Vancouver Remembered

Ann Turner, formerly the financial and budget manager of the University
of British Columbia Library, is a freelance writer.

Michael Kluckner’s first illustrated history of Vancouver appeared in
1984 (Vancouver: The Way It Was), a wake-up call to Vancouverites that
the city’s economic growth and development were changing its character
forever and obliterating the buildings that were part of its heritage.
Development escalated after Expo ’86, prompting the publication of
Vanishing Vancouver (1990) to preserve the images of still more
buildings and views that were falling victim to progress. With this new
album he returns to the period between World War II and Expo ’86,
expanding on and updating the material in Vancouver: The Way It Was to
re-create the feel of the city in quieter, more neighbourly times. As
with the earlier publication, the arrangement is by neighbourhoods,
including those in the downtown commercial sector. Kluckner’s lovely
watercolours grace many pages, accompanied by maps, photographs,
postcards, and cartoons depicting the times. As recent as it is, this is
local history many Vancouverites can still remember. Savour the
nostalgia and enjoy.