What's New

Not much remains of the Expo 86 grounds. I was able to line up the Skytrain tracks with Science World to approximate the location of the East Gate Entrance. 

Built in 1912 at the edge of Chinatown, the Stratford Hotel has seen better days.  It was built during an economic boom in Vancouver, but over the years, the centre of town drifted over to the north west, and the building languished, surviving several fires and miscellaneous shenanigans. These days it is called the Fan Tower, a low income housing facility, with a trendy oyster bar on the ground floor. 

Science World is one of the few buildings remaining from this amazing summer.  Even the streets and pathways have changed, so it's difficult to find a reference for these old photos.  Original picture courtesy of Ernie Reksten.

When it was built in 1911, the Dawson Building towered over its neighbours at Hastings and Main. It was named after George Dawson, who built and operated canneries throughout the province. It's now called the Ford Building and provides housing for low income residents.  

In 1901 American Industrialist Andrew Carnegie gave the city $50,000 to replace our library that had been destroyed in the Great Fire.  The building was made from Indian Arm granite and Gabriola Island sandstone, and cost over 2 million dollars. Nowadays it operates as the 'living room' for the downtown East Side, one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Canada. 

This is one of Vancouver's oldest surviving buildings. Completed in 1889, the Yale served as the main source of nightlife for the blue collar workers in Yaletown at the turn of the century. Although it was a long way from downtown Vancouver when it was built, the new streetcar line connected it to Cordova Street and the CP train terminal. Over the years it became famous as a blues venue, and currently has a western theme.  

Administrative offices for the University Endowment Lands, an unincorporated neighbourhood near UBC.   

(This is a second view of the building, after the addition was competed in 1901. The older photo can be found here).
Yip Sang was a rags-to-riches immigrant who built 51 East Pender Street in 1889, shortly after the fire that levelled Gastown. The Wing Sang Company was a going concern in the early 1900s, providing labour to the railway, and importing rice, silk and opium, among other ventures. When Yip died in 1927, his company had extensive real estate holdings throughout the city. This building is the oldest in Chinatown, and now houses Bob Rennie's extensive art collection. 

Yip Sang was a rags-to-riches immigrant who built 51 East Pender Street in 1889, shortly after the fire that levelled Gastown. The Wing Sang Company was a going concern in the early 1900s, providing labour to the railway, and importing rice, silk and opium, among other ventures. When Yip died in 1927, his company had extensive real estate holdings throughout the city. This building is the oldest in Chinatown, and now houses Bob Rennie's extensive art collection. 

Originally built as a warehouse in 1910 (there is an extensive description of its history and occupants here), the building was converted to affordable housing in 1986.