Odds and Ends

Vancouver Books

In 1999 the Vancouver Public Library produced a poster titled Vancouver in Print: 100 Books from a Century Past. These books—intended to give a broad view of the many kinds of books published about the city—are indicated below with the legend: VIP. It was this list of titles that began this feature.

The Orpheum

This section looks at the 80-year-long history of Vancouver’s Orpheum Theatre….The magic of what architect Benjamin Marcus Priteca created for theatre goers in the Orpheum is captured memorably in a Denny Boyd tribute to Ivan Ackery published in the Sun October 31, 1985, the day after Ackery died. In that column Boyd paid simultaneous tribute to the building over which Ivan had presided for so many years.

Vancouver - A Brief History

Envision the span of human occupation in this area—say, 8,000 years—as the width of this computer screen. The events described in this short article could be fitted into a couple of centimetres on the right. Our “modern” story begins in the winter of 1824 with the Hudson’s Bay Company setting up a network of fur-trading posts on the Pacific slope….

That date is as good as any to mark the beginning of Greater Vancouver. (Fort construction began a few days later.)

Oddities

Some odd stuff has happened in Vancouver’s past.

For example, in 1867 when newly-arrived John “Gassy Jack” Deighton arrived at Burrard Inlet he told the mill workers there they could have all the whiskey they could drink if they helped him build his saloon. The Globe went up in 24 hours!

Mayors Over the Years

Vancouver’s first election on May 3, 1886, was a wild affair, rife with labour unrest and racism. The favourite going into the election was Hastings Sawmill manager Richard Alexander, of Alexander Street fame. But a strike at Hastings Sawmill divided the community, particularly after Alexander announced he would hire Chinese workers to replace the white strikers. The strikers talked real estate salesman Malcolm MacLean into running against Alexander. MacLean won in a squeaker, 242 votes to Alexander’s 225. Since then there have been 40 Mayors with the current officeholder, Kennedy Stewart, who has been in office since 2018

Biz-Biz

You’ve heard of Show Biz. This is Biz Biz, the history of business in Vancouver, told through the activities of The Vancouver Board of Trade.

The Board began in 1887, and for all those 120 years has been promoting the economic interests of the city, sponsoring charitable events, presenting notable speakers, commissioning studies of a broad range of topics, bringing business people together to form new networks, advising small business, promoting Vancouver abroad . . . the plate is always full.

The American Page

Americans have had a major influence on the history of Metropolitan Vancouver. An American gave Vancouver its name! William Cornelius Van Horne, of Chelsea, Illinois, was the man who headed the CPR, the Canadian Pacific Railway that opened up the Canadian West…

The Scottish Page

Scottish influence in metropolitan Vancouver was important from the very beginning of our post-native history . . . and that’s not counting the statue of Robert Burns in Stanley Park, nor our first purpose-built library, the Carnegie, paid for by Scotland-born U.S. industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie…

Teacher's Page

Teachers and educators, we’ve discovered that learning our local history can be fun AND interesting. Take a look at our Teacher’s Page, then let your students in on the adventure.

Vancouver Foundries

Before Vancouver became the City of Glass, it was host to a strong industrial base—necessary in supporting industry and development throughout BC.

Guest writer Bryce Tarling chronicles the history of foundries in Vancouver from their first appearance in the beginning of the 20th century to the present.

Street Names

One of the more frequent requests we get—either at this site or at the Vancouver Historical Society site—is to explain the origin of a certain street name. Who was Hastings Street named for? How about Hornby? Or what’s the story behind the naming of Charles Street? Now, thanks to the Vancouver Historical Society, which commissioned the work from Elizabeth Walker, and to the Vancouver Public Library, which has put it on line, you can get the answers to those and other questions.

Links

Links to some useful resources and websites.