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Video: Vancouver History

This video from the City of Vancouver will take you through Vancouver’s history from the arrival of the Coast Salish in 16,000 BC to 11,000 BC to the arrival of European explorers in the late 1700s to present-day Vancouver and the city’s current aspiration to the greenest city in the world by 2020.

Learn about Vancouver’s first saloon, the discovery of gold along the Fraser River, the great fire of 1886, Canadian Pacific Railway’s expansion of the trans-Canada railway system, race riots, the construction of Empire Stadium, Vancouver’s status as the “hippie capital of Canada” in the 1960s and 1970s, the celebrations during Expo 86 and Vancouver 2010, and much more!

Posted on: April 14th, 2011 by Vancouver125
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Mayor names Heritage Award winners

Wing Sang Building, circa 1902 (Vancouver Archives)

Mayor names Heritage Award winners

Winners of this year’s City of Vancouver Heritage Awards were announced at an event on April 11, 2011 by Mayor Gregor Robertson.

The awards honour the extraordinary efforts of architects, community organizations, developers, writers, artists and ordinary citizens who work to preserve our heritage. The range of projects reflects the diversity of the heritage in neighbourhoods across our city. In addition to celebrating the 125th anniversary of the City of Vancouver, this marks the 25th year of the City’s heritage program.

Awards of recognition, merit and honour were given.

Awards of recognition were presented to:

HISTORICAL ATLAS OF VANCOUVER AND THE FRASER VALLEY
Derek Hayes
Scott McIntyre, Douglas & McIntyre Publishers

RANIER HOTEL
Shayne Ramsey, BC Housing
Barry McGinn, McGinn Engineering & Preservation Ltd.
Rian Milne, CMM Industries Inc.

GARAGE + CORDAGE BUILDING
Mark Ostry & Russell Acton, Acton Ostry Architects Inc.
Donald Luxton, Donald Luxton & Associates
Robert Fung, The Salient Group

WOODWARD’S
Dave Leung, W Redevelopment Group/Ian Gillespie, Westbank Projects Corp.
Hal Kalman and Jonathan Yardley, Commonwealth Historic Resource Management Ltd.
Gregory Henriquez, Henriquez Partners Architects

Anthony Norfolk – awarded to individual for advocacy.

Awards of Merit were given to:

ORWELL HOTEL
Shayne Rasmsay, BC Housing
Barry McGinn, McGinn Engineering & Preservation Ltd.
Phil Morse, Morse Construction

CORDOVA STREET STABLES
Gair Williamson Architect Inc.
David Ash, DA Group
Donald Luxton, Donald Luxton & Associates

LONDON HOTEL
David Porte, Porte Development Corp.
Tom Bell and Amela Brudar, GBL Architects
Robert Lemon, Robert Lemon Architect Inc.

VANCOUVER GAS CO. BUILDING
Gair Williamson, Gair Williamson Architect Inc.
Cam Watt, 2 X 4 Developments
Donald Luxton, Donald Luxton & Associates

GRAND AND TERMINUS HOTELS
Russell Acton and Mark Ostry, Acton Ostry Architects Inc.
Donald Luxton, Donald Luxton & Associates
Robert Fung, The Salient Group

YMCA
Roy Funk, Robert Lee YMCA
Ken Bogress, Concert Properties Ltd.
Doug Hamming, Stantec Architecture Ltd. and Alan Endall, Endall Elliot Associates
Robert Lemon, Robert Lemon Architect Inc.

VANCOUVER BLOCK
Mark Rahel, Equitable Real Estate Investment Corporation Ltd.
Raimund Littmann, Orbis Architecture Inc.

Awards of Honour were given to:

WING SANG BUILDING
Bob Rennie, Rennie Marketing Systems/Rennie Collection/at Wing Sang
Walter Francl, Walter Francl Architecture Inc.
Donald Luxton, Donald Luxton & Associates
Robert Lemon, Robert Lemon Architect Inc.

ALHAMBRA HOTEL
Mark Ostry and Russell Acton, Acton Ostry Architects Inc.
Donald Luxton, Donald Luxton & Associates
Robert Fung, The Salient Group

PARK HOTEL
Shayne Ramsay, BC Housing
Barry McGinn, McGinn Engineering & Preservation Ltd.
Kevin Harnish, Niche Installations

EVERGREEN BUILDING
Greg Richardson, Omicron Canada Inc.
Tony Astles, Bentall Kennedy (Canada) LP
Chuck Swanson, British Columbia Investment Management Corp.

ORPHEUM THEATRE
Rae Ackerman, Vancouver Civic Theatres
Hugh Cochlin, Proscenium Architecture + Interiors Inc.
Hal Kalman, Commonwealth Historic Resource Management Ltd.

QUEEN ELIZABETH THEATRE
Rae Ackerman, Vancouver Civic Theatres
Hugh Cochlin, Proscenium Architecture + Interiors Inc.
Hal Kalman, Commonwealth Historic Resource Management Ltd.

SALT BUILDING
Russell Acton and Mark Ostry, Acton Ostry Architects Inc.
Hal Kalman, Commonwealth Historic Resource Management Ltd.
Jonathan Yardley, Jonathan Yardley Architect
Bill Aujla, City of Vancouver

Posted on: April 13th, 2011 by Vancouver125
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125th Anniversary/Olympic Mural at Evelyne Saller Centre

Location: Evelyne Saller Centre - 320 Alexander Street

Website: vancouver.ca/commsvcs/nonmarketoperations/esaller.htm

The wall mural at the Evelyne Saller Centre has an interesting story - it was created in two parts.

The right side of the mural was designed in November 2009 to mark the then upcoming 2010 Winter Games.

The creative team incorporated design input from both staff and clients to foster participation in the excitement of the Games.

The left side of the wall was left empty at the time; as it was undecided if artwork was going to cover the entire wall.

In February 2011, it was decided to add artwork to the left side of the wall to commemorate the 1st anniversary of the 2010 Winter Games, as well as tie-in to the City of Vancouver 125th Anniversary Celebrations for 2011. The mural is now officially complete.

Mural Creative Design: Sandra Scott (Volunteer) and Mark Haracka - ESC Recreation Activity Leader

Photograph: Mark Haracka

Mission of the Evelyne Saller Centre: The Centre operates for the prime purpose of providing a variety of life support services to people with low incomes and special needs. We focus on supporting the physical, mental and social well being of others in order to help stabilize people’s activities of daily living (provisions for food, hygiene care and social supports) and enhance their quality of life.

The Centre recognizes the importance of developing relationships between staff and people who come to the Centre thereby helping to provide a safe, secure, healthy, supportive and caring place to be, thus meeting a variety of needs.

The Centre recognizes that all individuals who need our services have a right to them, providing they respect the conditions & guidelines for proper behaviour expected of those who gather in the Centre.

Posted on: April 11th, 2011 by Vancouver125
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Found and Lost (Vancouver)

Date: April 11 - June 5, 2011
Location: Transit shelters on Commercial Drive, East Hastings and South Victoria Drive
Website: vancouver.ca/publicart

Rhonda Weppler/Trevor Mahovsky with Richard Winchell, includes four original poster artworks that will appear in 10 transit shelters on Commercial Drive, East Hastings and south Victoria Drive from April 11 to June 5, as one of 13 new public art projects commissioned by the City of Vancouver’s Public Art Program for Vancouver 125.

Not the usual wayfinding maps, these playful configurations are made up of objects found by exploring four distinct Vancouver neighbourhoods. While the association of life-sized objects may initially appear arbitrary, closer inspection reveals identifiable buildings and a community map with humorous local references.

Rhonda Weppler and Trevor Mahovsky are University of British Columbia MFA graduates (1998) with numerous solo and group exhibitions including recently at the National Gallery of Canada in It is what it is (2010-11). In 2008, they were celebrated as Emerging Visual Artists at the City of Vancouver Mayor’s Arts Awards. Richard Winchell is a freelance designer based in Vancouver.

Found and Lost (Vancouver) is commissioned by the City of Vancouver Public Art Program with support of Vancouver 125 and the participation of the Government of Canada.

Posted on: April 11th, 2011 by Vancouver125
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Birthday Live at Jack Poole Plaza

How does Vancouver celebrate a great milestone such as a 125th birthday? By inviting the city to a party at Jack Poole Plaza, where the Olympic cauldron meets the beautiful North Shore mountains.

A memorable day filled with festivities went off without a hitch yesterday, as crowds gathered to hear a variety of music, play street hockey, enjoy a beautifully illuminated multimedia installation, eat one of the most beautifully decorated cakes and watch the birthday candle (Olympic cauldron) being lit to the voices of the Vancouver Bach Choir.

I spent the entire day wandering around, capturing images from a sunny day (and chilly clear night). BC Lions fans were able to get up close and personal with the Grey Cup, street performers kept the crowd smiling, and Mayor Gregor was on hand for the official ceremony that started at 6 pm.

It’s no small feat to organize an event of this size, and I congratulate the City of Vancouver for putting on a show that blended seamlessly from day to night.

I liked the variety of talent that came on stage throughout the course of the day. From Japanese drummers Uzume Taiko to hip-hop, Dene singer/songwriter Leela Gilday, the Vancouver Bach Choir to well-loved bands Bend Sinister and 54-40, the event truly offered something for all tastes.

Hopefully those who waited in the huge queue for a slice of that cake weren’t disappointed! Three tents were set up to provide enough cake to go around. The middle of the two tents held the “pretty cake”, where people clamored to get a shot with the Mayor as he sliced the first piece. I was able to view the cake while still “under construction” at the Vancouver Community College.

Another highlight for me was watching Philipp Geist’s TimeDrifts multimedia installation unfold. Once the cauldron was extinguished, the visuals came to life on the surrounding buildings, ground, and even in the fog generated near the installation tent.

If you missed being at Birthday Live, an even larger event is planned for July 8, 9, and 10. Summer Live will take place at Brockton Point in Stanley Park to help keep the birthday momentum going throughout the summer.

A much larger collection of my Birthday Live photos can be viewed on Flickr, divided into day and evening sets.

Posted on: April 8th, 2011 by Ariane Colenbrander
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