The Death of Janet Smith

10 Oct 2017

[by Lani Russwurm] The death of Scottish nurse Janet Smith in a Shaughnessy mansion in 1924 is Vancouver’s most notorious cold case — a tale of unsolved murder, high society, racism, drug-fuelled parties, torture, and even...

Cordova Street looking west at Cambie Street, ca. 1900. Online Archive of California, UCR/California Museum of Photography #1996.0009.X4834.

Past & Present: Cordova Street, 1900/2017

24 Jul 2017

Here’s an old street we explore in The Lost Souls of Gastown Tour. Cordova Street looking west at Cambie, ca. 1900 and 2017. The building on the left, on Cambie Street, in the 2017 pic...

Secret Vancouver Beach Histories title image, English Bay, ca. 1925. McCord Museum #MP-0000.158.144.

4 Secret Vancouver Beach Histories

04 Jul 2017

[by Lani Russwurm] It looks like summer weather is going to linger for a while, so we thought we’d supply you with some beach reading. The following are little known histories of four Vancouver beaches. Two...

Dominion Day celebration in New Westminster, 1878. Photo by French, City of Vancouver Archives #677-452.

Dominion Day on Burrard Inlet

01 Jul 2017

150 years ago, Gassy Jack was just thinking about opening a saloon at Burrard Inlet – which he did later in 1867. (Find out all about it on The Lost Souls of Gastown Tour.) British...

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

On The Dark Secrets of Stanley Park Tour, we explore how, why – and by whom – the West End was first settled. This pair of photos looks towards downtown Vancouver from Thurlow and Barclay...

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...

Vancouver History Blog

VANCOUVER HISTORY BLOG