The City of Vancouver archives have plenty of gems from the city's history, including footage from some of the city's most iconic historic structures when they were brand new.
The Burrard Bridge opened in 1932, providing an important connection over False Creek from the downtown core to the city's growing western neighbourhoods towards Point Grey. At the time there was no Lions Gate Bridge, or any bridge for that matter, crossing the Burrard Inlet's First Narrows.
So in the early 1930s this film was created, as a presentation describing the proposed Lions Gate Bridge. Whether to build something and what to build was a regular discussion in the city for its first 50 or so years, and the biggest decision for the municipality at the time.
The film was made to support the bridge's construction at the very beginning of the project. Footage includes designs for the bridge that line up pretty close to what was built and shots from Stanley Park, where the forest had to be cleared for the road.
However, perhaps the most interesting footage happens early in the film and shows the Burrard Bridge when it was essentially brand new. It opened in 1932 (to much celebration) and the footage is from sometime between 1933 and 1935, so the film that was included has to be from the first few years it was operating.
The footage shows the cars passing over it (a slow traffic day compared to 2023). While these days it may seem a bit small, worn, and dwarfed by the city around it, in those days it was a gleaming new modern structure.
The video also includes a short aerial clip from high above Vancouver, capturing footage of Kitsilano, the downtown peninsula, Stanley Park, and the North Shore Mountains in the background.
