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Nicholson Road is an ongoing photo project aimed at sharing and celebrating the different communities in Metro Vancouver. Each week Vancouver Is Awesome will be featuring an image from the previous week, shot in one of the many ‘hoods around town in order to draw your attention a little bit outside of the hyper-focus that we usually have on the City of Vancouver. Metro Vancouver Is Awesome, and you should get out and explore it!

After the recent completion of the Tommy Douglas Branch of the Burnaby Public Library, Edmonds is set to welcome another new facility when the new Edmonds Pool & Community Centre opens in 2013.

Targeting LEED Silver, the new Edmonds Pool & Community Centre will include a 6-lane swimming pool, lazy river, hot tub, sauna, weight and cardio room, two full size gyms, and plenty more (including a coffee bar.. why not?). This effectively turns the block into a massive recreation hub, joining the expansive field, tennis and basketball courts, and outdoor rink located adjacent to the centre in Richmond Park. For the community, it’s a huge upgrade to what was originally available at the Eastburn Community Centre (check out the Street View shot of the old centre).

It’s awesome to see Edmonds finally receiving the attention it deserves, especially as the neighbourhood is quickly beginning to densify (Edmonds was recently marked as one of Burnaby’s local town centres). As one of the most diverse neighbourhoods I’ve visited in the metro, in terms of background, income, age, family size, and so on, Edmonds often feels like its starting to show the rest of the Metro Van communities how to guide a community into a more urban future – while accentuating the qualities that make Edmonds a special place to call home.

So get out there, Vancouver! And remember: Boundary is just the name of a road ;)

Archives of the Nicholson Road project can be found HERE.

Nicholson Road is an ongoing photo project aimed at sharing and celebrating the different communities in Metro Vancouver. Each week Vancouver Is Awesome will be featuring an image from the previous week, shot in one of the many ‘hoods around town in order to draw your attention a little bit outside of the hyper-focus that we usually have on the City of Vancouver. Metro Vancouver Is Awesome, and you should get out and explore it!

Launched in 2007 to celebrate British Columbia’s 150th anniversary, the B.C. Spirit Squares Program aimed to revitalize town centres and community gathering places throughout the province by helping local governments fund the construction of new public plazas, or improve existing spaces. Contributing 20 million dollars, the program was based on a 50/50 cost-sharing basis between the local and provincial governments. Throughout 2007 and 2008, over 60 cities across B.C. received funding to create spirit squares, including numerous cities in Metro Vancouver.

Out in the City of Langley, a new band shell and cenotaph were added to Douglas Park, giving the community its first formal gathering place. A number of celebrations and events have filled the space since its completion in 2009, including the annual Remembrance Day Ceremony, Bard in the Valley, and everyone’s favourite summer activity (or at least mine!) – movies in the park by FreshAirCinema.

Archives of the Nicholson Road project can be found HERE.

Nicholson Road is an ongoing photo project aimed at sharing and celebrating the different communities in Metro Vancouver. Each week Vancouver Is Awesome will be featuring an image from the previous week, shot in one of the many ‘hoods around town in order to draw your attention a little bit outside of the hyper-focus that we usually have on the City of Vancouver. Metro Vancouver Is Awesome, and you should get out and explore it!

Alrighty Vancouver: We’ve already seen the Cleveland Dam and Capilano Lake a few times on VIA, so I’m sure most of you know it was built in 1954 to replace the original 1889 dam located upriver, thereby greatly expanding the capacity of the reservoir; and that it’s named after a Mr. Ernest Albert Cleveland, the first chief commissioner of the Greater Vancouver Water District. Along with the dam, you probably also know about the Capilano River Hatchery located just a quick jaunt downstream (The best part? It’s totally free!).

If you’ve been in the area during the last few years, you might also have wondered about all the construction going on. Turns out Metro Vancouver is working on some huge upgrades to the Seymour-Capilano Water Utility, including the massive Seymour-Capilano Filtration Plant up near Lynn Canyon – the largest of its kind in Canada, and capable of treating up to 1.8 million litres of water per day. The plant also stands out by having one of the largest green roofs in the Metro, with over 1.8km² of green space above the clearwells.

At the end of the day, access to beautifully clear, clean water is what living in BC is all about. So if you know one of the thousands of people who are able to deliver this liquid gold to our taps, be sure to let them know how much you appreciate their hard work!

Archives of the Nicholson Road project can be found HERE.

Nicholson Road is an ongoing photo project aimed at sharing and celebrating the different communities in Metro Vancouver. Each week Vancouver Is Awesome will be featuring an image from the previous week, shot in one of the many ‘hoods around town in order to draw your attention a little bit outside of the hyper-focus that we usually have on the City of Vancouver. Metro Vancouver Is Awesome, and you should get out and explore it!

Designed by Chandler/Kennedy Architecture in 1990, the Surrey Public Market, located at 64th and King George Blvd (then, Hwy), was envisioned to be the ultimate local market destination for residents of Surrey and surrounding communities. A much older and more small-town ‘country’ style Surrey Public Market existed on the corner of this site from as far back as I can remember, providing space for 30 different vendors selling fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, crafts, and all the other goodies you might expect to find in a public market.

Built on a rather sensitive site, the south building of the Surrey Public Market – where the food vendors were located – is hugged by a small ravine carrying a fork of Hyland Creek as it emerges from beneath King George Blvd and continues under the bridge market – where the speciality retail and demonstration vendors were – before meeting up with the creek as it winds down towards the Serpentine River. The buildings themselves evoke that sort of Granville Island industrial character, complete with painted pipe-work, exposed metal beams, and cold, steel walls.

In case you haven’t gathered from the photo and my reference to where the vendors were rather than where they are, the new Surrey Public Market closed its doors after some leasehold disagreements in 1998 and has sat vacant ever since. Possible deals came and went, but each one fell apart at the last minute.

Fast forward to today and Surrey is a different place than it used to be. Newton Town Centre, just up the street, has plans for a re-integration with rapid transit (the interurban made Newton possible!) and a new ‘main street’ allowing for weekend markets or festivals, along with the residential density to support it, and the Surrey Public Market site has a new owner and is up for redevelopment with the possibility for new mixed-use buildings on the north end of the property.

Also, the local population has blossomed since the 90s with hundreds of families moving into new urbanist-style subdivisions throughout Panorama and Sullivan, desiring greater connection with their neighbours, their community, and an emphasis on living locally. Enter Jude Hannah and Revitalize Newton, or ReNewton (@ReNewtonNation), a group whose vision is to unite South East Newton and revitalize the old market into a bustling community gathering place.

Supported by a strong online presence, Hannah and co-chair Jen Robbins (@NtQtSouthSurrey) have decided it’s high time Newton gets its market back, and they’re forming a new community association in order to make it happen. In the process, connections are being made and a new neighbourhood identity is beginning to emerge.

It’s an exciting time, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds :)

Archives of the Nicholson Road project can be found HERE.

Nicholson Road is an ongoing photo project aimed at sharing and celebrating the different communities in Metro Vancouver. Each week Vancouver Is Awesome will be featuring an image from the previous week, shot in one of the many ‘hoods around town in order to draw your attention a little bit outside of the hyper-focus that we usually have on the City of Vancouver. Metro Vancouver Is Awesome, and you should get out and explore it!

Established in 1858, when New Westminster consisted of little more than a saloon, butcher, grocery, and bakery, Sapperton is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Metro Vancouver.

Earlier that same year, gold was discovered in New Caledonia (or what would quickly become the Colony of British Columbia) and a body of men, selected from the Royal Engineers, travelled to the new colony to support its protection and development. This group, traditionally known as the “Sappers”, set up camp atop a large ravine near the bend of the Fraser River (today known as the Glenbrooke Ravine).

During the 5 years these men were in BC (some would later choose to stay), they built countless roads throughout the province (remember the horror stories of the Cariboo Wagon Road from history class?), surveyed town sites like Hope, Yale, Lytton, and Lillooet, designed and built the first English churches in New West (both of which still stand today and remain two of the oldest buildings in the province) and schoolhouse. But that’s not all! These men also designed the first coat of arms for the province, the first postage stamp, and published the first B.C. Gazette (after first establishing the Government Printing Office).

It seems only decent to name a neighbourhood after the men who contributed so much to New West, and British Columbia as a whole! But what does all of that have to do with the building pictured above?

When it opened in 1878, the BC Penitentiary (known as the BC Pen, or Skookum House) was the first federal penitentiary west of Manitoba. It was expanded many times through the years, and was closed just over a hundred years later in 1980. Today most of the land has been rebuilt into a maze of low-rise condos and townhouses but two original buildings still stand: the Gaol Block (pictured), which has since been converted into office space, and the gatehouse, which is now home to a sports grill. If you’ve ever driven up E Columbia (or ridden the Millenium Line) as it parallels the Fraser and noticed some steps leading up to what looks like an old castle, you’ll have seen the gatehouse.

I have to say – if you ever feel like you’ve seen all the history there is to see on the streets of Vancouver, get out to New West! The city is bursting at the seems with history, and every road has a story to tell.

(And just for fun, click here for a present-day google map view of the Pen site, and then click here to see it in 1982. Who knew?! Now YOU do!)

Archives of the Nicholson Road project can be found HERE.

Camera at Robert Kenney‘s studio.

Do you remember the first time you sat for a portrait? If you’re like me, it was probably a family session at Sears complete with uncomfortable attire and awkward smiles. Maybe you were a little more adventurous and jumped into one of those wild west photo booths at the PNE. If you were really lucky, you might’ve happened upon Foncie Pulice down on Granville Street and let him snap a candid on his Electric-Photo camera – to be picked up at his studio later that day.

Now I’m guessing that none of the options listed above would have produced the first photograph you’d ever seen of yourself. Polaroids have been around for a while, and these days its simply expected that a newborn baby will have at least a few cameras in his/her face before the first day is through. In the era of digital photography, an image of yourself is a quick click/swipe/tap away.

But have you ever wondered what photography must have been like back in the 19th century? When canvas and paintbrush gave way to experimental concoctions and large, mysterious boxes. When men and women must have gasped in amazement as their own likeness gradually revealed itself before their eyes.

Well last week I had the chance to do a little time-travelling back to the era of collodion photography, with the help of Robert Kenney. An established commercial photographer, Kenney recently decided it was time for a change and began teaching himself the wet plate collodion process.

Wet plate collodion was developed in the 1850s and soon replaced the daguerrotype, which was the first commercially successful photographic process. Requiring a mixture of pyroxylin with alcohol, ether, and a few other ingredients like silver nitrate, wet plate collodion isn’t an easy process to pick up. Besides, once you’re able to find all the required ingredients, you then need to master the art of coating, exposing, and developing the glass plates – all of which needs to be done within about 7 minutes, or before the plate dries.

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