What's New

 Almost unrecognizable today, the Naffzinger Block has lost its proud cornice, and the bricks have been painted over so many times they no longer look like bricks. The retail tenants at the time this 1912 picture was taken were Melvin H. Clapp Shoemaker and Robert G. Woods Candies, now replaced by a yoga studio and hair salon. Notice that West Broadway was still a dirt road. 

 The Second Fergusson Block was built just a year after the first one burned down in the Gastown Fire of 1886. When it was finished, lawyers moved in upstairs and A.M. Tyson sold 'Gents Furnishings' on the main floor. Today it's a restaurant up and a clothing store down. (1887 photo from Vancouver City Archives). 

 This is one of Vancouver's oldest wooden buildings. When it was built sometime around 1890, it stood "alone in the bushes of Hastings Street; there were some Chinese shacks on Dupont Street near it, but on Hastings Street it was the only building.” It was badly damaged during the Chinatown riots in 1908 but somehow managed to survive that and everything else that subsequent years threw at it. 

 A survivor from 1909, Burns Block outlived its next door neighbour the Pantages Theatre, a popular movie and vaudeville house. Today you can rent a 236 square foot micro-loft and live downtown for cheap! (You might notice I really cheated on the perspective of this shot: the original was shot from a window in the building across the street, and I was on the ground.) (1927 Major Matthews photo from Vancouver City Archives). 

 I have walked by this apartment building numerous times and have always wondered about its background. I assumed it used to be a bank, even though it's not on a major street. After a little digging, I found some information about it. It was built as a church in 1911, and eventually became the Vancouver Indian Centre when this photo was taken in the 1970s. Today it is a collection of million dollar condos. (1978 photo from Vancouver City Archives).

 Built just after the 1886 fire that leveled the city, this beautifully restored home is now the headquarters of a Chinese Benevolent Association. Notice the difference in street levels in the two pictures. The current house has a ground floor suite that used to be under ground. Here's some information about the people in the original photo.  (1900 photo from Vancouver City Archives).

Alexander Street was renowned for its brothels in the early 1900s, including this building which was originally built as a rooming house in 1912. Its history is well documented here. In 1918 it was listed as the Sailors Home (rooms around 2 bucks a week) until it closed in 1954. It later housed a business belonging to Al Hubbard, an eccentric entrepreneur who was known as the “Johnny Appleseed of LSD”. Immortalized by photographer Greg Girard in the 1970s, the dilapidated structure was acquired and renovated by the Atira Development Society.

 The Toronto House Apartments were built in 1913 during Vancouver's growth spurt of the early 1900s. You can read about the building's numerous occupants here.  In 1950 it became the Astoria Hotel, and is currently an SRO rental, with the 1950-era neon signs restored. (1923 photo is by Stuart Thompson in the VPL collection.)

 This campus landmark was originally built in 1926, and operated as a firehall until 1982. New rooms have been added, but you can still see the hose drying tower in the back.  It is currently used by various Art Departments of UBC. 

 In 1914 Charlie Chaplin makes his first film, the Komagata Maru is turned away at Vancouver's port, Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated, and beachgoers enjoy a sunny day in Kitsilano!