Our latest video wall showcases the types of businesses that have operated in the city over time. Goods & Services: Businesses in Vancouver introduces the viewer, through the lenses of work, school, home, and play, to a host of different commercial enterprises that have called Vancouver home over the last 150 years.
Saw mills were one of the first types of businesses to operate in the City of Vancouver. Ships loading lumber at Hastings Saw Mill, ~1896. Reference code: AM54-S4-: Mi P26
Merging Time, an exhibit created by the students of Langara College’s Professional Photography program, has returned to the Archives gallery space. It is an exhibit that merges a photograph from the Archives holdings with a newly-shot image of the same scene. This year, there are nineteen of these past-and-present combined images adorning the gallery walls.
Archives photograph selected by Luc Frost for the Merging Time exhibit. Hastings Street looking towards Cambie Street intersection, ca. 1913. Reference code: AM1376-: CVA 220-10
Digital composite by Luc Frost incorporating Archives image AM1376-: CVA 220-10
The creation of the merged images may look effortless and seamless, but don’t be fooled. The first challenge for these students is finding the locations from which the original photographs were shot. Getting a new shot with their dSLR cameras from the same perspective can be tricky, as buildings, construction, or other barriers that didn’t exist in the past may block or obscure today’s views of the original scenes. Even the height of the original photographer can make getting a similar shot a challenge. Continue reading
The City of Vancouver Archives is the repository for the early records of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden Society and on July 5, at 6pm, the Friends of the Vancouver City Archives is hosting an evening entitled “Tea, Talk and Treats: An Exclusive Summer Evening in Vancouver’s Chinese Garden” at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.
Friends of the Vancouver City Archives invitation for the July 5th event
The event will support the Archives’ digitization work and will offer Chinese tea and pastries, a presentation given by Professor Alison Bailey regarding the traditional concepts and artistic and poetic representations of the Chinese garden, and a tour of the Garden led by docents that will highlight the Garden’s architectural and horticultural elements.
The records held by the Archives were donated by the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden Society in 1991, 1992, and 2011. They span from 1981-2009, with the majority from 1981-1991, and consist of approximately 1700 photographs, 22 videocassettes, 139 architectural drawings, 1 technical drawing and 2 maps. Continue reading
Posted in Holdings, Public Programming
Tagged Chinatown, Chinese, Friends of the Archives
Over the past several years, five video wall shows centering on various themes have been created at the Archives. Titles include Vancouver Vignettes, Games in the City, Edifice, Forces Shaping a City, and Parks. The video wall shows highlight the diverse nature of our photograph, video, and textual holdings.
One of the photographs included in the video wall show. Fishing on Greer’s (now Kitsilano) Beach, 1890s. Reference code: AM54-S4-: Be P142
It has been a few years since the last video wall show, Parks, was created, so we felt it was time to add another one to our rotating shows. We are happy to announce the latest show: Food and Drink: Growing, making, buying and consuming.
The inspiration for this latest installation was two-fold. As an undergraduate, I studied horticulture and agriculture, and therefore the production and consumption of food and beverages are never far from my mind. Secondly, in my daily work at the Archives, I constantly come across a wealth of materials relating to the production and consumption of food and beverages in and around Vancouver throughout the last 150 or so years. Continue reading
This past Saturday, February 3, the sky was its typical overcast winter self, perfect for the seventh annual edition of Winter Wander in Vanier Park.
Winter Wander, a fun family event, is a chance for people to explore the institutions that call Vanier Park home, including Museum of Vancouver, Vancouver Maritime Museum, HR MacMillan Space Centre, City of Vancouver Archives, Vancouver Academy of Music, and Bard on the Beach. Continue reading
The Friends of the Vancouver City Archives with the support of Famous Artists, is hosting the Hugh Pickett Gala, Monday, October 16, 2017, at the Sylvia Hotel. It will be an evening filled with live music, bubbly and hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, and illustrated presentations. Funds raised at this event will go towards the processing and digitization of long-time Vancouver impresario Hugh Pickett’s records. The records were recently donated to the City of Vancouver Archives by Gordon Boyd, Hugh’s life partner.
Hugh Pickett at home. Reference code pending
The Hugh Pickett fonds is vast and colourful, filled with theatre programmes, scrapbooks, event files and photographs emanating from Hugh’s long and rich career in the entertainment industry. The event files include documentation from an array of touring artists and entertainers ranging from pop singers to comedians, circuses to dance companies, classical and opera performers to country artists. Many of the photographs are of early Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) productions, as Hugh was one of the creators of TUTS. Although not directly related to Hugh’s career, there are rare Spitfire Fund scrapbooks included in the fonds from when his mother was involved with the fund in Vancouver.
Some of the Theatre Under the Stars programs. Photo by Heather Gordon
With a successful fundraising effort, we anticipate being able to make the records available to the public in mid to late 2018 and to have a portion of the photographic materials digitized and available online (as rights permit).
A small portion of the 1000+ photos in the fonds. Photo by Heather Gordon
Tickets are $50 per person, purchased via Eventbrite. The gala runs from 7:00 – 9:00 PM, on Monday, October 16 at the Sylvia Hotel (1154 Gilford Street).
Dress code – dress cool, for as Hugh would say, “Tuxedos are for waiters.”
Hugh with material promoting some of his shows. Reference code pending
Last month we had another successful run at Vancity Theatre of some of our newly digitized film and video. For those who are unable to attend, and those of you would like another look, we post all past shows on our YouTube channel, including this year’s Vancouver: Exponential Change. Please note that the online content does not include the pre-screening presentation, commentary, or accompanying music. To read more about this year’s screening, please visit our previous post.
Below is the list of films featured in Vancouver: Exponential Change.
Bastard Love – reel 1 (1928)
excerpts
2015-049.1
Bastard Love – reel 2 (1928)
excerpts
2015-049.2
Bastard Love – reel 3 (1928)
excerpts
2015-049.3
Vancouver Honeymoon (1961)
AM1487-:2013-020.24
P.N.E. Parades 50, 51, 52, 53, and 56 – P.N.E. Ground[s] 60 and 61 (c. 1960, 1961)
AM1601-S1-:2012-010.14-1
Vancouver on the Move (1986)
AM1576-S6-2-: 2011-010.2702
Make Vancouver Sparkle campaign (1986)AM
1576-S6-2-: 2011-010.2699
Vancouver Centennial song (1986)
AM1576-S6-2-: 2011-010.2704
Expo views (1986)AM1553-8-S7-: MI-239
“Expo” day 3 – cam[era] rolls 4-5 (1986)
AM1553-8-S7-: MI-244
“Expo” [camera rolls 1-3] (1986)
AM1553-8-S7-: MI-240
Vancouver: Exponential Change is coming to Vancity Theatre on November 20th and 27th at 3:30 pm. It is the seventh annual screening of digitized movies from the Archives’ holdings. Michael Kluckner, local historian, will be providing insightful commentary, while Wayne Stewart, pianist, will provide music for the film segments shot without sound. This year’s show takes a look at what Vancouverites have gotten up to in their spare time. Here is a preview of this year’s screening.
The first film of the series includes excerpts from Bastard Love, a film made by prominent Vancouver families in 1928, including members of the Rogers, Tupper, and Molson families, and shot on the grounds of Shannon Estate. Continue reading
This year’s event will be Saturday, October 15 in the Grand Luxe Hall at Western Front, 303 East 8th Ave., 12pm-4pm.
Part of the worldwide Home Movie Day celebration, and organized by the local audio visual community, this event is always festive and fun. You can bring in your own 8mm, Super 8, or 16mm film and VHS video or just come out and see other people’s films.
There will be a demonstration of working with Super 8 film.
We hope to see you there. For more detail, see the Vancouver Home Movie Day Facaebook page.
The Friends of the Vancouver Archives are holding their annual fall fundraiser October 23rd, 2pm. The Early Bird discount ends Oct. 12. The event will be an illustrated talk with light refreshments.
Vaudeville actors who performed at the Orpheum Theatre, 1914. Reference code AM54-S4-2-: CVA 371-2165.
With its mixed variety of singers, dancers, comedians, musicians, minstrel shows and sing-a-longs, Vaudeville shows crisscrossed North America in the early 20th century. With rail connections to the United States, Vancouver was a major stop on the circuit and Hastings Street was theatre row, home to some of the largest and most glamorous venues in the city.
Join historian John Atkin and artist Tom Carter for an illustrated look at this uproarious era of traveling performers and elaborate theatres. The event will be held at the City of Vancouver Archives in Vanier Park.
Tickets are available on Eventbrite. We hope to see you there!
If you are interested in seeing more about the Friends, they are on Facebook.
