2400 Court, a postcard of unknown vintage which appears to be signed by Christian Anderson, no relation to Hans Christian Andersen I presume.
UBC Library Building Plans by architects Sharp & Thompson (later known as Thompson, Berwick, Pratt & Partners). Actually, I came across these drawings via a brochure titled Scrapbook for a Golden Anniversary, the University of British Columbia Library, 1915-1965. It was there I learned that this drawing I posted 11 months ago was by the first UBC librarian John Ridington. The brochure featured a negative image of the Periodical Room, and added the comment “It was never built”. I came across the rest of the blueprints from the UBC archives here.
The Last Street Car, Sunday 24 April 1955
Source: The Buzzer, 20 April 1955
Illustrated by Bob Banks, who drew cartoons for the Buzzer from 1954-1976.
Vancouver Healing Lodge 31 West Pender (Opening June 11th)
This is going to be a really significant addition to the DTES. I’m really proud a former co-worker of mine was behind this! Actually, he’s VNHS president!
Here’s the background on the building’s heritage from the City of Vancouver administrative report from October 2010:
This building is primarily valued for its architecture and the history of ownership and use. Designed by the same talented architect who designed the World Building (Sun Tower) - W. T. Whiteway, this attractive building was made with high quality brick and the combination of steel columns and fire-resistant millwork floors. The principal facade is characterized by rich surface details, ornamented window surrounds and entablatures.
Built in 1913 for Storey and Campbell, owners of the Storey and Campbell Co., this residential building (aka Palmer Rooms) provided lodging on the upper floors, with retail at the ground level. It was conveniently located between the warehouse district and Chinatown, and within walking distance to the major transportation nodes. The building remained in the Storey family until 1946, when it was purchased by Lai Hing. Lai lived in this building and operated his hotel business under Wingate Hotel for about 30 years. Most recently, the building’s name was changed to Pender Hotel.
ps: Architect and concept illustration credit goes to Joe Y. Wai Architect Inc.
More souvenir decals from the web. Two of these sold on ebay recently, although we have already seen one here before. The Vancouver Mountie decal is currently listed on ebay, and it looks like it’s signed. The name in the bottom right hand corner spells Tekao. Still, my all-time favourite decal is this one of Chinatown.
The Evolution of the Vancouver Apartment, from Michael Kluckner’s Vanishing Vancouver: The Last 25 Years, an entirely new book to be published April 30th, 2012 by Whitecap Books. A number of book launch events are scheduled to coincide with the release of this book next month; to learn more about them, see my cross-post at Vancouver Is Awesome.
Science World parking lot mural on the side of the Graphic Arts Building, 45 East 8th Avenue (just a block away from the Anza Club). The mural was photographed by Rick Chung on April 3, 2012. Thanks to Soph for pointing this out to me. Much like Alicia Fashionista had inspired Rick to set off to find and photograph this secluded urban mural, I had been meaning to shoot this one for a while. I’m glad Rick has tracked down the important details in his post! The mural is by Raymond Boyer, but what really surprised me was the date on the artwork. It says 1999. Really? It’s been there this whole time?! Why have I only noticed this piece in the last year? I guess I don’t go biking down 8th Avenue often enough!
Vancouver in a bell jar - a souvenir kitsch sculpture of five landmark buildings; the Marine Building (1930), Harbour Centre (minus the Lookout, which appears to have vanished) (1977), BC Place (1983), Canada Place (1986), Science World (1986), and Library Square (1995). There’s not much in the way of an artists’ credit, except that it was made by Twinkle Globe, Canada. This is currently for sale on ebay, and though it looks tempting, I’m sure we’ll all be able to print this kind of thing at home on a 3D printer in a year or two. The current model on their website, if you search for Vancouver, features the same buildings plus it has a SkyTrain and appears to rotate and plays the tune Unforgettable. Tacky? Perhaps. But I still love it!
Souvenir scarf of Vancouver, circa 1950s seen on ebay recently. This would have made a nice second prize in my pillowcase throwdown, but alas someone else is the lucky winner.
The Harland Bartholomew & Associates development plan for Exhibition Park (aka the PNE) drawn December, 1948. This file was recently added to the City of Vancouver Archives at Archive.org (image tweaked for a cleaner black and white image.)
Here’s one thing which didn’t come true that we can be thankful for; the envisioned front entrance would have allowed 2762 cars to drive right into the park and create a giant parking lot in the bottom corner of the site. Of course, lots of the parking inevitably still surfaces throughout the surrounding neighbourhood. But looking at the top of the map leads me to believe there were plans for the CPR to make a direct stop at the park, perhaps providing a form of early rapid transit?
And what about the aesthetic design of the park? The bottom left corner of the park bears a certain resemblance to the present day PNE. To the right there are orderly plans for a Future Exhibit of unknown variety, right where the midway is today.
Up in the top left, they decided to install the Gayway (a term synonymous with midway today). Gayway was also the term that was used at the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco in 1939-40. I don’t want to get too far off topic, but the Golden Gate Expo is another favourite topic of mine. Who here knew the GGIE also featured Sally Rand’s Nude Ranch? About a month ago, I spotted this on ebay; the 3 page proposal for the attraction by the Bert Levey Circuit of Vaudeville Theatres.
I don’t see any clothing optional sections planned for the PNE in Harland Bartholomew’s development plan, but it does look like the designers did try to add a hint of romance to their plan, putting a dance hall at the end of the meandering Gayway. And if you weren’t up for some romance, they put the roller coaster right next door, so those who chose not to dance could still have the ride of their life! Oh, designing is such fun and games, isn’t it?
Update! I just learned that the midway WAS at the back corner of the PNE back in the day. While the park didn’t evolve exactly as envisioned above, at least we did get a new wooden roller coaster in 1958 designed by the legendary roller coaster designer Carl Phare. Incidentally, it’s the last remaining Carl Phare designed roller coaster in operation in the world.
There were at least 3 other coasters that pre-date the Carl Phare design at the PNE, according to rollercoastersofthepacificnw.com. First there was Coaster (Dip The Dips) - 1915-1924. Heritage Vancouver has posted a photo from 1914 of the first rollercoaster under construction here, and there’s an aerial view of the finished coaster from 1919 here. Happyland got a pair of coasters known as Giant Dipper - 1925-1947 and Baby Dipper - 1928-1944. Then along came a string of smaller roller coaster rides for Playland; Little Dipper - 1958-197?; Mad Mouse - 1958-1964?; Monster Mouse - 1965-1971?; Super Big Gulp - 1972-1994; Wild Mouse - 1979-2008. And finally, there was another roller coaster in Stanley Park called Dips circa 1913-1923. I’m hoping I come across some artwork of this one day.
I recently posted the Project 200 brochure on flickr, the often discussed freeway and urban development that almost wiped out Chinatown. Gordon Price has mentioned it on many occasions; here in 2008 he agrees with John Atkin who states it was not only outspoken public opposition that ended the project; they also ran out of financing options, and the feds walked away with the money.
What I find most amusing about this photo is ironic juxtaposition between the iconic landmarks of the Woodward’s building, the Dominion Building, and the Marine Building, and the giant blocks of Lego architecture that look like badly designed hotels of the 70s. Never mind the fact that no one would have dared to imagine Woodward’s would no longer be in business some 30 years later…or that it would one day become the vibrant redevelopment that it is today. I’ll add another footnote to the story tomorrow.
Vancouver Nightmare, a young adult crime novel by Victoria author Eric Wilson, illustrated by Richard Row. Also shown, cover art from the first novel in his series, Murder on the Canadian, (with artwork of a VIA train heading from Winnipeg to Vancouver), the Emily Carr Mystery (showcasing the Salish Sea around Victoria), and an earlier edition of Vancouver Nightmare (also featuring a VIA passenger train, illustrated by Tom McNeely, a Toronto illustrator with over 50 years of work in his repertoire). From wikipedia:
Originally a public school teacher, Wilson’s teaching experiences pushed him into writing. Frustrated by some of his slow learners rejecting books as being too boring, Wilson decided to try writing stories himself. His first short stories were popular with his students, but publishers rejected his first five manuscripts.
Want to know what the kids are saying? Here’s a review from CBC Kids. You can also purchase ebook PDFs from the author for $3 a piece.
City of Neon (aka Granville in the 50s), Sterling Richter’s electrical box wrap, on the 1000 block of Granville. B&W photo from the Downtown Electrical Box Wrap Facebook page, colour concept from Sterling’s gallery at deviantart. Sterling provides some colour commentary in this video (featuring an amusing sign of the times sidewalk interaction with a guy peddling digital apps, or something like that). These box wraps were installed some 5 months ago, but this one was a real favourite of mine, so I thought it deserved revisiting.
