A West Coast rainy day in the big city.
"1906::A Wet Day on West Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia"
Photo: City of Vancouver Archives (CVA 677-584)
Photographer: Unknown
A little West Coast weather has rarely ever stopped Vancouverites from walking to where they need to be. In 1906, an unknown photographer captured this rainy-day scene while standing on the corner of Homer Street on West Hastings, looking North toward Richards Street. McMillan's Jewellers had recently opened its doors in the brand-new Jones Building on the corner, and its electric sign quickly became a downtown landmark. It was dismantled in 1912 when the business was bought out and relocated. The Boston Dentists who had also taken up residence in the new Jones Building had moved on by 1910, and John Walker's Clothing Store in the distance was sold and relocated shortly after this photo was taken.
"1906::The Butler Hotel on West Hastings Street in Vancouver, British Columbia"
Photo: City of Vancouver Archives (CVA 359-38)
The Butler Hotel had also just opened its doors. It had taken over Vancouver's popular decade-old Real Estate Saloon, which had moved to West Hastings in 1903 from Cambie Street. The new hotel continued to build on the old saloon's classy reputation and eventually became the best watering hole in Vancouver in its own polished style. In 1917, however, when Vancouver's new prohibition laws were rolled out, the hotel was permanently closed down and replaced with a fine bone china shop.
Many of the buildings in these images still exist today.
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