Second Hotel Vancouver

Barr and Anderson, was a Vancouver company founded in 1898 and the name behind the mechanical work in some of our oldest buildings – a few of which still stand. Founded in 1898: Back in the 1960s, Doug Archer was an apprentice plumber with Barr and Anderson, a Vancouver company founded in 1898 and the… Continue reading Barr and Anderson: Established 1898

From Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History The Stuart Building was a landmark that sat at the southeast corner of Georgia and Chilco Streets, marking the border between the city and Stanley Park from 1909 until its demise in 1982. Painted Sky Blue: It didn’t have the elegance of the Birks Building, the… Continue reading Our Missing Heritage: The Stuart Building

Frank Gowen was born in England in 1877. He moved to Vancouver in 1913 and worked as a photographer until his death in 1946. Chris Stiles kindly sent me this fabulous panoramic photo that she and husband Alan found when they were going through some personal effects of Alan’s father recently. “My husband’s dad, Roy… Continue reading Frank Gowen’s Vancouver

Originally from Edmonton, Raymond Biesinger is a Montreal-based illustrator whose work regularly appears in the New Yorker, Le Monde and the Guardian. In his spare time, he likes to draw lost buildings.  Biesinger uses geometric shapes to ‘build’ his building illustrations In his down-time, Biesinger is drawing his way through nine of Canada’s largest cities.… Continue reading Our Missing Heritage: 18 Lost Buildings of Vancouver

In the 1970s, the Scotia Tower and the hideous Vancouver Centre—currently home to London Drugs—obliterated a block of beautiful of heritage buildings at Granville and Georgia Streets. The development took out the Strand Theatre (built in 1920), and the iconic Birks building, an 11-storey Edwardian where generations of Vancouverites met at the clock. I was… Continue reading Our missing heritage: the forgotten buildings of Bruce Price (1845-1903)

Our second Hotel Vancouver opened its doors in 1916 and was the most elegant and ornate building that we have destroyed. From Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History Built in 1916 and pulled down just 33 years later to make way for a parking lot, the second Hotel Vancouver was  a replacement for… Continue reading Our Second Hotel Vancouver (1916-1949)

I’m writing a book about John F.C.B. Vance, the first forensic scientist in Vancouver, and this week I wrote about his first day of work as the new City Analyst. My book is non-fiction, but sometimes you need some creative license. My challenge was to get to get Vance from his house in Yaletown to… Continue reading May 1, 1907: A Trip Across Vancouver

The much lamented—and never should have come down–second Hotel Vancouver should have the number one spot on any much missed heritage building list, but I’d argue that the Devonshire should be a close second. When it comes to hotels, we’ve pulled down a lot of them. Here’s my Top 7 list of downtown hotels missing from… Continue reading Our Missing Hotel Heritage: What were we thinking?

In February heritage men told us their favourite building and the one building we should have saved. To keep the world in balance, I’ve asked the same question of women working in and with heritage—our answers may surprise you. Caroline Adderson: Caroline Adderson is an award-winning Vancouver author  and the person behind Vancouver Vanishes Favourite… Continue reading Heritage Streeters with Caroline Adderson, Heather Gordon, and Eve Lazarus

One of the things I loved most about being a contributor to Vancouver Confidential was working with reporters, bloggers, artists, tour guides, actors, musicians and academics that cut across both decades and demographics. The experience made me realize what a truly diverse group we have working in the local history and heritage space. So just… Continue reading Heritage Streeters (with John Atkin, Aaron Chapman, Jeremy Hood and Will Woods)

It’s hard to imagine that 100 years ago the Hastings Street area had a thriving theatre district, filled with opulent buildings, cafes and people, and known as the “Hastings Great White Way.” Story from Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History In past blogs I’ve written about the Strand, the Pantages and the Empress;… Continue reading Vancouver’s Missing Theatres