Historic Vancouver Photos

[EastVanMark]

Originally Posted by dreambrother808

This is the best photo ever posted in this thread...

Gotta agree.
Would very much like to see that movie. Heard the cinematography is great

[David]

Coquitlam Centre opening day, 1979

Came across this interesting photo on Coquitlam's heritage website from the opening day of Coquitlam Centre in August 1979. It definitely attracted a lot of shoppers! It's hard to believe we're now witnessing the Evergreen Line "finally" getting built when the entire Town Centre area was nothing much more than bush not too long ago.


Source: Coquitlam125.ca http://www.coquitlam125.ca/

You'll notice a long line of cars snaking down Pinetree Way (at the top) and on to Lougheed Highway past the forest that would soon become Pinetree Village (Save-On, Chapters). In the back right corner you can make out the K-Mart at Westwood Mall (which eventually got knocked down to build Superstore).

As far as the mall itself, only The Bay has remained in its same anchor position. To the left is the old Woodwards Food Floor, which was a Zellers by the time I can remember. It was knocked down around 2001 to expand the mall northward where a new Zellers was built.
At the back is Woodwards itself, which gave way to Sears, and on the right is Eatons which was divided into a Future Shop (now Best Buy), London Drugs and other retail/restaurants when it went under.
The original "Food Fair" was located at the north (left) end of the peaked roof, roughly where today's Gap and Apple Store are located. I can't make out the name of the smaller anchor, but I remember it being a Shoppers Drug Mart before the renovations. There used to be a third floor to the mall there, with offices, a restaurant that overlooked the food fair, and I think I remember a gym.
Other than the drastic changes to the north end, Coquitlam Centre is still pretty recognizable compared to most malls in the area these days, for now.

[retro_orange]

That's a nice looking small international style RBC building on the corner where the Winners/Best buy is now, anyone know any info on it or a better pic?

The building there now I'm hoping will be redeveloped soon, though isn't very old itself. It seems like a waste of land just for some boring stacked box stores that could easily be in the podium of a building of higher caliber, especially for the area. anyone know if that could happen soon?


pic from http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/d...n-progress-427

[retro_orange]

Originally Posted by David

Coquitlam Centre opening day, 1979

Came across this interesting photo on Coquitlam's heritage website from the opening day of Coquitlam Centre in August 1979. It definitely attracted a lot of shoppers! It's hard to believe we're now witnessing the Evergreen Line "finally" getting built when the entire Town Centre area was nothing much more than bush not too long ago.


Source: Coquitlam125.ca http://www.coquitlam125.ca/

You'll notice a long line of cars snaking down Pinetree Way (at the top) and on to Lougheed Highway past the forest that would soon become Pinetree Village (Save-On, Chapters). In the back right corner you can make out the K-Mart at Westwood Mall (which eventually got knocked down to build Superstore).

As far as the mall itself, only The Bay has remained in its same anchor position. To the left is the old Woodwards Food Floor, which was a Zellers by the time I can remember. It was knocked down around 2001 to expand the mall northward where a new Zellers was built.
At the back is Woodwards itself, which gave way to Sears, and on the right is Eatons which was divided into a Future Shop (now Best Buy), London Drugs and other retail/restaurants when it went under.
The original "Food Fair" was located at the north (left) end of the peaked roof, roughly where today's Gap and Apple Store are located. I can't make out the name of the smaller anchor, but I remember it being a Shoppers Drug Mart before the renovations. There used to be a third floor to the mall there, with offices, a restaurant that overlooked the food fair, and I think I remember a gym.
Other than the drastic changes to the north end, Coquitlam Centre is still pretty recognizable compared to most malls in the area these days, for now.

cool! I grew up just uphill from this mall and I could see the big retro globe lights under the glass on The Bay from my back patio at night

[jollyburger]

Here's a better one 1969 pre-Eatons:



http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/granville-and-robson

That other building is the Granville Mansions. And looking down Robson west you can see the old Blue Horizon. And 777 Hornby was just built in 1969 in the foreground:



http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/r...t-at-granville

https://changingvancouver.wordpress....nby-nw-corner/

There was also a Royal Bank building for a period before they built that new tower. Old BC Tel buildings in the back before they were re-clad?



http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/n...nville-streets

[jollyburger]

Old BC Tel building pre-White Spot





http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/7...reet-east-side

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by connect2source

WOW!! thanks for these, could look at them for hours!

Guessing the undated ones of False Creek were from about 1976 as the first residential developments, Charlson Park etc., were completed about 1977.

The red-roofed building in the second photo contained a large restaurant and lounge called OnDines at the Marina, I ate there with my mom a couple of times.

In the third pic, that's the view of downtown I remember as a kid, always liked the way the cluster of office towers looked back then and last time our skyline was dominated by office towers vs. condos.

If you click on the adjacent pics at the Archives site, there's a whole series with Art Phillips touring the seawall work, etc.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by David

Coquitlam Centre opening day, 1979

Cool, thanks!

Coquitlam Centre has some characteristic Westcoast architecture that you don't see in malls these days.

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Old BC Tel buildings in the back before they were re-clad?

Yeah, it was reclad pretty recently (post 2000?). The original façade was a nicely proportioned art deco / art modern style. It didn't allow for retail at grade, which is why the whole facade was destroyed and reclad. Still surprised that the heritage folks didn't raise a big stink.

[officedweller]

Article from the Sun today:

Marine Building's [extra] art deco osprey up for auction
http://www.vancouversun.com/technolo...632/story.html


http://www.vancouversun.com/technolo..._lsa=6d88-6320

Also mentioned in the article are these watercolours up for auction:

Proposed addition/renovation to the 2nd Hotel Vancouver:
(Looks like the style of the Hotel Georgia, doesn't it?)


http://www.kilshaws.com/specialty_items.php

Proposed (unbuilt) stained glass window for Marine Building:


http://www.kilshaws.com/specialty_items.php

[Pinion]

Posted these in the Canada section, forgetting that Vancouver photos can be met with nothing but disdain at best there

My neighbourhood in 1919



The same angle in 2015



Central Lonsdale early 60s



Same area from a slightly different angle in 2015. The one big building (Lions Gate Hospital) is on the right.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by retro_orange

That's a nice looking small international style RBC building on the corner where the Winners/Best buy is now, anyone know any info on it or a better pic?

The building there now I'm hoping will be redeveloped soon, though isn't very old itself. It seems like a waste of land just for some boring stacked box stores that could easily be in the podium of a building of higher caliber, especially for the area. anyone know if that could happen soon?

Yeah, that was a nice little building.
The Future Shop building is unlikely to be redeveloped soon.
The Bonnis family owns a whole swath of Granville St.
There were other proposals for the site - but plans are limited by the Granville Bridge view cone and by the L-shaped alley behind Vancouver Centre (preventing easy tour bus access)

Past proposals from the 1980s/90s:


https://picasaweb.google.com/117187972778294086460


https://picasaweb.google.com/117187972778294086460


https://picasaweb.google.com/117187972778294086460


https://picasaweb.google.com/117187972778294086460

PS check out the New Westminster renderings here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/1171879...unityPlanning#


https://picasaweb.google.com/1171879...unityPlanning#

[retro_orange]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Yeah, that was a nice little building.
The Future Shop building is unlikely to be redeveloped soon.
The Bonnis family owns a whole swath of Granville St.
There were other proposals for the site - but plans are limited by the Granville Bridge view cone and by the L-shaped alley behind Vancouver Centre (preventing easy tour bus access)

Past proposals from the 1980s/90s:



PS check out the New Westminster renderings here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/1171879...unityPlanning#


https://picasaweb.google.com/1171879...unityPlanning#

oh wow thanks! I love seeing stuff like this. I have seen those original renders of plaza 88 as I was in love with that project while it was being built and I lived close by. while I like how the original render feel at street level, the tacky post modern stucco nightmare would be in need of redevelopment by now if it was built as such in the 90's. Plus the casino would have made cleaning up crime downtown harder then it was with it in queensborough.

What I find most problematic and disturbing with the Winners/Best Buy building is that when you're on the top floor the floor noticeably vibrates and trembles, especially near the cash registers in Winners. Either from the skytrain or the buses going by or possibly the A/C or other roof machinery, It has made me wonder if there was a design fault and it may not stand up in an earthquake. The finish quality isn't all that great either.

[officedweller]

Yeah, I remember thin steel columns when it was built.

[retro_orange]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Yeah, I remember thin steel columns when it was built.

That will probably do it. For those who may not know what I'm referring to:

"Mechanical resonance is the tendency of a mechanical system to respond at greater amplitude when the frequency of its oscillations matches the system's natural frequency of vibration (its resonance frequency or resonant frequency) than it does at other frequencies. It may cause violent swaying motions and even catastrophic failure in improperly constructed structures including bridges, buildings and airplanes—a phenomenon known as resonance disaster."

Resonance disaster

In mechanics and construction a resonance disaster describes the destruction of a building or a technical mechanism by induced vibrations at a system's resonance frequency, which causes it to oscillate. Periodic excitation optimally transfers to the system the energy of the vibration and stores it there. Because of this repeated storage and additional energy input the system swings ever more strongly, until its load limit is exceeded.

quotes from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_resonance

and an oddly funny example

Tremors at Techno-Mart
On 5 July 2011, a 39-story shopping mall called the "Techno-Mart" in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, shook violently for 10 minutes and was evacuated for two days. After study, it was determined that about 20 people performing Tae Bo exercises to "The Power" caused the building to vibrate by creating a mechanical resonance.

.
quote from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Po...at_Techno-Mart

building in question, not exactly flimsy looking


pic from: http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2...-really-rocks/

[officedweller]

The Millennium Bridge in London had to be retrofitted to fix a problem like that.

[connect2source]

Came across this 1983 pic of Oakridge just as they were beginning the enclosure and expansion.

You can clearly see the original configuration still very much present today!

The changes included almost doubling the size of Woodward's which was to become their new flagship de-throning the Hastings location. The new anchors on the south-end including a new Woodward's Food-Floor, now Safeway, an Abercrombie and Fitch, the old version which was an outdoor-travel and adventure themed store, and a Marks & Spencer. The rest of the expansion was north and east adding the East Galleria, the mall to 41st and Cambie, the Terraces, the North Office Tower and the plaza.

The original mall has some great 1950's architectural elements which I'm sure would have been deemed heritage today.

Source : placespeak.com https://www.placespeak.com/en/topic/...es#!/resources

[phesto]

City archives has posted some great plans/maps on flickr for anyone that is interested in that kind of thing. Here's a few:

Drawing from 1957 showing plans for 'Government Precinct' around City Hall at Broadway and Yukon. Note the plans for an east-west highway.

Government precinct by City of Vancouver Archives, on Flickr

Plans from 1960 for "Possible civic square development for downtown Vancouver"

Possible civic square development for downtown Vancouver by City of Vancouver Archives, on Flickr

False Creek development survey occupation plan from 1952

False Creek development survey occupation plan by City of Vancouver Archives, on Flickr

A preliminary proposal for development of Jericho Park from 1969

A preliminary proposal for development of Jericho Park by City of Vancouver Archives, on Flickr

[officedweller]

Cool, thanks for posting!

[jollyburger]

Probably getting off-topic in the other thread but the road network proposed in 1946



http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/major-street-plan-2

[jollyburger]

Another interesting one when they were choosing a location for the CBC building:



http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/p...vic-auditorium