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Hastings Mill Museum Information
John Atkin is an author, historian and heritage advocate 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. He can accomodate an individual or a group of thirty five.
Tours cost 10 dollars per person (for groups smaller than five, there's a 100 dollar minimum charge).
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London Walking Tours September 11th - 18th 2008
Planning
is underway for the London
Perambulator for 2008!
If you're interested drop us a line.
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Walking the Line
This summer we'll be offering walking tours of Burnaby for the Burnaby Village Museum based on my book the SkyTrain Explorer. We'll be exploring the four stops of the the SkyTrain line in Burnaby; Paterson, Metrotown, Royal Oak and Edmonds.
We'll be looking at the history of each area, the architecture and the history of the BCER's Interurban line which is used by SkyTrain today.
Tickets are $10.00 and the walks begin at each of the stations at 10:00am.
Paterson: May 10th | Metrotown: June 21st | Royal Oak: July 19th | Edmonds: August 16th
Check the Burnaby Village Museum's website for more details.
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Vancouver Heritage Foundation Walks this Summer
This summer it's all about the east side of the city. Join us for tours of Strathcona, the Japantown and Chinatown. Saturday mornings at 10am. Meeting at the Strathcona Community Centre at Keefer and Princess.
For more information and tickets (space is limited) visit the Foundation's website.
Fire Walk
June 8th - To celebrate the anniversary of the Great Fire of 1886 we trace the route of the fire from Yaletown to Gastown. Meet on the Davie Street side of the Roundhouse Community Centre at the old turntable. 10:00 am
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UBC Continuing Studies Course
Our next course will be in the Fall.
Check the Continuing Education site for more information.
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NEW>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.
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There are many dates and names stamped into the City's sidewalks. They
are interesting small bits of history but many of them get lost due to
wheel chair ramps, construction and neighbourhood improvement programs.
I'm compiling a list of locations of dates and stamps for inclusion on
the City of Vancouver's mapping program VanMap. If you find a date,
photograph it, note its location and send it to me. I'll make sure it
gets on the list.
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Our new book, SkyTrain Explorer, is out and
available from major book stores including Book Warehouse and Chapters.
It's a series of walks from each station along the original 1985
SkyTrain line from Vancouver to New Westminster. $16.95. Check Steller Press for
more info and ordering.
As well, Vancouver Walks is in it's second printing. It's available in book stores now.
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Our recent travels took us to Oman and Dubai. Here are some photos.
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BC history is fascinating stuff.
Check out the quarterly magazine BC History. Available at Book
Warehouse in Vancouver. For more information check the website.
www.bchistory.ca
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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.
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Vancouver was incorporated as a city in April 1886, in June it was
burned to the ground in a spectacular fire.
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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.
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Vancouver Mayor Fred Cope (the City's third mayor) drowned in a river
while looking for gold in the Klondike.
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The largest recorded earthquake to impact the west coast of
BC was in 1946 - a 7.3 magnitude earthquake.
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The boundaries of the City of Vancouver are not simple, check out their
complicated description
from the Vancouver Charter
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Ever wonder what the guide books to
our city tell visitors about this place?