Wanted! Home for Centennial Fountain Sculpture

I’ve been to Jericho Beach dozens of times over the years and often bike along the path that snakes through Spanish Banks, Jericho and spits out onto Point Grey Road. It wasn’t until recently that I found out the area was once part of the largest military training base in Western Canada. Flying Boats: The… Continue reading The Base at Jericho Beach

Deidre Keohane (Deirdriu Ni Cheochain) moved into the Birkdale Apartments on West Broadway with her boyfriend Marty Lacroix in 1980. Birkdale Apartments: The Birkdale Apartments first appears in the city directories in 1922, and at some point became the Burkdale Apartments on the front of the building. Not long after moving in, 22-year-old Deidre, an… Continue reading The Ratdale Apartments on West Broadway

I found this charming little postcard dated August 7, 1904 while trolling Vancouver Archive’s website. It’s written to a Miss L.M. Woodrow “With every good wish for your birthday, from Emily.” Second CPR station I loved the picture of the second CPR station that briefly sat at the foot of Granville Street, and I wanted… Continue reading A Charming 1904 Postcard

False Creek: False Creek is a realtor’s dream. It’s a model of sustainability, with housing options—that include the condos and townhouses in the Olympic Village—a school, a seawall for walking and running and biking, and a waterway filled on any given day with kayaks and canoes and dragon boats. The neighbourhood has fitness facilities, outdoor… Continue reading Main Street Farmers Market

It’s Heritage Week (February 19 – 25) and if you’re looking for something to do Sunday, drop by Heritage Hall on Main Street and check out the Vancouver Heritage Foundation’s community fair. This year’s theme is Layer by Layer. It’s a great opportunity to meet a host of different community groups and take in Brian… Continue reading Granville and Georgia Streets: 150 Years in Virtual Reality

Frits Jacobsen arrived in Vancouver in 1968. He was a prolific artist and  captured some of Vancouver’s iconic and long-gone buildings such as Birks, the Englesea Lodge, and the Orillia on Robson Street. He also drew some that have survived. Two that I’ve seen are the Manhattan Apartments on Thurlow and Main Street’s Heritage Hall.… Continue reading Frits Jacobsen: Anatomy of an East Van House

The Oak Theatre sat at Kingsway near Royal Oak Avenue in Burnaby from 1937 to 1963. Opening night with CKWX’s Billie Browne, was August 4, 1937. He introduced feature film White Bondage, comedy shorts Blonde Bomber and Hotel a la Swing, and a cartoon called Porky’s Building. Among the details shared in Vancouver Sun and Province… Continue reading Burnaby’s Oak Theatre – Then and Now

In March 1953, Steve Chizen was putting the final touches on the Cedar V Theatre on Lynn Valley Road. It would be North Vancouver’s third theatre—the Odeon sat at the corner of Lonsdale and 14th Avenue, and the Lonsdale Theatre that went up in 1911, would close forever in 1954. Steve, who previously managed the… Continue reading Lynn Valley’s Cedar V Theatre

The Glencoe Lodge opened at the corner of West Georgia and Burrard Streets in 1906. Sugar baron, Benjamin Tingley Rogers had bought two houses, raised them, added two storeys and turned the building into a boutique hotel, operated by the fabulous Miss Jean Mollison. Story from Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History The… Continue reading Miss Mollison and the Glencoe Lodge

The Fraser Street Swing Span Bridge was built in 1894 and linked what’s now Fraser Street with No. 5 Road, Richmond. It was demolished in 1974 after completion of the Knight Street Bridge. This is part one of a three-part series about crossing the Fraser River in 1972 by Angus McIntyre On December 31, 1972,… Continue reading The Fraser Street Swing Span Bridge

Architect Ron Thom designed a 4,000 sq.ft. prize home for the PNE  in 1981. It resided in South Surrey. In 1981, British Columbia was in the throes of a recession, house prices were plummeting, and first-time buyers were looking at interest rates of over 20%. Architectural offices were closing, and even a starchitect like Ron… Continue reading   The 1981 PNE Prize Home

On June 19, 1973, a three-alarm fire broke out at the old King Edward High School at West 12th and Oak Street. The building was destroyed, but remnants remain on the old site, now part of Vancouver General Hospital. From Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History Designed by William T. Whiteway: William T.… Continue reading Fire takes out King Edward High School

Long before the Vancouver Film School occupied the building at East Pender and Columbia Streets, there was a railway station that was later repurposed into the legendary Marco Polo restaurant.  Story from Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History Train Station: If you’re walking around Chinatown, you’ll likely notice the four-storey brick building at… Continue reading The Dupont Street Train Station and the Marco Polo Restaurant

If you lived in Vancouver in the late 1960s, you’ll likely remember the four bizarre red Georgia Street pylons. The pylons ran from Granville to Howe Streets between July 1967 and December 1969. According to a news media release at the time: “The 60-foot towers, symbolic of giant torches, a traditional heraldic device, are a… Continue reading The Giant Georgia Street Pylons of 1967

Before we had the Vancouver Aquatic Centre, there was the Crystal Pool.  The story is from Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History. Crystal Pool: Joe Fortes taught hundreds of children how to swim in English Bay, If the much-loved life guard were still alive when Crystal Pool opened in July 1929, it’s hard… Continue reading Crystal Pool (1929-1974)

The second CPR station at the foot of Granville Street didn’t make it until its 15th birthday. It was replaced in 1914. From Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History Even if you don’t love the architecture—and I am a fan of anything that’s gothic and grim and wears a turret—you’ve got to admit… Continue reading The Second CPR Station

BC Binning wasn’t just an important artist; as a teacher, he influenced architects such as Arthur Erickson, Ron Thom and Fred Hollingsworth. Where are his missing murals? From Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History Artist and teacher: BC Binning wasn’t just an important artist; as a teacher, he influenced architects such as Arthur… Continue reading BC Binning’s Missing Murals