Vancouver History Blog - Forbidden Vancouver

Douglas Firs in the West End, with the first Hotel Vancouver in the distance. Photo by William McFarlane Notman, McCord Museum #VIEW 1803.

Past & Present: the West End, 1888/2017

15 Jun 2017

Looking towards downtown Vancouver from Thurlow and Barclay Streets in the West End. The old photo was taken by William McFarlane Notman of the Montreal-based Notman & Son studio. Notman’s father, William, opened his studio...

5 Secret Stories from Stanley Park

06 Jun 2017

[by Lani Russwurm] Stanley Park has lots to attract the millions of visitors it sees each year, from the ever-popular totem poles, to the many monuments, forest trails, and of course, the seawall. What attracts...

Fergusson Block, 200 Carrall Street, 1887. Photo by JA Brock, City of Vancouver Archives #Bu P80.

Past & Present: Ferguson Block, 1887/2017

26 May 2017

This is the second Ferguson Block built on 200 Carrall Street in Gastown’s Maple Tree Square. The first, wood version was obliterated in the Great Fire of 1886. This one was completed the following year, making it...

Title image, showing the interior of Urquart's liquor store between 1903 and 1907. City of Vancouver Archives #46-7

A Boozy History of Prohibition in Vancouver

27 Apr 2017

[by Lani Russwurm] Alcohol prohibition arrived in BC in 1917 and lasted just four years. Between the bootlegging, the corruption, and the scandals, it’s fair to say prohibition created more problems than it solved. It...

Angus Fraser's house on Carrall between Cordova Street and Trounce Alley, 1877. City of Vancouver Archives #Bu P28

Past & Present: Carrall Street, 1877/2017

20 Apr 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 in the 1870s (either 1873 or 1877 depending on the source) on Carrall...

Forbidden Vancouver on the Radio

29 Mar 2017

Forbidden Vancouver regularly joins Strong + Sharp Mornings for Throwback Thursdays on Roundhouse Radio, 98.3 on your radio dial. Follow the links below to hear about our walking tours and find out about some of...

Police parade on the 700 block of Main Street, eastside, 1918. Photo by Stuart Thomson, City of Vancouver Archives #99-1269

Past & Present: 700 block of Main Street 1914/2017

24 Mar 2017

Only one of the buildings in the 1914 photo is likely to survive much longer, the London Hotel on the southeast corner of Main and East Georgia streets. The building farthest to the left was...

Canton Alley ca. 1928, by Brodie A Whitelaw, Library and Archives Canada #PA-126739

A History of Deviant Alleys in Vancouver

08 Mar 2017

[by Lani Russwurm] Today we think of alleys as almost exclusively dedicated to garbage pick-up, deliveries, and parking cars. But Vancouver had several “deviant alleys” that had much more varied uses. Trounce Alley (aka Blood Alley),...

The World Building (now the Sun Tower), wholesale district, and railyards, 1915. Photo by Richard Broadbridge, BC Archives #B-00406

Past & Present: Looking north towards the Sun Tower, 1915/2017

23 Feb 2017

The first photo was taken from the recently opened Georgia Viaduct. It was replaced in 1972 with the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts seen in the 2017 photo. In the 1980s this area was to be...

Stanley Park in 1898, by Stephen Joseph Thompson, City of Vancouver Archives #St Pk P223

A Devastating History of Stanley Park

24 Jan 2017

[By Lani Russwurm] Stanley Park was supposed to be a large, wild, and untamed rainforest. Almost 1,000 acres of virgin Pacific Northwest woodland preserved in a natural, pristine state. But nature had other ideas. In...