|
John Atkin is a civic historian and author who organizes and conduct tours for groups and individuals. John has explored Vancouver like few others have and offers an interesting and offbeat insight to the city's architecture, history and neighbourhoods. He has created, and conducts, a number of unique and popular walking tours throughout the City of Vancouver.
John brings an insight of urban planning and development, a love of architecture, and the fascination of the curious to all his tours.
John's walking tours take approximately 2 hours - depending on the group size and route - and are organized year round. Tours cost 10 dollars per person
Custom tours can also be organized for groups or individuals, contact John for information. Please note for groups smaller than five, there's a 100 dollar minimum charge.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEWS:
The London tour is fully booked for 2012.
Check out where we're going this year.
---
The
Changing
City is out and in bookstores. You can check the website for a sneak preview and links to
the blog which keeps you up to date with recent developments. Also check out our other blogs on the site.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cemetery Walks
sponsored by Mountain
View Cemetery
There was a great turnout this year and lots of great tours and guides. Look for more next year.
The cemetery is offering its regular walking tours again in 2013. All tours are $10.00 pp (cash only) with no reservations necessary.Tours in April, May, June and August. Plus the bike tour in September. For more info and details on the tours check out the poster
With the redesign of the city's website (and the stripping of most of the cemetery's information) it looks like the only way to find out about future events will be through the event notification list or the twitter feed @MountainViewCem
---------
Saturday Morning Walking Tours
This year we're expanding our walking tour program with the Vancouver Heritage Foundation to offer walks through to October. Don't forget to register for these walks with the Foundation.
Register now the Saturday Walking Tours >>
Last of the current series
Go WEST!
October 13 - Nelson & Thurlow: West End Apartments
October 27 - Nelson & Thurlow: West End Houses
How to Research Your House is a great workshop at the Archives that I have the pleasure to conduct along with Archives staff the next one will be presented on November 14, 2012. Presented by the Vancouver Heritage Foundation. Check out their site to register.
---------
UBC
Continuing Studies Talks at Tapestry
From November 22nd to December 6th I'll be speaking for an hour on aspects of Vancouver history in a series called: A Little Bit of Vancouver History.
We'll also be doing our regular Fall course in November. We'll be looking at the city's former "restricted districts".
Check the Continuing Education site for more information on upcoming courses.
---------
Check out the Heritage
Foundation's Places That Matter project: 125 commemorative
plaques for the 125th birthday of the city. And the public was invited
to vote for their favorites
here. Plaques are now being installed.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ top of the page ]
NEW>
My occasional blog
about things that float to the top of my desk
---------------------
i'm very excited to be the "historian in residence"
at the Roundhouse Community Centre. We'll be
working on a number of projects at the Roundhouse including walks,
lectures and history exhibits.
---------------------
Did
you
know Blood Alley in Gastown is named for nothing? There were no butcher
shops in the alley, or fights and murder contributing to "rivers of
blood"; it was a name plucked out of the air by planners in the 1970s
during the alley's renovation. more...
------------------
Our recent travels took us to Istanbul.
We've been to Oman and Dubai. Here are some photos.
------------------
In April 1935 Ray Woods, a stunt man from St Louis, jumped from the
centre of the Burrard Bridge in front of an estimated crowd of 20,000
people.
This was Mr. Woods 161st bridge dive, afterwards he went back
to his room at the Hotel Devonshire.
------------------
Vancouver was incorporated as a city in April 1886, in June it was
burned to the ground in a spectacular fire.
------------------
A common error is to assume the new city boundary of 1886 was Heatley
Ave since it was once called Boundary Road, but it only meant it was
the boundary between two district lots. Nanaimo was the city limits
until 1911.
------------------
Vancouver Mayor Fred Cope (the City's third mayor) drowned in a river
while looking for gold in the Klondike.
------------------
The largest recorded earthquake to impact the west coast of
BC was in 1946 - a 7.3 magnitude earthquake.
The boundaries of the City of Vancouver are not simple, check out their
complicated description
from the Vancouver Charter
------------------
