Winter break is very quickly approaching, and while we all hope for a White Christmas this year, we've put together a collection of old, historical pictures of West Vancouver in the wintertime! It’s interesting to see the differences in our city from then, between 1920 and 1989, to now, and imagine what life was like back then.
In anticipation of 2021, we have also included a quote from the 1935 release of the West Vancouver Newspaper, at the end of this article.
This photo, circa 1940, displays snow on Marine Drive and 16th Street. In the photo, some store signs are visible, like “Cunningham Drugs"; according to the Canadian Encyclopedia, this chain no longer exists since most of the Cunningham Drug Stores in Alberta and British Columbia were bought by Shoppers Drug Mart in 1971! I also love seeing the old cars driving down the street, though there are not many. According to the Canada Science and Technology Museum, 1940 was a difficult time for the Canadian automobile industry. The Great Depression had just ended, a time in which fewer civilians were buying cars, and in 1940, Canada stopped producing cars to focus on the war effort.
Many people don’t know that until the 1980s, the Vancouver Art Gallery was actually a courthouse! Although the building is not actually in West Vancouver, I think it deserves an honourable mention. This photo, from 1916, does a great job of capturing the beautiful architecture highlighted by the snow.
This image from 1970 shows children wearing thick winter coats and walking along Ambleside Beach. Even back then, Ambleside has always been a great walking destination. This picture accurately represents West Vancouver’s winter weather—although it may be freezing, we can’t pass up the opportunity to appreciate the scenery surrounding us!
This image, taken in the 1920s, shows a snow-covered view of the Ambleside area, looking towards Burrard Inlet and Stanley Park. According to Eve Lazarus, there used to be a small natural channel between Capilano River and 14th Street: “In the winter, residents skated on the frozen slough, in the summer they fished for cod, and shot pigeons and ducks on the surrounding marsh.” In 1918, Ambleside was designated as a park, and it remains a park to this day.
This scenic image shows Stanley Park, West Vancouver, and Kitsilano from a snow-covered Hollyburn Mountain. It was taken in 1987 and attests to the beauty of West Vancouver, especially in the winter.
This 1987 image shows Ambleside covered in snow with Lions Gate Bridge in the background. This is a classic view of the Bridge, and the snow-covered logs on the beach add to the winter-wonderland feeling of the photo. There seems to be a lot of snow on the sand - The last time it snowed this much was maybe 7 years ago!
In this 1989 image, the Ambleside dock is shown covered in snow, near the 1300 block of Bellevue Avenue. This view also shows some of the familiar buildings lining West Vancouver’s shores. Other than the snow, this picture looks very similar to what we can see today, like it could have been taken last year!
This 1930 school picture shows students dressed in Christmas pageant costumes at Mrs. Fraser's School. Historically, between 1921 and 1931, Vancouver experienced a large increase in population, causing schools to become overcrowded according to the VSB Archives and Heritage. I wonder if the students at Mrs. Fraser’s school experienced this. Also, I love the variety of costumes, but I’m confused as to why the teacher’s hat has such a witch-like appearance.
This last image was taken right in the centre of Marine Drive, looking toward 1500 block, circa 1960. Some old store signs are visible, like “Jim Macdonald Men’s Wear British Imports” and “Marie’s Cafe.” It's interesting to look at the old signs compared with new ones, and to see all the cool graphic design from the 1960s!
We leave you with this quote from the West Vancouver Newspaper, written under the headline “Looking Forward to 1935”:
It was written with regard to the Great Depression, but I think it’s still relevant decades later, especially this year! Many of us are looking forward to 2021, and hopefully, it represents a “brighter future”!
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