What's New

Expo 86
added June 18, 2025
Expo 86
People are lined up to see the show at the Xerox International Theatre. Today a large open park rests calmly on grounds that once hosted millions of tourists from around the world. The buildings on the south side of False Creek are the only clues as to where this photo was taken.  (1986 Vancouver Legacies Program photo from the Vancouver Archives). 

Wait for me Daddy
added May 31, 2025
Wait for me Daddy
Young Warren Bernard escaped his mother's grasp and ran toward his father Jack as he was preparing to board a troop ship in New Westminster in 1940. The iconic photgraph was taken by Claude Detloff for the Vancouver Province, and captured the attention of the editors of Time, Life and others. It became one of the most famous Canadian photographs of the 20th Century, and was used to help sell War Bonds. Today there is a statue at the foot of Eighth Street commemorating the famous photograph.  (1940 photograph by Claude Detloff). 

English Bay
added April 14, 2025
English Bay
Summers in Vancouver have always included trips to the beach, even in 1929 when this photo was taken. Although the pier is long gone, you can still see its foundation on Google Maps. Also shown is the Englesea Lodge, which was destroyed in a suspicious fire in 1981. (1929 photo from Vancouver Photo Archives).

Burrard Bridge
added April 14, 2025
Burrard Bridge
Here's a look at the north end of the Burrard Bridge from 1940. (1940 photo from Vancouver City Archives).  

Sperling Annex Rectifier
added March 15, 2025
Sperling Annex Rectifier
This beauiful but mysterious building has spawned many conspiracy theories, most of them centred around secret undergound tunnels winding their way through the basements of upper-crust Shaughnessy. The truth is much more mundane. It was built in 1914 to convert power for the nearby Arbutus Line of the BC Electric Railway. It was itself converted in the 1970s to residential power management. Unfortunately its striking Art Deco features are mostly obscured now by thick foliage. (1914 image from Vancouver Public Library.)

Lees Benevolent Association
added January 29, 2025
Lees Benevolent Association
The three-storey building on the right is featured prominently in the old photograph, but is now hidden behind its Brixton Flats neighbour. It was built in 1910 as a rooming house with retail on the ground floor. Today it belongs to the Lee Benevolent Association, whose membership consists of people of Chinese extraction whose last name is Lee. (1929 photo from Vancouver City Archives).

Kensington Place
added January 29, 2025
Kensington Place
This 1913 building in the West End was one of the finest apartments of its time, and attracted wealthy Vancouverites who preferred to rent instead of own. It originally consisted of only 22 large suites, and boasted many Rennaisance Revival flourishes. In the 1970s it was beautifully restored and converted to condominiums, which now sell for around $3 million. Every Spring the tangled branches of the cherry trees in the front burst into bloom, and throughout the Summer the spectacular Baroque entrance is obscured by greenery. (1975 City Planning Department photograph from Vancouver City Archives).

Canada Packers
added January 04, 2025
Canada Packers
This 1937 building is one of the few examples of "Streamline Moderne" architecture in the City. The style emphasized speed, movement, and futurism, and was a popular design among factories, cars, ships and aircraft. Today the complex houses a self storage facility, a dog hotel and spa, and a few other businesses. (1938 Frank Leonard photo from Vancouver Public Library). 

The Railway Club
added January 01, 2025
The Railway Club
The Lawsen (or Laursen, depending on who you talk to) Building was constructed around 1920, but it wasn't called the Railwaymen's Club until the repeal of prohibition in 1932. Between 1981 and 2016, when it closed, the popular venue hosted live music nightly, attracting bands like Radiohead, Los Lobos and k.d.lang. (1927 photo from Vancouver City Archives).

Winram Block
added December 30, 2024
Winram Block
The Winram Block has been sitting on the corner of 17th and Main since 1911. During that time, it has been home to a millinery business, a bank, a real estate company, a furniture store and more. Today you can enjoy the latest in Japanese fusion cuisine at General Public, then get a tattoo at Bebop Ink. (1911 Major Matthews photo from Vancouver City Archives.)

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