Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada’s Pacific coast.
The Carr House is where Emily Carr (1871-1945) was born and lived. She is a well-known author and one of Canada’s most famous painters. The house and its surrounding environment, and the impact they made in her life, are mentioned in all of Emily’s books.
The Empress Hotel, built 1924-1928, is a stone hotel prominently located at the head of the inner harbor in the city of Victoria.
Fort Victoria began as a fur trading post of the Hudson’s Bay Company and was the headquarters of HBC operations in the Columbia District, a large fur trading area now part of the province of British Columbia, Canada and the U.S. state of Washington.
The Parliament Buildings were built in two main stages, the first from 1893-98 and the second from 1911-16. The initial construction was a T-shaped building comprising the two arms of the facade and the legislative chamber in the stem to the rear. The later additions were an extension to the stem to house the Legislative Library, and two wings parallel to the stem. The style is an eclectic one that has been termed Late Victorian Free Style.
207 Government Street – Emily Carr Home – This two-story Italianate Villa has a side-gabled roof with a central front-gabled projection creating a very formal balanced composition. The front full-length verandah is broken in the center by the entry above which, on the second floor, is a balustraded balcony. The balusters for both the verandah and balcony are pairs of fretwork “C†scrolls. The front windows are paired; the sashes of the upper windows are arched. The eaves have brackets and pendants. The gables have tall slender turned urn finials. There is a pair of twin-flue corbelled and paneled brick chimneys on the main ridge of the roof, and another at the rear. The right end of the house has a two-story angled bay, the left, a one-story angled bay with a balcony above. The entrance has a simple Classical sidelight and transom.721 Government Street – The Empress Hotel, built 1924-1928, is a stone hotel prominently located at the head of the inner harbor in the city of Victoria. Built for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), the Empress Hotel is one of a series of Chateau-style hotels built by Canadian railway companies in the early 20th century to encourage tourists to travel their transcontinental routes. Popular with the traveling public for their elaborate decor and comfortable elegance, these hotels quickly became national symbols of quality accommodation. The key elements of the hotel are its massive scale, stone and brick cladding, steeply pitched copper roofs, ornate gables and dormers, domed, polygon turrets, high-quality materials, and dramatic setting; its asymmetrical plan, with arcaded central loggia, and projecting pavilions accented by vertical strips of oriel windows; the presence of landscaped gardens around the hotel separate the building from the denser urban areas.One of Victoria’s most popular attractions is its historic Chinatown, once North America’s second-largest. In the late 1800s, Victoria’s Chinatown held the largest Chinese community in Canada. Many residents worked in BC’s gold fields and built the Canadian Pacific Railway.1205 Government Street – This six-story building at 1205 Government Street and 612 View Street was built in 1912 by architect A. Arthur Cox for the Union Bank of Canada, which operated its main Victoria branch on the main floor and rented out office space on the upper floors.569 Johnson Street581 Johnson Street – 1888 – The W.G. Cameron Building is a two-story brick commercial building located on the corner of an alley on the south side of the 500 block of Johnson Street. It is distinguishable by its decorative facade, intact cast-iron columns and wooden storefront, and a name plate bearing the name “W.G. Cameron” in its prominent cornice. The upper story has double-hung wooden-sash windows.571-577 Johnson Street – 1899 – It is a two story parged brick commercial building located on the south side of lower Johnson Street. Its segmented-arch upper-story windows are crowned by a corbelled cornice featuring a floral motif. Its upper-story fenestration pattern, with six two-over-two wood sash windows capped by inverted-U hoods, and its decorative cornice with floral medallions and decorative brickwork are character-defining elements.557-559 Johnson Street is a three-story Italianate brick commercial building. It was constructed in two stages in 1875 and 1886. It is a three-story Italianate brick commercial building situated on the south side of lower Johnson Street. It is the central building in a group of three structures which make up the Paper Box Arcade, a retail and residential complex in the Old Town district of downtown Victoria. Character-defining elements include the surviving original street-front facade with its upper-story fenestration, joinery, quoining, and decorative cornice; the composition of the storefront with two display windows flanking a recessed central doorway; and the pronounced stylistic differences between the second and third stories of the street front facade.550-554 Johnson Street – 1892 – The Strand Hotel is a three-story plus lower level, red-brick commercial building, distinguished by exuberant Victorian detailing and Romanesque Revival influences, and a projecting double-height central bay window. It is located mid-block on the north side of lower Johnson Street, within Market Square. Romanesque Revival influences include its round-headed windows united by rock-faced sandstone voussoirs; rock-faced sandstone lintels; and deeply-carved foliate sandstone capitals; additional exterior details include central double-height bay window clad in decorative sheet-metal with rectangular and round-headed windows; a broad, sheet-metal upper cornice incorporating a mansard roof profile; elaborate cast-iron roof cresting; red-brick roof line chimneys with corbelled caps; and round and square-sided cast-iron storefront columns stamped ‘Wilson Brothers, Victoria B.C.’ It is symmetrical with rectangular storefront openings; flat and round-headed openings on the front facade with double-hung 1-over-1 wooden sash windows.City Hall – 1890 – Second Empire architectural style1601 Douglas Street – 1912 – The Fairfield Block is a large, three story Commercial Style tan and cream-colored brick building prominently located on the northeast corner of Douglas and Cormorant Streets in the commercial core of downtown Victoria. This building is valued for its handsome Edwardian detailing, articulated by tan brickwork and cream-colored terracotta ornamentation, which reinforces the heritage character of the commercial streetscape of North Douglas Street. In partnership with nearby buildings of similar vintage such as the Hudson’s Bay Company Department Store (1914) and Hotel Douglas (1911), it is a good representation of the larger scale commercial buildings which transformed the City from a Victorian supply town to a modern Edwardian urban center. It has a prominent cornice, and grid-like fenestration pattern and paired double-hung wooden sash windows in the upper stories.1450 Douglas Street – Hotel Douglas is a five-story Edwardian Commercial Style brick building located on the southwest corner of Pandora and Douglas Streets in the commercial core of Victoria. Hotel Douglas (1911) is valued as an early Victoria hotel, representing the seasonal population of the city in the early twentieth century. Historically, this hotel has played a significant economic role in the urban commercial area, providing both short and long-term lodging for people attracted by Victoria’s tourist attractions, as well as for workers enroute to logging camps or fisheries. It is significant that this hotel continues to operate at its original function. The building is an excellent example of a modest hotel built in the period of economic prosperity prior to the First World War. The architecture is a solid representation of the Commercial Style, which was used extensively in western Canada in this time period and contributed to the ideal of the modern imperial city. the brick cladding, terracotta decorative elements, the grid-like fenestration pattern, and the substantial cornice with dental molding are some of its character-defining elements.508 Douglas Street – South Park School – Built 1893-94 with an annex added in 1914 – This is a two-story, symmetrical, brick, stone and wood building. The main roof is side gabled with two prominent front-gabled wings at either end, each with wide, very shallow bays. The rear of each wing is also gabled. Heavy wooden barge boards and gable screens accent the front gables. Corners of the wings and the bays have stone quoining. The central roof line is broken by a Dutch-gabled, through-the-roof wall dormer which sits on the balustraded flat roof of the first-floor entrance porch. There are three front entrances: the main central entrance has a small wooden porch clad in drop siding under a pedimented gable; the two doors at the extreme ends are separated from the central porch by pairs of windows; the end doors and windows have quoins, and are all segmentally arched with keystones. The basement has large segmentally-arched openings and rusticated masonry around all four sides. The entrance on the left side of the building has an open wooden porch with square, shaped posts with brackets, and plain and fretwork balusters. Two massive corbelled and ribbed chimneys rise from the front of the main slate roof; all the roofs have terracotta cresting and finials.924 Douglas Street – completed in 1890 – St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church is a landmark red-brick structure, located at the corner of Douglas and Broughton Streets in downtown Victoria. The Church is notable for its prominent corner tower, which is situated at a bend in Broughton Street. The church displays a number of distinctive features, including crow-stepped gables, a variety of projections and towers, corner tourelles, and a picturesque roof line. Three sets of double entry doors are set in round-arched openings. At the rear there is a curved two-story projecting bay.924 Douglas Street – The style of St. Andrew’s is the Scottish response to the Jacobethan Revival in nineteenth-century England, and was a popular style for Scottish country houses. Drawing on the characteristics of fortified medieval tower houses and castles in Scotland, the style employs such elements as battlements, tourelles, and conical roofs as a declaration of national identity. Polychrome red and black banding demonstrates an awareness of contemporary architectural trends in England. There are stained glass windows on the side and rear walls, including the large rose window.1314-1324 Broad Street – Duck’s Block is an excellent example of a large-scale Late Victorian commercial building. Constructed in 1892 for Simeon Duck, successful early local entrepreneur, MLA, and former Minister of Finance for British Columbia. This handsome Victorian building is a testament to the entrepreneurship of its original owner. Initially built as the home of Duck’s Carriage Works, and also used as retail outlets, entertainment venues, and early meeting rooms for the Knights of Pythias. This building is representative of the multi-functionality of Victoria’s commercial district in the late nineteenth century. Bold decoration and architectural solidity make Duck’s Block a dominant presence within Broad Street’s narrow streetscape. Bold Victorian detailing is seen in the arched windows on the uppermost story, the corbelled cornice detailing, and small triangular pediment above the cornice.The Maritime Museum of B.C. (MMBC) engages people with the maritime culture and history of the Pacific Northwest through rotating exhibits, educational and community-based programs, research services, and more. The Maritime Museum of British Columbia Society was registered in 1957 as a non-profit society. The Museum moved in 1963-64 to 28 Bastion Square in downtown Victoria. In 2015 the MMBC completed its relocation from its long-term home in Bastion Square to a Society Office in Nootka Court at 634 Humboldt St., with its collections being stored off-site in a climate-controlled facility. The Society Office houses exhibits that display artifacts from the collection, public research space, a gift shop, and staff offices.31 Bastion Square – The Board of Trade Building is a four-story office building located on the southern side of Bastion Square in the Old Town District. The building is a monument to the commitment of entrepreneurial order in the exuberant economy of late nineteenth century Victoria and British Columbia. Erected in 1892, it is a manifestation of the historic prominence and power of the British Columbia Board of Trade, which had administered local and provincial economic and commercial activities since its beginning as the Victoria Chamber of Commerce in 1863. The Board of Trade Building’s eclectic facade and imposing height contribute significantly to the heritage character of the Old Town District.31 Bastion Square – Designed by architect A. Maxwell Muir, the exterior decorative elements of this building illustrate the late nineteenth century tendency to portray grandeur and importance through the amalgamation of many styles of architecture such as High Victorian commercial design with decorative Romanesque elements, articulated by unique treatments of brick and stone work, and different fenestration patterns on each of the four stories; the symmetrical facade defined by bays and pilasters; the massive, rusticated sandstone base at the basement and first floor levels; the rounded archway entrance flanked by two Doric columns and stone carvings evocative of foliage; the unglazed terracotta used for decorative panels, low relief carving, and horizontal bands of floral ornament on the third floor and the fourth floor string course.501 Belleville Street – British Columbia Parliament or Legislative Buildings for the Colony of Vancouver Island were built in 1859 to the designs of German-born architect Herman Otto Tiedemann who created a series of five short brick and timber structures with low-pitched, bellcast roofs, reminiscent of Chinese pagodas, nicknamed the “Birdcagesâ€. The Parliament Buildings were built in two main stages, the first from 1893-98 and the second from 1911-16. The initial construction was a T-shaped building comprising the two arms of the facade and the legislative chamber in the stem to the rear. The later additions were an extension to the stem to house the Legislative Library, and two wings parallel to the stem. The style is an eclectic one that has been termed Late Victorian Free Style. The facade is laid out in what is called a Palladian tripartite plan of a central block joined to two outlying buildings by colonnades, a Renaissance motif. Typical of much of the detail on the buildings is the prominent entrance with its concentric receding round arches supported on small ornamental columns. This is characteristic of Romanesque Revival style, derived from early medieval Norman architecture. A whimsical feature is the comic faces incorporated into the grotesques on many upper-story ornamental columns. The foundation and steps were of Nelson Island granite, the roof of Jarvis Inlet slate, and the exterior of Haddington Island andesite, rendered to a natural rock finish; local Douglas fir timber was used extensively. Marble finished the interior walls, stairways and floors of the Legislature.Victoria Centennial Fountain – activated August 2, 1962 – British Columbia was formed from four British colonies and territories: The Crown Colony of Vancouver Island 1849; The Dependency of the Queen Charlotte Islands 1852; the Crown Colony of British Columbia 1858; the Stickeen Territory 1862.
Throughout the 1820s and 1830s, the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) was headquartered out of Fort Vancouver located on the north shore of the Columbia River. From there the HBC controlled nearly all trading operations in the region. The Fort’s influence reached from the Rocky Mountains to the Hawaiian Islands, from Alaska into Mexican-controlled California. At its pinnacle, Fort Vancouver managed over 34 outposts and 24 ports through 600 employees and six ships.
The American President (1845-1849) James K. Polk had his eye on the Oregon Territory and Mexican California. Polk encouraged large numbers of settlers to travel west over what became known as the Oregon Trail, then claimed the U.S. had a legitimate claim to the entire Columbia/Oregon district though was prepared to draw the border along the 49th parallel. The dispute was settled by the Treaty of Washington in 1846 which established the border between British North America and the United States along the 49th parallel from the Rocky Mountains to the sea, with Vancouver Island retained as British territory. The Treaty of Washington effectively destroyed the geographic logic of the HBC’s Columbia Department with Fort Vancouver as its headquarters. The Company subsequently moved its headquarters north to Fort Victoria in 1846, which had been founded three years earlier by James Douglas in anticipation of the treaty.
Fort Victoria measured 330 feet by 300 feet and had a single bastion in the southwestern corner near what is now Fort and Broughton. The fort was enlarged to accommodate more warehouses and a second bastion was built.
In 1849 the British government created the Colony of Vancouver Island. The HBC was given a 10-year contract to manage the colony, and James Douglas moved from Fort Vancouver to take charge of the operations.
Life at Fort Victoria was typical of most Hudson’s Bay Company posts. Men (mostly French Canadians) lived in large barracks. Local native people came to trade at the “Indian Store.†Furs from throughout British Columbia were collected and stored in large log warehouses. Small ships and canoes transported most of the furs and trade goods along the coast. Supplies and trade goods arrived once a year by ship around Cape Horn from England. Farms were established near the fort. Hunting, fishing and riding were the main pastimes of the men. Dances with fiddle music and occasional plays were some of the few entertainments.
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada’s Pacific coast. Victoria is the southernmost major city in Western Canada, and is about 100 km (60 mi) from British Columbia’s largest city of Vancouver on the mainland. Named for Queen Victoria, the city is one of the oldest in the Pacific Northwest, with British settlement beginning in 1843. The city has retained a large number of its historic buildings, in particular its two most famous landmarks, Parliament Buildings (finished in 1897 and home of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia) and the Empress Hotel (opened in 1908). The city’s Chinatown is the second oldest in North America after San Francisco’s. The region’s Coast Salish First Nations peoples established communities in the area long before European settlement, which had large populations at the time of European exploration.
Known as “The Garden City”, Victoria is an attractive city and a popular tourism destination. Victoria is popular with boaters with its rugged shorelines and beaches. Victoria is also popular with retirees, who come to enjoy the temperate and usually snow-free climate of the area as well as the usually relaxed pace of the city.
Lynn Canyon Park – In the late 1800s, Lynn Valley’s centuries old Douglas fir and western red cedar were milled into lumber for export to Eastern Canada, the United States and Europe. Many of these trees were over ninety meters high and eleven meters in circumference. In the park, you can see some of the stumps from these huge trees.
Moderate temperatures and an average annual rainfall exceeding 150 centimeters provide excellent growing conditions. The lush second growth forest is good evidence of the productivity of the area. The large trees which now cover the part are on average only seventy to ninety years old. The forest is mostly Douglas fir, western hemlock, and western red cedar. Along the creek where flooding occurs, sitka spruce, cottonwood, alder and dense shrub undergrowth are found.
Lynn Canyon Park officially opened as a municipal park in 1912. The McTavish brothers, whose company originally logged the area, donated five hectares of land fronting on Lynn Creek. The District of North Vancouver added another four hectares. The suspension bridge was also opened in 1912; it hangs twenty stories (about fifty meters) above Lynn Creek. In 1991, the District of North Vancouver added 241 hectares to the park. The Park has many hiking trails.
Lynn Canyon Park is a coastal temperate rain forest with canyons, pools and creeks. There is a variety of local flora and fauna including 100-year-old Douglas fir trees with younger western hemlock and western red cedar and many types of moss below them.
Lynn Valley Suspension Bridge
Lynn Valley Ecology Centre – Ecology is the study of living systems in relation to one another and their environment. The Lynn Valley Ecology Centre features displays showing the interrelationships between plants, animals and man.
The high sub-alpine and alpine communities have been developing since the last glacial ice melted. Starting with rock, the actions of water, wind, heat and cold can produce soil, but very slowly. The addition of plants speeds up the process, then animals move in and ultimately a living community clothes the rock. At high elevations and on the steep slopes, the soil-building agents may, at the same time, work against the accumulation of soil. Broken rocks tend to roll to the valley floors, singly or as avalanches, fine matter may blow away in the wind or be carried by moving glaciers and running water down to lower levels. Anything that tends to loosen accumulating soils promotes erosion.
Even when the plants and the soils are established, existence remains precarious. The growing season is usually sort, and even during that time the temperatures are often low and the weather capricious. Plants grow were slowly.
The animals that live in the alpine, from insects to the big mammals, are directly or indirectly dependent on the plants, while on the other hand, their activities influence the vegetation. All the living things interact together in a system which is called The Fragile Network. Damage one part of the community and the whole community will feel the effects.
Since man has extended his operations to alpine heights, the living community is now also faced with grazing cattle, trampling human feet, all-terrain vehicles, and activities which involve the devastation by bulldozers, such as mining, logging, ski developments and communication stations.
We were in the area at the right time to tour Purdy’s Chocolate Factory. Richard Carmen Purdy’s love of chocolate created the beginnings of a tradition that continues to this day. In 1907 Mr. Purdy opened a tiny shop in downtown Vancouver on Robson Street. His reputation for making superb chocolates grew quickly, earning him the admiration of chocolate lovers throughout the city. Purdy’s Chocolatiers use only high quality, fresh ingredients. Two large melters contain 30,000 pounds each, and two smaller ones contain 10,000 pounds each. The pipes on the ceiling distribute chocolate throughout the factory. On an average day, Purdy’s goes through 10,000 pounds of chocolate. Purdy’s roasts an average of 3,000 pounds of nuts per week. Each day the dairy delivers fresh candy cream and butter. Candy centers are cooked over an open flame up to temperatures of 240o. After cooking, caramels, fudge and brittles are poured onto steel tables for cooling. The steel tables have water chambers that can be cooled or heated depending on the recipe. In an eight-hour day Purdy’s can produce over 3,000 pounds of caramel. Purdy’s shell molding Chocolatiers produce Hedgehogs, Melties and Smoothies. 72,000 Belgium Milk Chocolate Hedgehogs can be produced in a day. Cherries are put in the glazer to evenly coat them. At the end of the tour, we arrived at the gift shop to make some purchases. The next day we visited Charlies Chocolate Factory, a much smaller operation but with a larger display store.
Fresh Roasted Nuts – Purdy’s sources the best nuts from around the world, India and Australia for example. Purdy’s roasts an average of 3,000 pounds per week. During Christmas, they roast 3,000 pounds per day.Small chocolate eggs wrapped by machine in multi-colored foilThe Port Moody Station Museum is owned and operated by the Port Moody Heritage Society and is part of their effort to promote increased awareness and knowledge of Port Moody’s heritage and history. Exhibitions at the museum include the historic Port Moody Station, community displays and the Venosta, a restored 1920s rail car. The Port Moody Station, built in 1905/1907, was the second railway station built in the area. In 1945, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) decided to move the station closer to town. Their employees lifted the station off its foundation, placed it directly onto greased railway tracks and used an engine to pull it to its second location at the foot of Queen St. The station was officially closed on September 25th, 1976, when the CPR discontinued their passenger service. The Port Moody Historical Society who were operating a museum on Kyle Street, bought the station. In 1978, it was moved to its present location on Murray Street and refurbished to be a museum facility. The Port Moody Station Museum was officially opened on July 1st, 1983. The Station, designed to be a live-in unit, has two floors and a basement. The main floor is currently accessible to the public. Some rooms have been restored to show the living and working conditions in the station between 1905 and 1920. Other rooms have been set up for community and temporary displays. Plans are underway to open the upper level to show one restored bedroom and provide additional room for temporary displays. The kitchen, with a coal and wood stove, copper water heater, and coal-oil lamps predates electricity and piped-in water. The museum’s telegraph office features an operational telegraph system, which is available for guests to try, and a hand-operated telephone from 1884 when the Port Moody and New Westminster Telephone Company was formed.3250 Kingsway – Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School3154 Kingsway118 Regina Street119 Regina Street731 Columbia Street
In 1858 the mainland of British Columbia became a colony with its capital located at New Westminster. British Royal Engineers surveyed the area under the command of Colonel Richard Moody. As private secretary to Colonel R. C. Moody, the Colony’s land commissioner Robert Burnaby displayed talents as an explorer, legislator and speaker. In 1859, when Moody received word from local natives that a fresh water lake existed north of New Westminster, Burnaby immediately volunteered for the survey party. Moody later named his discover Burnaby Lake. Pioneer citizens in 1892, named the thriving municipality Burnaby.
Burnaby is located within a large territory on the coast of British Columbia that has been the traditional home of Coast Salish peoples for thousands of years. Burnaby had resources that were harvested by First Nations, such as cranberries and large game, such as elk. By the 1890s, logging was a major industry in Burnaby with many sawmills processing lumber. Timber for ship masts was delivered to Ireland in 1865.
In 1891, the Westminster and Vancouver Tramway built an electric railway line between the two cities, and what would become Burnaby lay between the two cities. Initially, land was less expensive in Burnaby, but prices skyrocketed during the first real estate boom (1909-1912). In response to the growth of the community, a local police force was established, schools were built, and the business district grew. Many housing developments attracted people who wanted to live in the country and commute to the cities of New Westminster and Vancouver on the interurban trams.
Although the residential areas of Vancouver and Burnaby seem to merge, Burnaby has its own personality. Simon Fraser University is situated on top of Burnaby Mountain – from here you can gaze north to the waters of Indian Arm, a mountain-rimmed inlet of the sea.
Burnaby Village Museum represents a typical interurban community in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland region during the period of 1890-1925. Burnaby’s first European settler, William Holmes, came to East Burnaby in 1860. In 1891, an interurban line was opened between New Westminster and Vancouver, passing through what is now Burnaby. The convenience of this system encouraged more people to take up land in this area, and in 1892 Burnaby was incorporated as a municipality with about 250 people. Burnaby was a heavily forested area, and as the giant trees were cleared away, farms were established. Many Burnaby farms grew fruit and kept chickens and cows. By the early 1920s, Burnaby had started to change from a rural to an urban community. In 1992, Burnaby celebrated its 100th anniversary, and in that year became a city with a population of over 160,000.
Burnaby Village Museum “Elworth†– The rural setting near picturesque Deer Lake drew Mr. Edwin Wettenhall Bateman and his wife Mary to this part of Burnaby. “Elworth†was built in 1922 as a country home for Mr. Bateman, an executive with the Canadian Pacific Railway. The house is on its original site. Mr. Bateman lived in this house with his second wife Mary, his daughter May, and his son Warren. Mrs. Bateman was an avid gardener. The house was named after the district in England where Mr. Bateman came from. The main floor of the house has been restored to its original appearance with a formal front room, an elegant dining room, and a cozy den where the family gathered to listen to the radio.Tom Irvine House – Tom Irvine and his friend Bob Moore built this small house in 1911 on Laurel Street in Burnaby; this was just west of Burnaby Lake near the tram line. Bob Moore died soon after but Tom lived in the house until 1958. Tom was a prospector in the Yukon. He helped build the Burnaby Lake tram line and railway trestles around B.C. Tom never married and died at the age of 100 in 1964.Burnaby Centennial Park Carousel #119 was built in Leavenworth Kansas by C.W. Parker in 1912. It was operated in Texas from 1913-1915, was upgraded at the factory, and then it is thought to have operated in California. From 1936 to 1989, it operated at the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver. It was purchased, restored and donated to the City of Burnaby.Seaforth School opened in Burnaby in 1922 with twenty students. It was located on the north side of Burnaby Lake at Government and Piper.In our seats ready for class to start…Jesse Love Farmhouse – Believed to be one of the oldest surviving buildings in Burnaby, it was constructed in East Burnaby in 1893. Jesse Love (1849-1928) and his wife Martha (1858-1920) moved to Burnaby with their family in 1893 to start a fruit ranch and market garden. The original house was constructed by local builder George Salt and consisted of an entrance hall, dining room, lean-to kitchen, master bedroom, and an open area upstairs with a shoulder-height divider in the center to separate boys and girls. The original kitchen was a lean-to attached to the dining room. It is believed that the house was expanded and a kitchen built between 1907 and 1910 with most of the carpentry work being done by the oldest son, George Love. George owned a sash and door company and built many houses. The detailed casing work around the doors and windows in the kitchens show off his talents. Love also built several large boats which were used for family outings and hunting at Pitt Lake.7026 Patterson Avenue4251 Victory StreetGreta Street5668 Chaffey Avenue6450 Deer Lake Avenue – Robert & Bessie Anderson House – 1912 – Arts and Crafts style6664 Deer Lake Avenue – Frederick and Alice Hart estate “Avalon,†now in used as the Hart House Restaurant, was built by local real estate agent F.J. Hart in 1912. Born on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland, Hart came to New Westminster in 1890. He purchased this site in 1904 as a summer retreat for his family. The home is designed in the Tudor Revival style and has a massive tower with mock battlements, corbeled chimneys, cobblestone foundations and decorative half-timbering. When the house was built, it was in a quiet, rural community where people lived around the lake surrounded by a dense forest. The narrow roads that snaked through the trees towards New Westminster and Vancouver were rough and long; life was centered around the home and the immediate neighborhood of Deer Lake. People hunted in the forest, fished and swam in the lake, and grew most of their provisions in their own gardens.5725 Buckingham Avenue
Vancouver, the largest city in British Columbia and the third largest city in Canada, is a sea port in British Columbia’s southwest corner sitting at the foot of the Coast Mountain range. Much of Vancouver is built on a peninsula surrounded by water.
Expo 86 was the biggest event B.C. had ever seen in 1986. The World’s Fair drew twenty-two million visitors to the north side of False Creek over six months. The infrastructure contributions from Expo 86 include the SkyTrain Expo Line, Science World, BC Place Stadium, Canada Place and the Plaza of Nations.
North Vancouver is directly across the harbor from the downtown area. North Vancouver is a thriving deep sea port and richly scenic holiday area. Here you can ride a gondola car up Grouse Mountain, or drive nearly to the peak of Seymour, but offering spectacular viewing and skiing sites. You can hike forest trails and enjoy a thrilling walk across a suspension bridge in Capilano or Lynn Canyon Park. Park and Tilford Gardens is a beauty. Seaside fun is available at the beaches.
West Vancouver is also clustered along the base of the towering Rocky Mountains. At Lighthouse Park you can see some of the largest trees on the west coast of Canada. Horseshoe Bay is a famous salmon fishing center. Here is the terminal of the B.C. ferries.
Richmond is located on two major islands at the mouth of the Fraser and is connected with Vancouver by a network of highways and bridges. The flat, fertile delta lands yield rich crops of vegetables and berries. Richmond includes the fishing village of Steveston, the home of much of B.C.’s commercial fishing fleet in the early 1900s. Richmond is also the site of Vancouver’s international airport.
New Westminster is called the Royal City because Queen Victoria selected its name. New Westminster overlooks the Fraser River just east of Burnaby. Irving House is a Victorian residence with an adjoining museum. Adjacent to the City Hall is the Garden of Friendship, a beautiful Park dedicated to its sister city of Moriguchi, Japan.
On Westham Island, to the south of Vancouver, is the George C. Reifel Waterfowl Refuge. White Rock is a town on a beautiful beach and is named for a huge rock landmark on the sands of Semiamhoo Bay. My Great Uncle Dick Todd lived in White Rock and we visited them there.
The towering North Shore Mountains which form a backdrop to the bustling city of Vancouver have beckoned outdoor recreationists for many years. Until the opening of the Lions Gate Bridge in 1939, a fleet of ferries transported hikers and skiers across Burrard Inlet on the first leg of their journey to Hollyburn Ridge, which is now part of Cypress Provincial Park. The park was established on October 9, 1975 and is 3,012 hectares in size. Bounded on the west by Howe Sound, on the north and east by the ridgetops of Mount Strachan and Hollyburn Mountain and to the south by West Vancouver, Cypress sits like a ship’s crows nest high above Vancouver.
On a clear day to the southeast snow-clad Mount Baker in the Cascade Mountain chain can be seen. To the west and southwest lie the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island with Georgia Strait in the foreground. The diversity of natural features, old-growth trees and outdoor recreation opportunities both summer and winter, is due partly to the climate of coastal British Columbia. The average annual temperature of around 9-10 degrees Celsius (49-50° F) results in many warm days for hikers and sightseers. Cypress Mountain, was the official freestyle skiing & snowboard venue for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic winter games.
Harry and I drove north to Britannia Mines for a tour of a closed copper mine. We had lunch at Kahlina Restaurant opposite Shannon Falls on Highway 99, just south of Squamish, where The Royal Hudson is the last remaining steam locomotive in scheduled service in North America. Between May and September, the Royal Hudson steams along the breath-taking beauty of Howe Sound between North Vancouver and Squamish. Whistler is located 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Vancouver. We enjoyed the scenic two-hour drive which winds around Howe Sound and close to the Coast Mountain range. Whistler, in the heart of the mountains, is very scenic.
On the return trip, we stopped at Brandywine Falls with a 211-foot drop, with 600 cubic feet of water per minute falling over the falls at the heaviest season in early summer. It got its name from the time when brandy and wine were bartered for guessing the height of the falls.
The Lions Gate Bridge was named after two mountain peaks that look like sleeping lions.428 Fourth Street#320 The Oscar Latham House, built 1909#407 Dr. James Hatherly, Thomas H. Hatherly built 1906#313 Joseph J. Mahoney, built 1910#331 The J. E. Brown House, built 1910Irving House is the oldest surviving intact house in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. It was built from 1862-1864 by Royal Engineers; it was built of California redwood in the San Francisco Gothic Revival style. At the time the house cost $10,000 to build which was the equivalent of a year’s salary for a very rich man. and was occupied until 1950 by the Irving Family.Castle Coevorden is a replica of the Coevorden Castle in the Netherlands the ancestral home of explorer Captain George Vancouver.The Guan Yin Buddhist Temple is the most authentic structure of traditional Chinese palatial (imperial) style in North America. Its design is based on the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. It features golden tiles on its two-tiered roof, flared eaves, and two scholar’s courtyards.Snow Geese are snowy white with black wing tips.At Cypress Provincial Park we walked the trails to Point Atkinson Lighthouse. The added treat was to view a Pileated Woodpecker pecking away at a tree. Point Atkinson Lighthouse was built in 1912 with a hexagonal tower 18.3 meters high. This light is on the outer approach to Burrard Inlet. The flashing light and mournful fog horn are a colorful part of the history of West Vancouver.We had a ride to North Vancouver on the Sea Bus, a twin-hulled catamaran operated by Metro Transit as part of the city’s public bus system. SeaBus runs eighty trips per day. carrying thousands of commuters to City Centre across Burrard Inlet from downtown North Vancouver. We left from the old C.P.R. railway station, built in 1914, which now serves as a Sea Bus terminal at the foot of Granville Street, and arrived on the north shore. The trip takes fifteen minutes, including turn-around time. It was established in June 1977.SkyTrain was constructed in 1987 making it convenient to travel from North Vancouver (via SeaBus) through downtown Vancouver to Surrey stopping at four stations in Burnaby.West Cordova Street – Canadian Pacific Railway Station Neo-Classical building built between 1912 and 1914 (third building on this site) Behind the colonnade of Ionic columns is an impressive lobby with panels depicting landscapes see from trains as they traveled across the country.
