Browsing “Our History”

Vancouver Heritage Foundation is a registered charity supporting the conservation of heritage buildings and structures in recognition of their contribution to the city’s economy, sustainability and culture.

Vancouver Cycle Club in 1914 at the Old Courthouse (now Vancouver Art Gallery) in front of the King George VII Fountain on Georgia St. (now on Hornby)

Introducing our Inaugural Season of VHF Guided Bike Tours!

Brand new for 2013, Vancouver Heritage Foundation is offering guided bike tours. Take a ride through our bike-friendly city and learn some history while you’re at it! Our inaugural season includes two different tours both with experienced and enthusiastic guides to inspire a range of cycling enthusiasts. Reserve your spot here for VHF’s Bike Tours, visit www.vancouverheritagefoundation.org or call 604 264 9642.

First up is the Places That Matter bike tour. Join historian and avid cyclist  John Atkin on a tour via Vancouver’s bike lanes  of Vancouver Heritage Foundation’s Places That Matter plaque sites Saturday, May 25th from 1-3pm.  Learn why these hidden (and not so hidden) places were chosen as part of 125 sites (plotted on Google Maps) to receive our lovely blue “Places That Matter” plaques. On the tour, you will hear the stories and see the plaques that have been installed around the city, and then make a special stop midway to take in the Nellie Yip Quong House plaque presentation live! The tour starts at Canada Place and will travel along bike lanes to get to Strathcona, False Creek, and Fairview Slopes, over the Burrard Street Bridge, and back to Robson Square (very close to the location of the archival photo pictured above).

• Saturday, May 25, 2013
  
• Time: 1:00pm – 3:00pm
• Starting Point: 999 Canada Place (at the information kiosk)  and ending at Robson Square. Please arrive prepared with a bicycle, safety equipment, water bottle, and anything else you may need to enjoy your ride.
• $20/person + tax.  Get your tickets here.
• Spokes Bicycle Rentals is generously offering a 30% discount on bike and equipment rentals to anyone attending one of our Bike Tours. Rental includes a bike, helmet and lock. Please note BC laws require all riders to wear bike helmets.
• This bike tour is recommended for intermediate cyclists (those comfortable with city cycling and mild inclines) …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

From 1934 to 1979, street photographer Foncie Pulice set up his camera on Vancouver city sidewalks and snapped candid shots of people strolling by. For almost half a century, he took thousands of photos, unwittingly capturing moments in time, the history of a city, and the lives of British Columbians.

Now documentary filmmaker Melanie Wood and British Columbia’s Knowledge Network are bringing these photographs together – collecting them from albums around the province and giving them a public home. Photo negatives of Foncie’s images do not exist. He destroyed most of them when he retired. Until now there was no central archive or collection.

Some thoughts from one of the subjects in this 1959 Foncie photo:
“Vancouver wasn’t all white! My future husband and I on Granville Street in 1959. He was one of five black students at UBC at the time. – Nadine”

This is a story about Vancouver, about British Columbia, and about it’s people… so they need your help. Visit Knowledge.ca/FonciesCorner to add your photos and stories to the collection.

We’re sharing a couple of Foncie photos here on V.I.A. each week leading up to the premiere of the documentary film being released in the summer. Share your memories (or the ones you find in your parents’ and grandparents’ archives) and become a part of Vancouver’s history!

PROVOKE, ENGAGE, ANIMATE. Our vision at the Museum of Vancouver (MOV) is to hold a mirror up to the city and lead provocative conversations about its past, present, and future. Linking the historical record and the living experiences of its visitors to what is happening socially, politically, and culturally NOW; we honour the material culture of the city: mixing history, archaeology, visual arts, design, architecture, urban planning, music, performance, new media, design, fashion, popular culture, and photography. Check us out on our blog, talk to us on Twitter, or stay up to date through Facebook.

Talking about apps has been a big thing in the museum world lately – how do you use technology to engage visitors? How can you enhance a historical or artistic experience? What is the role of the museum in using technology to further their mission?

Some museums, like the Guggenheim, launched into the forefront of app development, taking the risk for the rest of us, spending years developing an app that later became irrelevant. Others, like the Museum of London, came in a bit later, developing their street museum only to discover
that it actually increased attendance to their physical location.

When the MOV launched Neon Vancouver | Ugly Vancouver (our neon sign exhibition here at our Kitsilano building) it sparked an unprecedented flow of stories from Vancouverites that
signaled how deeply enmeshed the city’s neon is with local history and ourcivic identity.

Of course, telling the stories of some of Vancouver’s most iconic signs — like the Vogue, Save-On-Meats, or The Orpheum — by bringing them into the MOV wasn’t an option (they’re still in use, and they’re so large they wouldn’t even fit in the building!). So we dreamt up the next best thing: a virtual exhibition and mobile app that would share 40+ stories about 50+ signs and use augmented reality technology to help with the visuals.

At the end of 2011 — with some much appreciated federal funding from Heritage Canada (Virtual Museums Canada) in hand — Hanna Cho, the MOV’s Curator of Dialogue & Engagement, rolled up her sleeves and began work with a talented team of archival researchers, visual storytellers, and interactive producers to create The Visible City.

Just 18 months later we’re thrilled to be releasing an app that is the first of its kind in North America. It takes augmented reality to the streets, and provides countless historical photos, audio stories, and contemporary insights from notable Vancouverites like Dal Richards (legendary big band leader), Vancouver punk icon Joe Keithley of DOA, architect Gregory
Henriquez, and Judy Graves, Vancouver’s advocate for the homeless.

The exhibition traces the rise, fall, and revival of neon in Vancouver, and enables people to explore the rich social and cultural histories associated with the signs. While there are hundreds of neon stories that pepper our city’s historical and contemporary landscape we couldn’t
possibly include them all (there were, after all, an estimated 19,000 signs in the 60s). We ended up focusing on some key signs and stories that illustrate the role of neon in Vancouver’s civic evolution. Do you think we’re missing a sign? We encourage you to add your own photos to the Flickr pool!

We hope you’ll download the app, take one of the two tours with a friend, and contribute your own impressions, stories, and photos to the exhibition!

The app is free to download from iTunes or GooglePlay, or to view online at www.thevisiblecity.ca .

Simon Fraser’s Canoes Descending the Fraser River by John Innes & G.H. Southwell [unrestored]

Vancouver Heritage Foundation is a registered charity supporting the conservation of heritage buildings and structures in recognition of their contribution to the city’s economy, sustainability and culture.

Gibby’s c. 1908 CVA 330-18 Flett Rd (E 18th Ave) Looking East on E. 18th with Dumfries in the background

We’re excited to spend the afternoon out in the sun tomorrow~ Friday May 3rd ~ celebrating the history of Gibby’s Field at VHF‘s Places That Matter plaque presentation #54! The fun begins at 2pm at the remaining site which is now three City lots with the official street addresses 1454, 1458, and 1462 East 18th Avenue. This site is part of 19 acres purchased by Irish-born Moses Gibson in 1893 to use as a dairy farm.   Known locally as Gibby’s Field, this small patch of green contains the last remaining vestige of Gibson Creek, which originated above Kensington Park at 37th Avenue and Knight Street. Gibson Creek was part of the China Creek watershed that fed into the eastern basin of False Creek which provided water for the Cedar Cottage brewery (located around Kingsway and Knight), and local Chinese market gardens. Early residents recall a thriving waterway filled with salmon, trout, lamprey and stickleback.  Since 2000, there has been local interest in preserving Gibby’s Field as a community green space and even before 2000, local residents have been meeting, using and enjoying this unique neighbourhood gathering spot.

Find us at 2pm, at 1458 East 18th Avenue, between Knight and Dumfries (look for the crowd).  Special guests include long time residents of the area who still remember the original creek and orchards, plus the great-grandson of Moses Gibson himself!

After the plaque presentation, join us at 3pm for the reception at Tyee Elementary School 3525 Dumfries St, a short walk away. Their annual plant sale, rummage sale, and food fair is taking place from 3-8pm. False Creek Watershed Society will be on hand with displays and VHF will be there too until 4pm. Come have a chat!

Last but not least, at 4pm, take a 60-75 min  free Jane’s Walk  “Where Gibson Creek met Davey Creek”, led by Dan Fass, nominator of the site and member of the Gibby’s Field subcommittee.  Dan will head out from the white tent set up by the displays at Tyee Elementary (look for the signs), and end back at the school. For more information about Gibby’s Field,  Gibson Creek and Davey Creek, or to download a pdf of a 32-page historical walking tour of Gibson Creek, click here.

Tyee Elementary Annual Plant Sale School Fundraiser!

From 1934 to 1979, street photographer Foncie Pulice set up his camera on Vancouver city sidewalks and snapped candid shots of people strolling by. For almost half a century, he took thousands of photos, unwittingly capturing moments in time, the history of a city, and the lives of British Columbians.

Now documentary filmmaker Melanie Wood and British Columbia’s Knowledge Network are bringing these photographs together – collecting them from albums around the province and giving them a public home. Photo negatives of Foncie’s images do not exist. He destroyed most of them when he retired. Until now there was no central archive or collection.

Some thoughts from the offspring of the subject in this 1949 Foncie photo:
“In 1949 Roy Burman Weber, my father, then 13 years old, decided to take an unscheduled day off from school. As he walked in down town Vancouver, a fellow snapped this picture and handed him a claim ticket which he put in his jacket pocket and quickly forgot. Later his mother found the ticket and used it to pick up the photo. Undeniable evidence in hand, she confronted him about skipping school and he still remembers the licking he got.”

This is a story about Vancouver, about British Columbia, and about it’s people… so they need your help. Visit Knowledge.ca/FonciesCorner to add your photos and stories to the collection.

We’re sharing a couple of Foncie photos here on V.I.A. each week leading up to the premiere of the documentary film being released in the summer. Share your memories (or the ones you find in your parents’ and grandparents’ archives) and become a part of Vancouver’s history!