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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).

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).

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 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).

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.)

In 1953 the City Centre Motel, at 6th and Main, was "Vancouver's newest and most modern motel".  In 2021 it was closed to travelers and the property was sold for $60 million. It has been a popular location for the film industry, and currently serves as a space for artist studios. (1953 photo from Flickr.com)

A row of tenement houses in front of the Red Arrow Biscuit Company warehouse. A lot has changed in this neighbourhood over the years. This photo was taken somewhere between 1940 and 1948, just a few years before I was born, making me feel very old indeed. (1940-ish photograph from Vancouver City Archives). 

In 1911 Walter Gow built this two storey mixed use building (on the left) to cater to the growing foot traffic from the newly-built Cedar Cottage Interurban train station. The area soon boasted grocery stores, movie theatres, a brewery, and even a roller coaster for a period of time. As cars became the more popular form of transportation, business slowly moved south to Kingsway and Knight Streets, and the neighbourhood lost its lustre. The neglected building was purchased and renovated in 2005, and today serves as a popular coffee bar. If you ask nicely, they might take you down the back hallway and show you the original bank vault, still there after 113 years. (1913 photo from Vancouver City Archives). 

This long-standing banquet hall has been a venue for concerts, poetry readings, and flea markets for many years. The property is now owned by Boffo Developments, who have plans to devlop a four-storey, mixed use building on the site. (1978 photo by POP SNAP).

Here's a glimpse of what life was like for some people in the early 1900s. This photo also gives you an idea of the amount of work involved in clearing these enormous old growth trees from thousands of acres to create the Vancouver we know today. (1915 photo from Vancouver City Archives).