The Archives will be closed from noon December 22 to 9am Wednesday, January 2, 2018.
Front of card
This greeting card “wishing health, joy and wealth be unto you” is from the Lorne Brown fonds. Just who the “broadcaster” was is uncertain, but the delightful colours and message ring true this time of year.
Card envelope
The matching textured envelope with block printing inside the flap is a wonderful added touch to this charming circa 1930 card.
With contributions by Bronwyn Smyth.
NOTE: The clipboard feature described below is currently unavailable. We are working on the problem.
Our online search has been upgraded to version 2.4 of AtoM and with that has come many changes in its look and behaviour. We’d like to guide you through the major differences.
One of the more exciting new features is the change in your access to copyrighted digital objects. Previously, if you were searching the database from home you could only access the thumbnail of a digital object under copyright to a third party (that is, not the City of Vancouver) or of unknown copyright. If you tried to look at a larger image, you would see a warning that said “This digital object can only be accessed in person at the Archives because of the associated rights”. You would have had to come to the Archives to see the full image online.
With our upgraded system, you will now see the larger image in the full record page. Continue reading
We’re pleased to announce that our project to create a historical layer in Vanmap from the 1912 Goad’s Fire Insurance Plan has won a BC Heritage award in the Heritage Education & Awareness category.
The awards will be presented February 18 at The Imperial, a renovated heritage building.
We’re looking forward to learning about the rest of the winning projects. Come chat with us if you’re at the gala!
It’s that time of year again, the season of giving. Stuck for holiday gift ideas? Why not give the gift of local history? How about creating your own artwork using historical photographs of Vancouver? Sound intriguing? Then read on for a step-by-step guide to downloading hi-res photos from our online database.
The City of Vancouver Archives has approximately 80,000 high-resolution photographs that are available for download from our online database. They are either Public Domain or City of Vancouver copyrighted images, which means that you are free to download and use them for anything your heart desires. The creative possibilities are endless, so let’s get started.
1. Search Archives main page. Select “Advanced search” at top of page.
Posted in General
Tagged arts and crafts, digitization, downloading hi-res photos, gift ideas, photographs
We’ve recently updated our online search to add a few new features.
In response to your suggestions, we sponsored development of an improved date search. It’s in Advanced Search, on the left sidebar. Continue reading
Posted in Digital Archives, Digitization, General, Holdings, Reading Room
Tagged searching
This year, we received funding from the B.C. History Digitization Program to digitize more maps and plans from our holdings. The maps need conservation work done to them before they can be digitized. Here’s an example of a map that had an unusual old repair.
Back of map, close-up showing old repair. Item No. LEG1153.367
This is one sheet from a set of Point Grey sectional maps from the 1920s. The map is 2.8m long, printed on cloth and has several tears at one end. A very long time ago, probably in 1929 or soon after, someone repaired it with cheesecloth, paper and glue, and later with adhesive tape.
The repair paper caught my eye. Once it was removed, I took a closer look. It was made of blank ballots!
Patch material from back of map.
The questions on the ballot identified it as the second page of the money ballot from May 15, 1929, which we have as part of the City of Vancouver Record of Elections.
Second page of money ballot from May 15, 1929. Reference code COV-S37– Container 87-G-1 vol. 2.
Today’s equivalent of the money ballot is the capital plan borrowing questions section of the modern ballot.
Since the original map was created by the Municipality of Point Grey, and the repair pages are 1929 City of Vancouver ballot papers, it seems likely that the maps were received during the process of amalgamating Point Grey and Vancouver (along with South Vancouver) in 1929. The repair was probably made by someone in the City of Vancouver who needed to use the map. Amalgamation included coordinating the street grid and street naming.
The map was repaired and the torn end now looks like this:
Front of map after treatment, detail of one end.
You may have noticed that our SearchArchives database looks a little different. For example, the information for a full record is in a more compact form, reducing the amount of scrolling you’ll have to do.
Screenshots of identical dimensions show the dramatic difference. The old version is on the left and the new one on the right.
The software has recently been upgraded to version 2.1 of AtoM. Most of the changes in the updated version affect how things are handled behind the scenes. Besides the example above, there are other changes that affect users:
Improved search times. Updates to the search index have reduced the time it takes the database to respond to your search query.
Searchable subject and place terms. There is a search box that appears on the Browse Subjects and Browse Places pages that allows you to search for specific terms, rather than just browse them. Be sure to hit the magnifying glass symbol (indicated below) to search.
Search results for subject term “building*”.
Better list of search results. There has been a change to the results algorithm that will give you results in a slightly different order.
Results of searching for “dog”. The old version is on the left and the new one on the right.
We are anticipating further improvements to our SearchArchives database with the AtoM 2.2 release later this summer.
The Archives will be closed from noon Tuesday December 24 to 9am Thursday January 2.
Card from the Orpheum Theatre, 1913. Reference code AM1519-: PAM 1913-10.
This holiday card is not from the Orpheum Theatre we have today but from the second of three theatres in Vancouver which had the Orpheum name. That theatre was built in 1891 as the Vancouver Opera House and was renamed Orpheum in 1913.
Posted in General
From about 1894 to 1908, summer camping on the beach was considered a fashionable holiday tradition, enjoyed by many of Vancouver’s early well-to-do families.
The most popular spot was Greer’s (now Kits) Beach, where “tent town” comprised two long rows of tents on either side of an irregular “street” of beach sand. Greer’s Beach was reached by boat down False Creek from Carrall Street; on foot across the CPR trestle bridge or via a sinuous trail through the cleared area; or by buggy over a former wagon track used by loggers with their oxen.
English Bay Beach was another popular camping site, where, in 1898, “about two score tents extended to the West” and “many were commodious and richly furnished.”
These are the camping beaches shown in the images below.
Beach camping was discontinued after 1908, due to improper sanitation conditions and increased development. Continue reading
This post was written by Marek Bula.
The Archives has a long history. Here’s a look at how we grew.
J.S. Matthews’ home, where the archives were kept before being moved to the Holden Building in 1931. Reference code AM54-S4-: Str P90.01
In 1931, Major J.S. Matthews’ extensive personal collection of photos and documents relating to Vancouver was moved to the Holden Building, Vancouver’s temporary City Hall at 16 East Hastings. This included thousands of documents and photographs—such as interviews with early pioneers and aboriginal people—relating to the history and development of the City of Vancouver. Continue reading
