Vancouver Bookstores: The Forbidden Five
Vancouver bookstores, just like the old books crammed onto their shelves, contain some strange stories of their own. It’s so much fun... Read More
![An elephant in the Hollow Tree at Stanley Park. Undated photo from Frank Gowen's Vancouver, 1914-1931 (Heritage House, 2001) [PNG Merlin Archive]](https://forbiddenvancouver.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/The-Hollow-Tree-300x300.jpg?x66914)
The Hollow Tree
[by Glenn Tkach] The Hollow Tree in Stanley Park is one of Vancouver’s most well-known attractions. This photo should give you an... Read More
Recruiting Forbidden Vancouver Walking Tours storytellers – join our team
****WE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR THIS RECRUITMENT ROUND. PLEASE CHECK BACK FOR FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES WITH FORBIDDEN VANCOUVER WALKING TOURS!**** ———————————————————————–... Read More
Vancouver Diners: The Forbidden Five
With rain soaked neon glistening outside and the promise of hearty comfort food inside, Vancouver’s historic diners have been serving up nostalgia... Read More
The Lions Gate Bridge – and the Lions Who Guard It
The Lions Gate Bridge [by Glenn Tkach] The Lions Gate Bridge arches proudly over the First Narrows. It is visible from... Read More
Emily Pauline Johnson: Meet a Woman of Two Worlds
Emily Pauline Johnson was born in 1861 to a Mohawk Chief and an English woman. She would go on to become one... Read More
Vancouver Women’s Hockey Team Makes History: Meet The Amazons
A Vancouver women’s hockey team made history in 1921. On The Forbidden Vancouver Tour, you’ll discover how women in Canada fought for... Read More
Vancouver’s First Policewomen – Meet Lurancy Harris
Bigamy, murder and (gasp!) female impropriety – we discuss it all on The Forbidden Vancouver Tour. And it was all in a... Read More
The Really Gay History Contest
Enter our contest and you could win the ultimate PRIDE day out! The prize package includes; Two adult tickets to our brand-new... Read More
The Marine Building
[By Lani Russwurm] The Marine Building at 355 Burrard Street is widely considered the best piece of architecture in the city and... Read More
Vancouver’s Royal Theatre bombing, 1933
[By Lani Russwurm] The Forbidden Vancouver Tour explores the neighbourhood in and around old Hastings Street, which was once the centre of... Read More
The History of the Ku Klux Klan in Vancouver
[by Lani Russwurm] The Ku Klux Klan in Vancouver? On The Forbidden Vancouver Tour, we delve into the shocking racism of Vancouver’s... Read More
The Death of Janet Smith
[by Lani Russwurm] The death of Scottish nurse Janet Smith in a Shaughnessy mansion in 1924 is Vancouver’s most notorious cold case... Read More
Past & Present: Cordova Street, 1900/2017
Here’s an old street we explore in The Lost Souls of Gastown Tour. Cordova Street looking west at Cambie, ca. 1900 and... Read More
4 Secret Vancouver Beach Histories
[by Lani Russwurm] It looks like summer weather is going to linger for a while, so we thought we’d supply you with some... Read More
Dominion Day on Burrard Inlet
150 years ago, Gassy Jack was just thinking about opening a saloon at Burrard Inlet – which he did later in 1867.... Read More
Past & Present: the West End, 1888/2017
On The Dark Secrets of Stanley Park Tour, we explore how, why – and by whom – the West End was first... Read More
5 Secret Stories from Stanley Park
[by Lani Russwurm] Stanley Park has lots to attract the millions of visitors it sees each year, from the ever-popular totem poles,... Read More
Past & Present: Ferguson Block, 1887/2017
The Lost Souls of Gastown Tour finishes at Gastown’s Maple Tree Square. This is the second Ferguson Block built there, at... Read More
A Boozy History of Prohibition in Vancouver
[by Lani Russwurm] Alcohol prohibition arrived in BC in 1917 and lasted just four years. Between the bootlegging, the corruption, and the... Read More
Past & Present: Carrall Street, 1877/2017
Angus Fraser and his brother Simon (not that Simon Fraser) ran logging operations that cleared much of what’s now Vancouver. Angus built this house... Read More
Forbidden Vancouver on the Radio
Forbidden Vancouver regularly joins Roundhouse Radio for Throwback Thursdays, 98.3 on your radio dial. Follow the links below to hear about our... Read More
Past & Present: 700 block of Main Street 1914/2017
Only one of the buildings in the 1914 photo is likely to survive much longer, the London Hotel on the southeast corner... Read More
A History of Deviant Alleys in Vancouver
[by Lani Russwurm] The Lost Souls of Gastown Tour meanders through the oldest alleys of Gastown. Today we think of alleys as... Read More
Past & Present: Looking north towards the Sun Tower, 1915/2017
The Sun Tower has a fascinating story, which we delve into on The Forbidden Vancouver Tour. The first photo was taken... Read More
A Devastating History of Stanley Park
[by Lani Russwurm] The Dark Secrets of Stanley Park Tour is a journey through a wild forest – and an equally wild... Read More
Past & Present: 100 East Hastings Street 1907/2017
The Forbidden Vancouver Tour delves into one of the darkest moments in Vancouver’s history. The old photo shows some of the... Read More
Past & Present: Hastings and Granville Streets, 1921/2016
Discover the Golden Years on The Forbidden Vancouver Tour. Starting in 1908, Vancouver went through a period of extremely rapid growth.... Read More
A History of Sex Work in Early Vancouver
[by Lani Russwurm] We visit the site of some of Vancouver’s oldest brothels on The Forbidden Vancouver Tour. When Florence Mackenzie came... Read More
West End History Comes to Life at the Roedde House
[By Kendall Walters] Roedde House Museum is a hidden gem in Vancouver’s West End. Built in 1893, the house has become part of... Read More
Vancouver, Vaudeville and the City’s Lost Theatre District
[by Kendall Walters] Every weekend, Vancouverites converge on Granville Street, long the city’s entertainment hotspot, in the pursuit of fun. Not many know... Read More
Top 10 Vancouver Art Deco
[by Kendall Walters and Will Woods] Interested in Art Deco architecture and history in Vancouver? Check out The Art Deco and Chocolate... Read More
Vancouver’s Vampire Vixen
[by Kendall Walters] The Forbidden Vancouver Tour is full of colourful stories about people from Vancouver’s past. One tale we don’t have... Read More
In loving memory of Robert Poelvoorde
The team at Forbidden Vancouver has suffered a great loss. On November 5, 2014, Vancouver lost a wonderful man. Our friend, colleague,... Read More
The haunted history of Deadman’s Island
[by Kendall Walters] Think of Stanley Park and you probably picture sunny walks on the seawall and quiet afternoons exploring the Vancouver Aquarium,... Read More
Prohibition City: Special Edition – featuring Dan Francis
[by Kendall Walters] Celebrated historian and author Daniel Francis is joining Forbidden Vancouver – for one night only. Francis will join Forbidden Vancouver... Read More
Commercial & 3rd 1946 and 2013
This is Vernon Motors in 1946, and the current occupant Hi-Light Autobody. An automotive shop has existed here since 1929 in fact,... Read More
Georgia & Howe 1923 and 2013
The large building that no longer stands is the 2nd Hotel Vancouver, once considered one of the British Empire’s grandest hotels. Built... Read More
Georgia & Howe 1912 and 2013
This is Georgia & Howe, looking south-east, 1912 and today. You are looking at the first Hotel Vancouver where the TD tower... Read More
Granville & Davie 1928 and 2013
Granville & Davie past and present image – 1928 and 2013. You will see the beautiful turreted building that is now sadly... Read More
East Hastings 1949 and 2013
Here is a parade on a summer’s day 1949. Our investigations to date indicate it could be either an August 15 V-J... Read More
Water & Cordova 1895 and 2013
You will notice the Holland Block front and centre in each image, completed 1892. That is in fact one of two flatiron... Read More
Victory Square 1909 and 2013
Victory Square was the real centre of downtown Vancouver in 1909. You can see the Dominion (Trust) Building under construction, ready to... Read More
Westender – an article about Prohibition by Will Woods
Will wrote a piece on prohibition, speakeasies and blind pigs in Gastown for the Westender on April 25, 2013. The Westender article... Read More
The Gastown Riot: Tom Terrific vs. the Yippies
Like many cities around the world on April 20 each year Vancouver is host to a lively pro-marijuana rally. Known as ‘4-20.’... Read More
The Battle of Ballantyne Pier
1935 was a volatile year in Vancouver’s history. It was the tail end of the Great Depression and Vancouver had been hit... Read More
![An elephant in the Hollow Tree at Stanley Park. Undated photo from Frank Gowen's Vancouver, 1914-1931 (Heritage House, 2001) [PNG Merlin Archive]](https://forbiddenvancouver.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/The-Hollow-Tree-150x150.jpg?x66914)
