History

City of Vancouver Archives, Photo Harry T. Devine. 1888 Capilano Dam The desire for a fresh and steady supply of water for Vancouver led to the building of the Capilano Dam in North Vancouver in 1888. The water was then piped under Burrard Inlet.

Stanley Triggs photo, Vancouver Public Library VPL 85782D. 1954 Challenger Map Under the mop is the world’s largest map of its kind. The Challenger Map took George Challenger and his family seven years to build out of hand-cut pieces of plywood.

Vancouver Public Library, Special Collections, VPL 41338. Province newspaper photo. 1964 Port Mann Bridge The Port Mann Bridge is seen under construction.

City of Vancouver, CVA 371-478. 1936 Flying Seven Demonstrating air defence, the Flying Seven — an all-female flying group — took to the air one day in November 1936 and then kept at least one airplane over Vancouver throughout each 24-hour day.

City of Vancouver Archives, St Pk N142.08. Photo W.J. Moore. 1936 Lost Lagoon Fountain When it was installed in 1936, the Lost Lagoon Fountain added a touch of elegance to Stanley Park.

R. Broadbridge photo, Vancou- ver Public Library VPL 9426. 1912 Sylvia Hotel The Sylvia. Still a distinctive feature of Beach Avenue, the Sylvia Hotel was built in 1912 on English Bay as an apartment building.

Vancouver Public Library, Special Collections, VPL 20974. 1910 Pacific National Exhibition The renowned Pacific National Exhibition opened for the first time on August 15, 1910.

Below is the second episode of our history TV show, BC Was Awesome ! Produced by Artaban Productions and supported by TELUS Optik Local , we're releasing 10 stories of our province's weird history over the next few weeks on our Facebook Page .

City of Vancouver Archives, Bu P683. 1886 Powell Street The oldest brick building in modern-day Vancouver was constructed in the same year as the devastating Great Fire—1886.

Vancouver Sun. 1950 Park Royal Shopping by the sea! Park Royal, the first shopping centre in Canada, was developed by the same land company that owned the British Properties and the Lions Gate Bridge.