Every Place Has a Story

Jack Cash, Photographer

the_title()

Jack Cash (1918-2005) started as a Vancouver Sun photographer in the 1930s. He spent most of his life in North Vancouver and went on to have an amazing career. 

I first heard about Jack Cash when I was researching his mother Gwen Cash, who when she went to work for Walter Nichol at the Vancouver Daily Province in 1917, became one of the first female news reporter in the country.

…read more

West Coast Modern: Selling Architecture as Art

the_title()

For the last year or so I’ve been receiving emails from a realtor named Trent Rodney at West Coast Modern. They come with an invitation to drop by one of the dwindling stock of West Coast Modern houses on the North Shore, sip a cocktail, eat catered food and listen to jazz.

…read more

The Murder of Albina Lequiea

the_title()

On Sunday December 16, 1973, 96-year-old Albina Christiana Lequiea was found murdered in her bed. She lived on the second floor of the Sisters of Saint Paul School in North Vancouver.

This story is from Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History and is also part of a Cold Case Canada Podcast

The Convent:

At first, it was thought that Albina had died from natural causes.

…read more

Riding the Spirit Trail to West Vancouver Part 7

the_title()

Lots of history to cover on this last leg of the Spirit Trail. We’re starting at Park Royal, which when it opened in 1950, was the first covered mall in Canada.

Prior to 1965, most of the land you’re riding on was swamp. Ambleside Beach is the product of 85,000 cubic metres of sand and gravel hauled from the sandbanks west of Navvy Jack Point.

…read more

Riding the Spirit Trail from Pemberton Avenue to the Capilano River (Part 6)

the_title()

Last week we stopped our ride at Pemberton Avenue. Today we’re going to cross the border into West Vancouver.

The first part of the Spirit Trail winds through Norgate, a quiet neighbourhood filled with mid-century ranchers built during the post-war boom period. But did you know that the whole area was originally intended to be the Capilano Air Park?

…read more

Riding the Spirit Trail – from Mosquito Creek to Pemberton Avenue (part 5)

the_title()

At the end of our last post, we were watching harbour seals at Mosquito Creek. Now we’re going to take the Spirit Trail to Harbourside. While you may see a large tract of vacant land, as well as some businesses, a Spa Utopia, and an auto mall–developers see 700 condos, office space, retail stores, and a hotel.

…read more

The North Shore’s Spirit Trail – Mosquito Creek – (part 4)

the_title()

Last week we left off at the Shipyards Coffee at Lonsdale Quay. Grab your bike and we’ll ride the Spirit Trail down Cates court, loop around Waterfront Park and enter Squamish Nation land.

The Coast Salish aboriginal people established a permanent village called Slah-ahn (also known as Ustlawn or Eslha7an), meaning “head bay” in the 1860s.

…read more

The North Shore’s Spirit Trail – Lonsdale Quay (part 3)

the_title()

There’s so much history at Lonsdale Quay, that I thought we’d stay here and let it roll over us while we caffeinate at the Bean around the World (now the Shipyards)

If we time travelled back to the late 1880s, we’d be sitting on Tom Turner “ranch.” It stretched from Chesterfield to Rogers Avenue and sloped down from Esplanade to the water.

…read more