History

City of Vancouver Archives A-15-20. Benjamin W. Leeson photo. 1951 Potlatch Posing in their potlatch finery, these First Nations people take part in an illegal potlatch in Quatsino, northern Vancouver Island, sometime between 1895 and 1898.

Cristopher Wright. 1970 Vancouver Special Synonymous with the words “cheap” and “lots of floor space,” the Vancouver Special architectural style hit the streets in the early 1970s.

Gerry Kahrmann / The Province. 1984 Pope John Paul II The first Pope to visit Vancouver. Judging by the crowds who came to see him, it was well worth the trip.

David Clark / The Province. 1992 Cates Tugs A visual staple of the North Vancouver shoreline, Cates Tugs is owned by Dennis Washington, who is also the owner of Southern Railway of BC, Montana Rail Link and Seaspan.

Courtesy Ballard Power Systems (www.ballard.com). 1979 Ballard Power Power business. Ballard Power, developers of the portable 1kW power unit, charge up for business in Vancouver. View the entire Metro Vancouver History 365 Series HERE .

Ken Oakes / Vancouver Sun. 1967 Human Be-In To underscore and support a large anti-Vietnam protest happening on the same day, over 1000 “hippies” took a page from San Francisco and converged on Stanley Park for the first Human Be-In in Vancouver.

Vancouver Sun. 1976 United Nations Habitat Conference Habitat happening. Vancouver hosted the United Nations Habitat conference in 1976, drawing crowds that included Margaret Trudeau, Paul Manning, Ron Basford and Barney Danson.

Peter Battistoni / Vancouver Sun. 1967 Bathtub Races Bathtubs are usually thought of with water on the inside, but not according to the inspiration of Nanaimo mayor Frank Ney, who instituted the first bathtub races.

Courtesy Phil Nuytten. 1966 Vancouver Divers Supply Phil Nuytten, already diving at the age of 12, put his aspirations to the test and opened his own scuba store at the tender age of 15. View the entire Metro Vancouver History 365 Series HERE .

Philip Timms photo, Vancouver Public Library VPL 4931. 1936 Thunderbird Dynasty Pole Carved by Chief Joe Capilano of North Vancouver, the Thunderbird Dynasty Pole was dedicated in 1936 at Prospect Point in Stanley Park.