What's New

Austin Hotel
added August 27, 2021
Austin Hotel
The 1908 building on the corner originally housed a bank, a drug store and a dance academy. It burned down in the 1960s. In 1909 the Grand Palace Hotel was built next door, renamed the Austin Hotel until the 1980s. It's currently a Ramada Inn, and the corner building is home to yet another coffee shop.
   

Vancouver Motors
added August 27, 2021
Vancouver Motors
Vancouver Motors was a Ford dealership that operated from 1926 until the 1960s, when it was renamed Dominion Motors. Ford, Mercury and Monarch models were sold here.  In the 1990s it became a Staples. It was designed by Townley and Matheson, whose art deco preferences can also be seen in the Dick Building at Broadway and Granville, as well as City Hall

Caroline Court
added August 25, 2021
Caroline Court
Built in 1911 at a cost of $150,000, Caroline Court continues to provide rental housing to this day. Once a dominant presence on this quiet residential street, it is now surrounded by massive towers.   

Vancouver Club
added August 22, 2021
Vancouver Club
This 1930 image shows the old Vancouver Club, on the right, for sale. The current home of the club looks pretty much the same as it did when it was built in 1914, although its membership has changed significantly (the once 'men only' club is now presided over by a woman). The old property is now a small urban park with city-owned parking underground. 

Cleland Kent
added August 19, 2021
Cleland Kent
The building on the left is from 1925, the one on the right from 1912. The imposing house seen in the background is from before 1900, and survived, surprisingly, until the 1980s. The buildings are part of the historic Victory Square neighbourhood, so the development plan for the block will incorporate the original facades into the new buildings. (1974 photo copyright City of Vancouver).


The Gray Building
added August 12, 2021
The Gray Building
By the early 1900s the warehouse district in Gastown was full, and unable to keep up with the growing demand for freight handling with rail access. CPR cleared the area west of Homer Street, laid tracks in the street and provided loading docks, and Yaletown was born. Many of these warehouses are still standing, including this 1912 building. When this photo was taken in 1925, tenants included a liquor company controlled by Vancouver's Reifel family, whose sole purpose was to smuggle alcohol to the US during prohibition. 

Connaught Apartments
added August 05, 2021
Connaught Apartments
In 1911, buildings like this were common, with stores on the ground floor and apartments above. Sadly, most of those old-timers are now gone, but this one has not only survived, it has been returned to its former glory.  The Michas family purchased it in 1958, and painstakingly restored it, retaining many of the original fixtures. (1985 photograph copyright City of Vancouver). 

Oak and 16th Street
added July 31, 2021
Oak and 16th Street
Before 1929, this intersection marked the boundary between the towns of Vancouver, South Vancouver, and Point Grey (hence the sudden jog in the road).  The image shows the construction of the BC Electric Railway line along Oak Street just after the merger of the three municipalities.  The two buildings on the right of the 1929 photo are still standing. 

Hastings and Cambie
added June 25, 2021
Hastings and Cambie
Another view of the iconic Dominion Building. The caption on this photo says 'the business centre of Vancouver in 1911.' 

 

The Rice Block
added June 01, 2021
The Rice Block
There are very few old photos of Vancouver this far east. This one from 1965 shows the 800 block of East Hastings Street, including the Rice Block on the corner, which was built in 1912 at the height of Vancouver's building boom of the early 20th century. It has been restored and is owned by BC Housing, providing 42 units of affordable homes.

 

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