Night Life in Vancouver

URGENT: A Vancouver landmark is scheduled to close January 20, 2013 so that it can be torn down and condominiums put in its place. Can you sign the petition to save it?

I am continuing to show you photos of the Terminal City Iron Works complex but I want to talk today about the striptease industry in Vancouver. For reference, I am reading Burlesque West by Becki L. Ross. This is quite the book, detailed and much research has gone into it. It is impressive.

I am going to start with the period of time after World War II. It had been a rough start for the twentieth century with the tragedy of World War I, the despair of the Great Depression and the horrors of World War II. But finally it was over and good times were looming on the horizon.

Vancouver was emerging as a force in Western Canada. Provincially, there was a boom in the export of oil, fish, natural gas, hydro-electric power, minerals, and forest products. My beautiful city was a central depot for these resources as well as the world's largest grain-shipping centre.

Vancouver was being sold as an appealing tourist destination - as it is today. The majestic beauty of the mountains, the sparkling gem of the Pacific Ocean, the serenity of Stanley Park draw people from around the world. A playground for the outdoors people.

Then there was Vancouver's night life. The blue laws, which prohibited commercial entertainment on Sundays were revoked. Vancouver was ready to party!

Starting in the 1950s, this confident port city beamed with civic pride as sleek, modern office buildings, diverse cultural venues, and state of the art sports facilities sprung up.

By the 1960s, our  city was ablaze with the electric energy of 18,000 neon signs. The Granville Bridge offered the denizens of the densely populated West End easier access to the down town core. Yes, these were good years for Vancouver.

For tourists looking for excitement, Vancouver's night spots were as alluring as the mountains, parks and oceans were to the outdoor adventurer. A person could go see live music such as big band, swing, jazz, blues, soul, and rock 'n roll. Whether the fun seeker was young, old, urban, suburban, visitor or resident - Vancouver's night life cast its spell on them all.

It was during the forties and fifties that live acts prospered in Vancouver's down town core. (Later, that success would spread to the ever growing suburbs and small towns that our improved transportation routes now linked together.) Those routes also brought to the city the miners and loggers from the interiors and coastal regions - some of those workers would have been in the bush or underground for months without female companionship.

Vancouver was gaining a reputation as the 'home to the hottest nightclubs north of San Francisco' and this was due partially because of the influence of Las Vegas. There is no other city in Canada that has the same geographical and symbolic linkage to 'Sin City'.

Monday I will be looking at more on Vancouver's night life after World War II and getting more into the burlesque and strip tease side. I hope you will join me.

I hope you find the beauty around you. 

Karen Magill, Vancouver, Becki L. Ross, history, Burlesque West, miners British Columbia, Canada, neon, World War II,fifties

Terminal City Iron Works

The sixties was a good decade for some - it was the year I was born and 1966 was the year that Terminal City Iron Works continued to mushroom. Money Mushrooms used to be on Pandora Street but their building was bought out by Terminal City Iron Works.

By 1968, 1505 square metres (16,200 square feet) of foundry space had been added as well as the installation of a channel type induction electric melting furnace, which replaced an earlier coke-fired iron melting cupola.

Once the foundry had been upgraded, it was time to turn attention to the machine shop, which also got an overhaul. Additional pattern storage space was always being sought due to the development of new waterworks products. This company's pattern storage space grew to 743 square metres or 8,000 sq feet. Is it any wonder that the Terminal City Iron Works complex now took up an entire city block?

As of 1997, Terminal City products included waterworks fittings of gray cast iron and ductile iron in sixes from 2" through to and including 30" diameter. Terminal City was the only Canadian waterworks casting manufacturer that produced this range of fittings.

By the end of the twentieth century, Terminal City Iron Works had moved from this grand location to Langley. However, that wasn't the end of this block's usefulness.

Since 2002, this city block has been used for the film industry. That may be why some of these photos look familiar.

Psych has filmed here, as has Eureka. So has Arrow, Fringe, the short lived Alcatraz, Caprica, Dark Angel, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate Universe, John Doe and many more shows I am sure.

The entire complex is now up for sale. When I saw this, it prompted me to contact Terminal City Iron Works and I was referred to Mr. Stanley Mason - if you read Monday's entry, you will see that his family founded the company.

Mr. Mason is writing a book on the history of Terminal City Iron Works and he was kind enough to give me some information on the history of the company and the building.

This is part of Vancouver's history - a true success story. Anyone who buys this land is going to have to rejuvenate the soil due to all the chemicals that have been used there in the foundry business. With the way things are going in this city, I suspect it will be bought and eventually turned into condos.

I wish to thank Don Blanchard at Terminal City Iron Works in Langley for putting me into contact with Mr. Mason, Mr. Mason for his help and knowledge, the Canadian Fire Hydrant and Water Works Museum online and MovieMaps for the information.

There are more photos of this site and I will be sharing them with you in future entries.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill, Vancouver, Arrow, history, MovieMaps, Stanley J Mason British Columbia, Canada, Terminal City Iron Works, Canadian Fire Hydrant and Waterworks Museum,TV

Health and wealth in 2013.

2013

Welcome back and Happy New Year. I hope that all my readers enjoyed their holiday season and that 2013 brings you everything you wish.

The 99 cent sale I ran over the holidays for my first two eBooks was quite successful and I thank everyone who helped by either spreading the word and/or purchasing a book.

For today's blog entry, I want to talk a little about a business that used to be on Victoria Drive - Terminal City Iron Works.

Terminal City Ironworks has been in business since 1906 and was originally on Alexander Street, in the location that is now the Four Sister Housing Corporation. The original facade still stands.My information I had then was that this structure was built in 1912 or 1913. My new information suggests that this may not have been part of Terminal City since that company moved in 1908. Therein lays the confusion with history, conflicting information.

At the time, I wrote on the Four Sisters Housing Corporation, I was under the impression that Terminal City had become defunct and that this building was taken over by Burrard Iron Works. The company didn't go under and is still in operation today.

Terminal City Iron Works Ltd is a family owned business - founded by James Mason through Clifford A. Mason to Stanley J. Mason. The company was a manufacturer and supplier of municipal water work fittings, gate valves and fire hydrants as well as speciality castings.

When the small operation from Alexander Street in Gastown moved to Franklin Street, it wasn't an immense operation. That soon changed. Bit by bit the company expanded. At one time buildings were constructed in Prince Rupert then dismantled and shipped to Mission where they would be stored until the structures were ready to be reassembled and put in place. 

In 1945 the building burned to the ground but, as you can see, it was resurrected and started expanding. 1947 is when the company started to spread out to Victoria Drive. But it was the 1960s when Terminal City Iron Works began to encompass the block.

I am going to tell you about the 60s expansion and what is happening with the site on my next blog entry. I have so many photos of this city block that it will fill this week's blog entries with a few left over. 

Until Wednesday, I hope you find the beauty around you.

Health and wealth in 2013.

Karen Magill, Vancouver, James Mason, history, Clifford A Mason, Stanley J Mason British Columbia, Canada, Terminal City Iron Works, Four Sisters Housing Corporation,2013