If you set up a tent at Beach Avenue and Denman Street in 2022 you'd likely be stopped before all the pegs were in the ground.
In 1892 though, the area was a bit more forested and appears to have served as an excellent spot to set up a tent, as shown in these archival photographs.
The photos are of Mrs. Florence Caple and others sitting in front of a tent covered in ferns. Among the items brought along for their time at the beach are a rocking chair, a frankly massive camera and several heavy-looking baskets.
Beach and camping fashion, at the time, appear to be quite different than now as well, with the women in full-length dresses or skirts and topped off with (what looks like) exquisite hats.
It's hard to see what Norman Caple and a boy are wearing in the photos, but hats and long-sleeved jackets are definitely part of their outfits.
The most unusual item in the photos seems to be a pram in the background, crashed into some bushes. Also in the background of the images a small building can be seen, along with a full-on forest. On the edges of the images it appears other tents were set up, including one that may have been a shop, judging by the counter in the middle.
At the time Vancouver was still a small community of around 15,000 and Stanley Park was only a couple of years old.
