My parents arrived in Vancouver in 1957 (and my brother and I in 1965). The streetcars had already stopped running by then, but I remember seeing the tracks still visible in the streets when I was growing up. I loved seeing the stores that no longer exist: Woolworth's, Copps Shoes, Cunningham Drug Stores. I think it would have been a beautiful time to live in Vancouver.
......yes that's right ,Metro Vancouver had a huge multimodal transit system that went all the way to Chilliwack way back then and along Came the Socreds (the predecessor of Kevin Falcon's party)and they decided that diesel buses would solve the entire region's transportation needs so they ripped up all the tracks or gave them away to BC Hydro much like the later BC Rail giveaway to CN (why do they hate trains so much???)
It was another 36 years until Expo 86 and another 36 years after Expo 86 that this video was uploaded. During Expo 86 people looked back on 1950 like we look back on Expo 86 and in 2058 someone on Mars will be watching a video from 2022 and thinking "Things sure have changed."
ll7868: If the past can teach you anything it should teach you about how difficult it is to reliably predict the future that far in advance (36 years), especially as we evolve, technologically speaking. My own opinion lays the odds on not having people habitating Mars in any quantity by 2058, if at all, at least not people as we currently define them (I wrote, with tongue partially in cheek). I also don't give civilization much weight in terms of its expected longevity, certainly as we define it currently. Anyway, I was born in 1950 and my parents were amazed at how I had detailed memories going back to early 1951, memories that easily recall these cars, the trolleys, hair and clothing styles and more. This video is, for me, a haunting experience to view.
I grew up in the Vancouver area, but after the streetcars and the interurban stopped running. I believe the streetcars stopped in 1955 and the interurban in 1958.
Vancouver was a much quieter, more orderly place with normal everyday people going about their business at Main and Hastings where today most people would never think of going. I wish I had a time machine.
My great great grandfather died of alcoholism in Vancouver B.C. He was divorced from his wife and he was a veteran of the South African War. 5th Regiment Canadian Mounted Rifles. He was born in 1878 in England and came to Canada in 1897.
Looks rather dangerous back then. No cross walks. People standing in the middle of the road unprotected from cars waiting for transit. It's interesting though.
My mum was born in 1953 in Vancouver. She said growing up in the city was amazing in the late 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. I was born in 1976. We grew up in Richmond though. And it was amaizng in the 80s and 90s. Now, the city is pretty horrible. This looks amazing. I know it had lots of issues. But it had culture and felt alive. Now its just a meat grinder.
@Old Canada Series, forgive me. I have downloaded your video and added image stabilizer to it. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XI1QrAO4Z9c.html If you feel the video is worth it. Please feel free to download then re-upload to your channel. I make no claim to the stabilizing the video, and I will keep the video unlisted. Keep up the good work sharing older films. Thank you
They wants us to forget about the old world by keeping all the drug addicts in Hastings area. I’ve always admired the drive down Hastings to downtown. This is real Vancouver before capitalism and control.
@@andyl4565 The same times as in Edmonton and every city. The last 10 years the city has been totally rebuilding the streets where the trolley used to be. The railroad ties were still buried under. LOL. No wonder they always had trouble with heaving. The crazy think LEFTY buggers are making 12 foot wide sidewalk/ bike paths beside stupidly narrow lanes and parking, with constrictor curbs. AND at the same time they are bringing BACK STUPID trolley lines. OMG.
The drug addicts are a symptom, not a cause; they are a symptom of 70 years of weak liberal/progressive governments and their policies that originally we were told would make the system more equitable but ended up doing exactly the opposite. Bring back zero tolerance policies on drug dealing and importing, put the mentally ill in institutions where they will be looked after, have government policies that are family friendly and stop all immigration except for the top tier of highly educated people we need for high tech and research. Lastly, we need to stop allowing foreigners to speculate on our real estate. We need to bring back sanity to our real estate prices, strict controls on foreign ownership would be a start.
