Vanishing Vancouver

Ann Turner is Financial and Budget Manager at the University of British
Columbia Library.

The years following Expo ’86 brought an unprecedented wave of interest
in Vancouver real estate. Rapidly rising property values encouraged
developers to demolish existing structures and redevelop their sites on
a grander or more cost-effective scale. Unfortunately, in the process,
the unique character of the neighborhoods has been eroded, and buildings
representative of Vancouver’s architectural heritage have been
destroyed piecemeal. Between 1988 and 1990, Vancouver-born artist and
author Michael Kluckner set out to preserve some of this vanishing
heritage in a series of watercolors of notable houses, gardens, and
streetscapes. Over 70 of the paintings are reproduced in this beautiful
volume, along with many historical photographs and plans. They are
accompanied by a carefully researched and documented commentary that
flows around the exhibits and binds them into an absorbing social,
political, and architectural history of the city and its surrounding
communities. Students of architecture and urban planning will find some
interesting case studies here. Vancouverites will enjoy reminiscing
about the old buildings and neighborhoods. But the book is worth buying
for the paintings alone.