What's New

 This busy corner of the city has gone from selling furs, stationery and moving services to tacos for stoners. The old parking garage that was recently here is being replaced by a 30-storey office tower.  (1926 photo from Vancouver City Archives).

 There are a number of buildings appearing in both pictures, including the imposing World Building in the background. The green-domed structure is also called the Sun Tower, and for a couple of years laid claim to being the tallest building in the British Empire, boasting an impressive 17 floors. These days it seems to be in a constant state of repair (not surprising given its age and extreme vertical-ness). (1927 photo from Vancouver City Archives).

 I would venture to say that most people in Vancouver have been inside the historic Stanley Theatre at least once. Built in 1930, it lasted as a movie house until 1991, and after a few years in development limbo, emerged as the home of the Arts Club Theatre Company. (1948 Jack Lindsay photo from Vancouver City Archives).

 Home of the Liquor Control Board Warehouse back in the day, now it's a pricey private school.  (1926 photo from Vancouver City Archives).

 This happy little building has been sitting at the corner of 10th and Spruce for 93 years. The colourful awnings have been replaced by even more colourful ivy, which turns bright red in the fall. I wonder if the little saplings on Spruce Street are the same trees that are in my picture. (1927 photo from Vancouver City Archives).

Virtually unchanged (except for the tenants and a paint job) since the late 1950s and possibly longer. Buildings like these, as plain as they are, give Mount Pleasant an authentic charm which is rapidly disappearing from the Vancouver landscape. (1958 photo from City of Vancouver Archives).

 I took this shot when the house came up for sale in 2015, and came across the vintage photo taken 97 years earlier from exactly the same spot where I was standing. Spooky. Three of Vancouver's most prominent families have called it home over the years.  It sits on an acre of land just minutes from the downtown core, a rarity reflected in its recent selling price. As an added bonus, the most recent seller threw in a horror story to sweeten the deal. 

 Between 1931 and 1953, Wright's Canadian Rope Company occupied what is now part of the Public Market. In that time they produced wire rope for the Army during WW II as well as international projects like the Sydney Harbour Bridge. 

 The building that currently houses the Granville Island Kid's Market used to manufacture white lead, a toxic substance used on the hulls of boats. 

 Yet another beautifully preserved apartment building in South Granville, complete with parapets and unique arched doorways.