Every Place Has a Story

The Kitsilano Laneway House

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There’s been a lot about laneway houses in the media over the last couple of years. Loosely defined, it’s a legal way of plonking down a small house in your backyard, and depending on your point of view, either exploiting or helping to ease the current rental squeeze.

Laneway houses have to be under 1,000 square feet.

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Episode 03: The Suspicious Death of Stewart Ashley

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On April 13, 1933, 19-year-old Stewart Ashley went to work out at the YMCA in downtown Vancouver. He didn’t come home. A short time later, a ransom note arrived. It said: “Get $5,000 by April 20 or your son will die.”

The stories for this first series are from my book  Blood, Sweat, and Fear: The Story of Inspector Vance (Eve Lazarus, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2017). 

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Episode 02: The Murder Factory

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The murder of Naokichi Watanabe in 1931 exposed an insurance scam, the murder of up to 20 people, a Japanese hitman, and was eventually linked to an assassination ring operating out of a house on East Cordova Street, Vancouver.

The stories for this first series are from my book  Blood, Sweat, and Fear: The Story of Inspector Vance (Eve Lazarus, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2017). 

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Episode 01: The Mysterious disappearance of Clara Millard

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The first time Inspector Vance was called to work on a police investigation was when Clara Millard went missing from her West End home in 1914.

Charles and Clara Millard lived in Vancouver’s West End with their 16-year-old Chinese houseboy, Jack Kong. Charles who was an executive with the Canadian Pacific Railway, was away on business in Victoria, and when he returned home his wife Clara was gone.

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Aborted Plans: Deadman’s Island

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Members of the Town Planning Commission passed a resolution stating that they were not in favour of Deadman’s Island as a site for a proposed museum of Vancouver art, historical and scientific society. It was declared the Coal Harbour site was too inaccessible—Province: April  9, 1932

It continues to amaze me that Stanley Park has survived, despite all the attempts to develop it over the years.

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The BowMac Sign: Guy in the Sky

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On June 4, 1965, CKNW personality Rene Castellani climbed to the top of the scaffolding next to the BowMac Sign and promised not to come down until every last car on the lot was sold.

It took nine days.

The following story is an excerpt from Murder by Milkshake: An Astonishing Story of Adultery, Arsenic, and a Charismatic Killer.

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Our Missing Heritage: The Ritz Hotel

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Selwyn Pullan shot these photos of the Ritz Hotel in 1956, shortly after it had been renovated into this awesome mid-century modern look.

But while it had a fancy name, the Ritz Hotel at 1040 West Georgia was originally designed as a YMCA in 1912 by Henry Sandham Griffith.

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

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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?

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