THE FRIENDS OF THE VANCOUVER CITY ARCHIVES SOCIETY PRESENTS:

Bute and Nelson in 1890, CVA Photo Dist P 59 by Bailey Brothers

The Old West End Revisited:

An Interactive Street by Street Photographic Journey

Date: July 19^th

Time: 7pm

Location: City of Vancouver Archives, 1150 Chestnut Street

Enjoy a sentimental trip back to the time when the West End had no highrises and its streets were still lined with intact blocks of stately Victorian and Edwardian homes.

1900 and 2000-blocks of Nelson in 1908

Come time travel with Vancouver house historian, history walk guide and Chair of the Friends of the Vancouver City Archives, James Johnstone as he guides you on a street by street tour of the old West End using the City of Vancouver Archives’ fascinating collection of archival images.

Do you like old photographs of Vancouver? Did you grow up in the West End or have memories of the neighbourhood you would like to share? Or are you curious about what once stood on the site of your highrise apartment or condo? Can you help us identify some houses or people in some of our mystery photos? Then this would be a perfect night for you.

This is a FREE event for members of the Friends of the Vancouver City Archives.

• Seating is limited.
• Non-members are certainly welcome.
• Suggested donation for non-members is $10.
• or, you can buy a $20 membership to the Friends of the Vancouver city Archives and become immediately eligible for a 50% discount on all 8x10 B&W archival prints.
• For more information call 604-736-8561

1461 West Georgia in November of 1958. A. L. Yates photo

Check out this Panorama View of Vancouver!

This is a view of Vancouver taken by W. J. Moore from atop the Lee Block (NW corner of Bradway and Main) on 7 July 1913. This is City of Vancouver Archives Photo PAN N161A. Remember you can click on this photo to enlarge it. You can see this photo at a greater magnification on the City of Vancouver Archives Website. 

Are you interested in old photos of Vancouver? You will find literally thousands online on the City of Vancouver Website. Join the Friends of the Vancouver City Archives Society and you can get a 50% discount on 8x10 prints! Interested? Here's how you can join: http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/archives/friends/index.htm

Panorama Shot of Nelson Street in 1908

I am in the midst of doing research for my upcoming West End History Walking Tour. I have the route all mapped out. If everything goes well I will have a tour set up that will start from the Listel Hotel Vancouver in the morning and arrive at the Sylvia Hotel around noon. Then around 2pm I will take another group from the Sylvia Hotel, zigzag through the West End and end up at the Listel Hotel Vancouver. Not quite sure how often I will be offering these... all those details still need to be worked out, but I am really excited about it.

Just like my East End History Walking Tours, I plan to have a binder of archival photos with me so people can see exactly how certain sections of the streets they are walking on looked 100 years ago.

To that end, I have been searching through the City of Vancouver Archives and Vancouver Public Library Special Collections database for photos of the West End. I found lots of great photos, but my heart almost stopped when I came across this one. This is City of Vancouver Archives photo PAN P103, taken in 1908. The photographer is unknown. Wow! (Remember to click on the photo to enlarge it).

This panoramic view shows 2075 Nelson Street, 2045 Nelson Street, 2001 Nelson Street, 2040 Nelson Street, 2000 Nelson Street, 1966 Nelson Street and 901 Chilco Street, 2010 Barclay Street and 2005 Comox Street in the background. I don't know anything about the houses yet. My tour doesn't even take in this section of Nelson Street... It's all very different now.

This is the neighbourhood that Vancouver's elite abandoned for Shaughnessy Heights about three to four years later. These large houses were converted to rooming houses, and later demolished to make way for apartments and highrises...