Vancouver's a relatively new city, and also a fast-growing one.
That means not a lot has remained from before the city was founded or its earliest days. Unfortunately, no local First Nations sites remain from pre-1899, despite living here since time immemorial, with several substantial communities.
The oldest building in B.C. is the Fort Langley storehouse, and it was built in the 1840s. That is recent compared with some other parts of the world. However, for those who want to imagine what life was like in Vancouver before 1900, there are a few places to go.
Here are five places, all giving a look back.
Irving House
The oldest intact residence in the Lower Mainland, New Westminster's Irving House was bought in 1950 and has been turned into a heritage centre given its age.
The first family moved in in 1865. Two years before Canada existed.
At the time, New Westminster was the capital of the colony of B.C. (which was separate from Vancouver Island).
Hastings Mill Store
Looking at the museum from the outside won't quite take one back to the 1860s, when it was built.
That's because it was moved almost 100 years ago.
Originally located near the Port of Vancouver, the store was part of Hastings Mill, which predates Gastown (which was the town Vancouver was founded from).
The store is the only part of the historic mill to remain.
The Brockton Oval
Aside from Stanley Park's forest, the Brockton cricket grounds (aka the Brockton Oval) is essentially the oldest part of the park that hasn't changed much. Established in 1891, the area had been used for sports prior to that.
The pavilion on site isn't quite as old, but the sports field has been used for well over 130 years.
St. John the Divine church
By some measures, the oldest church in BC isn't in Victoria, New Westminster, or Vancouver. It's (now) in Maple Ridge.
St John the Divine Anglican Church didn't start off in Maple Ridge, though. It was built in Derby in 1859 and later moved to Maple Ridge.
While it's a historic site, that's not its main purpose. It still has an active congregation.
Roedde House
Much of Vancouver's downtown peninsula has changed a lot over the last century, but in the West End (which used to be the wealthiest neighbourhood in the city until Shaughnessy was developed) there are several houses that are well over a century old.
One of these, Roedde House, has been turned into a museum that offers a view into life in Vancouver in the 1890s, when it was built.
