Tag Archives: Gastown history

Is that movie director Tim Burton in front of my Gastown store?

I recognized his face, the toussled hair and a-few-days-growth beard, but couldn’t quite place him as he walked by my store Monday. He looked like a famous architect, leading a group of people on an architectural tour of Vancouver’s historic … Continue reading

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A short history of Gastown: The birth of Vancouver, Canada

This is one of the earliest photos of Gastown, taken in 1886 in Maple Tree Square in the town of Granville (now called Vancouver). Locals called it Gastown because the first saloon was started by Jack Deighton, known as “Gassy … Continue reading

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Los Angeles approves spending $125 million on new downtown streetcar system

Last week, I wrote a post about Vancouver’s old streetcar system, which included some historical film footage from 1907 and my lament that our city never kept the two trams used here during the 2010 Olympics. There was a plan … Continue reading

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Early Gastown history: 1907 film of streetcar route through Vancouver, Canada (with four historical videos)

This great six-minute film shows the early days of Vancouver and Gastown — it is the earliest film footage of the city, whose population was only 27,000 in 1901. It was shot by Seattle filmmaker William Harbeck, who was hired … Continue reading

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Years ago, Leonard Cohen wrote on the wall of my store

I was told by a customer that years ago, Leonard Cohen came out of the Europe Hotel pub across the street one night and wrote something on the wall of what is now my store, Angel Vancouver. What did he … Continue reading

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