February 13, 2014

Captain Vancouver’s Dream Wishes for 1913

Jason Vanderhill at Illustrated Vancouver just recently came across this great cartoon in the Daily World newspaper – and I can understand his excitement.  It’s gives remarkable insight into thinking of this Pacific Rim boomtown at the height of its pre-war optimism:

.

What he wants

.

Comments Jason:

What he wants in 1913, an editorial cartoon in the Vancouver Daily World newspaper by Boardman (whose first name I haven’t determined) shows Captain Vancouver dreaming of all the things he wants for his city, like a new city hall, False Creek improvements with union depot and railway yards, subways under the CPR right-of-way on Hastings and Pender Street, harbour improvements for Panama Canal trade, and grain elevators for Vancouver.

When he says subways under the CPR, he didn’t mean rapid transit subway, but a bridge that went beneath the crazy railway track that unceremoniously cut right through Gastown! Can you imagine the downtown congestion a steam train would have caused? Dreadful!

Little did the Captain know but 1913 would be the year of perhaps the greatest depression Vancouver has ever experienced: a collapse of the lumber trade and, hence, the real-estate bubble that had been revving the economy for half a decade.

There’s little memory of this economic catastrophe because of the political one that followed in 1914 – the beginning of the ‘Great War’ that would end the long peace of the 19th century, and the power and social structures of the gilded age.  Vancouver would become a more-English-than Britain outpost of the Empire and retreat into xenophobia and diminished expectations.

Posted in

Support

If you love this region and have a view to its future please subscribe, donate, or become a Patron.

Share on

Comments

  1. Well, a replacement for that “subway” was built – it was called the Dunsmuir Tunnel and the RoW from False Creek North across Gastown was decommissioned (and is now preserved as green space across various parcels).

    The other railway RoW connecting the False Creek flats to Burrard Inlet has already been bridged at Hastings, is currently being bridged at Powell St. (now under construction) and will, in future, be bridged perhaps by the Malkin Connector (replacing Venables as the main arterial).

Subscribe to Viewpoint Vancouver

Get breaking news and fresh views, direct to your inbox.

Join 7,284 other subscribers

Show your Support

Check our Patreon page for stylish coffee mugs, private city tours, and more – or, make a one-time or recurring donation. Thank you for helping shape this place we love.

Popular Articles

See All

All Articles