Vancouver Elegance

The year was 1900 and it was the beginning of the Golden Years in Vancouver. For the city's rich, from then until 1914, was a time of Edwardian elegance. In the CPR controlled West End, the city's upper class created a privileged world consisting of proper  British comforts. Fantastic mansions, surrounded by clipped hedges and holly bushes, were built along Davie, Denman and Robson Streets.

Benjamin Tingley  Rogers built the Gabriola, a stately Victorian mansion, which occupied two lots at Davie and Nicola. Gabriola was designed by Samuel Maclure and reported to have cost $25,000 - "probably twice as much as the next best residence in the city."

Inside Rogers's home was elaborate wood panelling imported from England, 18 fireplaces, opulent stained glass and the city's first concrete basement. You can see photos I took of the Gabriola in 2011 in this entry.

More than three quarters of the city's elite lived in the West End in 1908. That is according to Vancouver's Elite Directory. The West End was a haven, allowing the upper crust to insulate themselves against the surrounding wilderness.

The world of a woman revolved around  "at home" days and garden parties. These parties were held in a different part of the neighbourhood on each day of the week. A man's life, outside of business that is, consisted of exclusive clubs - the Terminal City Club, the Vancouver Lawn and Tennis Club, the Vancouver Yacht Club. The most sanctified club was simply called the Vancouver Club. The children of the West End attended private schools. It sounds like it was very sheltered.

However, the city was rapidly developing and the West End, once considered "out of town" was falling under urban pressure. Fortunately, the elite had another option to escape the common folk. The CPR was developing Shaughnessy Heights, an even more rarefied neighbourhood on the southern rise above 16th and Granville. 

These lots were highly restricted and costly but once offered for sale, wealthy buyers lined up around the block to purchase their share. They wanted to be part of the land touted as the most exclusive residential area west of Mount Royal and South of Nob Hill.

Thanks to the book Vancouver; A History in Photographs by Aynsley Vogel and Dana Wyse for the above information. 

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Sales and Murder

First I want to tell you about a big free event I am having starting tomorrow, March 21, 2013. It will run through March 24 and all three of my kindle titles will be free.

For the first time EVER, The Bond, A Paranormal Love Story will be free in Kindle.

A woman, Laura Neill, in Vancouver is struck by a Chrysler Intrigue while crossing the street. At the same time in Toronto a car also strikes Julian Rule. Both people have an out of body experience and meet as they are floating. Their ethereal forms bond as one before separating - each taking a part of the other’s soul with them as they return to their bodies.

 When the two people wake up, they remember the experience they shared and have memories of each other. The simultaneous accidents created a psychic bond. They are truly soul mates. Although Laura is haunted by visions of Julian that she cannot understand, she has decided to make dramatic changes in her life. One of them is becoming engaged to a member of England’s nobility that has recently appeared in her life. When he senses that she is in danger – a feeling that is confirmed by a psychic friend – Julian goes to Vancouver to come to her aid. With the help of a detective, Julian is able to prove that Laura’s fiancé is a con artist and a murderer. When Julian confronts the man, he and Laura are placed in imminent danger.

Here's the link.

Mystique Rising:

In a bloody showdown during a Mystique concert, the government ended rock music. The members of Mystique disappeared - as many musicians before them had -without a trace.

This drives fans underground and they form the rebel group,the Let Us Play Organization. Presently Kaya More, who is the daughter of a slain LUPO founder, as well as a descendant of a member of Mystique, leads LUPO.

The gift of second sight aids Kaya as she leads the rebels from New York City to California to the Canadian Rockies. Once LUPO joins forces with other outlaws from around the world, the rebellion explodes and a showdown between the oppressors of music and fans is inevitable.

Link

And last, but certainly not least, Missing Flowers.

When psychic Julie Seer moves to Vancouver, her dreams are filled with visions of women being murdered. She doesn’t know who is being killed, or why, until the day Julie goes to a press conference held by the Vancouver Police Station: a press conference to announce the formation of a special task force that will investigate the case of the prostitutes who have gone missing from Vancouver’s East Side.

Detective Constable Santoro Ricci, an officer with the Vancouver Police Department, wants on the special task force. When he happens upon Julie at the press conference, Ricci finds himself unofficially investigating the case.

Julie also finds herself having visions where she is transported back in time into the body of a Chinese prostitute in the late 1800s. Through these visions, and stories told to her by long time residents of the city, Julie learns more of the history of Vancouver.

With the help of Francine, an east side prostitute, Julie and Santoro work together to solve the mystery of the missing women. When Francine and Julie are taken by the killer, Santoro must find the missing answers fast.

 Link

If you haven't read my books then I hope you will take advantage of this promotion and get yours.

This is a federal coke delivery truck. It belonged to the British Columbia Electric Company. The photographer is unknown but it was taken in 1919 - 1920 and is under the Georgia Viaduct. 

Taken in 1923, this photo of passengers boarding The Cheam is credited to Timms, Philip. The Cheam was owned by the Union Steamship Company.

Another photo of The Cheam. Here it is docked in Howe Sound and Timms, Philip is credited with this photo. The date it was taken is unknown. All three of these photos are from the Vancouver Public Library collection.

The twenties were a glorious time for Vancouver and even more so for the district of Shaughnessy. Old, moneyed families such as the McRaes held lavish masquerade parties in the ballrooms of their opulent mansions.

Prohibition was over and its demise was toasted in style with imported wines and spirits. The wine cellar at the McRae's was reputed to have some 2000 bottles.

Here's a float for a parade. Taken by John Davidson in the 1920s. 

This is the King George Junior Basketball Team. Winners of Wilson Cup in 1920. Stuart Thomson took the photo.

This photo, taken in 1920 by Stuart Thomson, shows employees outside of Duke's Grocery on Commercial Drive.

Another Stuart Thomson photo, taken July of 1920. This is the 10th annual convention of N.W. photo engravers and is outside the Hotel Vancouver. This would have been the second Hotel Vancouver built in 1916. The third is what we see today. These four photos are from the city of Vancouver collection.

While the elder rich held parties and balls, the younger ones raced around the town in their automobiles and played tennis, bridge and golf. It was rumoured that these wild ones would party through the night and skinny dip by the midnight moon while toasting the fun with French champagne.

Taken by the Dominion Photo Company between 1924 and 1928, this picture shows Mayor L.D. Taylor with two ladies, raising money for crippled children.

Stuart Thomson took this 1920 photo of the Central Baseball Club.

A 1920 photo of the Alexandra Orphanage at Crescent Beach. It was taken by Stuart Thomson.

This photo dates back to February 11, 1920 and Stuart Thomson took this image of the Washington State Hotelmen's convention.

These photos are from the City of Vancouver collection.

It was in 1924 that the debauchery of the rich set shocked the city. A Shaughnessy nanny, Janet Smith, was found dead in her employers' home. She had worked for the couple as they had hosted an all night party and her body was discovered in the morning.

It was a shameful time for Vancouver. Violence, drug abuse, corruption and police collusion were all revealed during the extended murder investigation. To this day, no one has ever been convicted of that murder.

June 10, 1920 is when Stuart Thomson took this photo of the Kiwanis Club luncheon at the Hotel Vancouver.

May 24, 1920. Stuart Thomson took this photo of the start of a Coast to Coast road trip.The 'Reo Six' went from Vancouver to New Brunswick. The Reo Motor Car Agency.

Major James Skitt Matthews took this photo in 1927 looking north from Robson Street down Granville. It was reproduced in 1955.

This is a 1927 photo of the Confederation Arch at the Hotel Vancouver - Georgia and Granville Streets. It was taken by E. Walter Frost.

Once again these four photos are from the archives at the City of Vancouver.

Thanks goes to Aynsley Vogel and Dana Wyse and their book Vancouver, A History in Photographs for the information on Shaugnessy in the 1920s.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

November 1929. Stuart Thomson took this photo of the S.S. Selma

Compliments of the City of Vancouver archives.

Karen Magill, Vancouver, 1920, history, Vancouver, A History in Photographs, Aynsley Vogel British Columbia, Canada, Dana Wyse,Shaughnessy, eBooks

CPR and Shaughnessy

For a little while now I have been showing you photos of homes in Shaughnessy and telling you about the history of those homes. But what about the area itself?

Spanning an area of 447 hectares, Shaughnessy is Vancouver's wealthiest district with an average annual household income of $136,252 and family income of $153,895^{.  (According to a 2001 census)}

Many of the homes built here were constructed either prior to or during World War II compared to 20.8% of the city at large.

Shaughnessy is bordered by 16th Avenue to the north, 41st Avenue to the south, Oak Street to the east and Arbutus Street/West Boulevard to the west. Its population is about 9020 with that coming from 2970 homes.

This area was developed by the CPR, the largest land developer at the time. It was named for the Canadian Pacific Railway's president from 1898 to 1918, Thomas George Shaughnessy.  Thomas went on to become Lord Shaughnessy.

In 1907 Richard Marpole, the general superintendent and executive assistant of CPR, began to subdivide a large tract of land which was on a hill south of False Creek. CPR was interested in making this area attractive and appealing to Vancouver's elite. It had to project the wealth and status of our more affluent residents and this exclusive neighbourhood would bring in former residents of the West End's Blue Blood Alley.

A Montreal architect by the name of Frederick Todd was hired to lay out the area in generous lots. Todd was inspired by Frederick Law Omstead - the architect who designed New York's Central Park.

Before any of the lots went on sale, CPR spent $2,000,000 preparing the site. Sewer lines were put in as were paved sidewalks and roads.

As I stated earlier the CPR wanted this neighbourhood to be exclusive and they ensured it would be by insisting that the homes cost five times or more that of any other home in Vancouver. Only the truly wealthy would reside here, on a hill looking over the rest of Vancouver. At least it was like that at the time.

A typical early Shaughnessy home consisted of twenty rooms that were filled with opulent furniture, silverware and other trappings that reflected the wealth and status of the owners. These were mansions with music rooms, parlours of every sort, reception rooms and ballrooms. There were also basement rooms labelled in architectural designs as Chinaman's Quarters where the servants - many of whom were Asian - would live. Family members would beckon the servants by using in house call boxes.

Guests were delivered in horse-drawn carriages under porte-cocheres then ushered into grand foyers. Of course that was before the arrival of the automobile. Deliveries and tradesmen naturally went to the rear of the house making this the busier area.

CPR's promoters were quite keen on getting the posh residents to move to the new neighbourhood and enticed the people by extending the BC Electric's Interurban to the new subdivision. The new area also had a tennis club, a lawn bowling club and later the Shaughnessy Heights Golf Club.

Shaughnessy was built in three sections and developed in phases. The first surrounded Shaughnessy Park and was called The Crescent. Then there were areas further south that were called Second Shaughnessy and Third Shaughnessy.

From 1911 through the twenties Shaughnessy was the place to be. Then World War I halted the growth in Vancouver and the Great Depression of the 1930s stalled advancement even more. The CPR was repossessing home after home and Shaughnessy became known as Mortgage Heights. The Tait House, valued at $75,000 in 1920 sold for $7,500 in 1939.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill, Richard Marpole, Vancouver, Frederick Todd, Frederick Law Omstead , Tait House, World War I, British Columbia