Vancouver was incorporated 125 years ago as of April 6, 2011. We seem to be having a year of celebrations. Sesquicentennial sounds half First Nations, half some sort of lifeform. I was told recently that this famous photo, which most Vancouverites are familiar with, was actually staged, and that City Hall never rested in a tent, not even after the Great Fire. If you know anything about this hoax, please comment! More on Vancouver’s early history here.
Vancouver City Archives photo shows the “Mayor, Aldermen and City officials in front of tent that served as City Hall after the Great Fire, 1886 Photographer: Harry Devine.
Photograph shows left to right: (seated): C.M. Coldwell, E.P. Hamilton, J.R. Northcote, Mayor M.A. MacLean, L.A. Hamilton, P. Cordiner, T.F. McGuigan; (standing): J. Griffith, R. Balfour, T. Dunn, J.J. Blake, J. Humphries, G.F. Baldwin and Dr. W.J. McGuigan – the empty chair was for H. Hemlow who was absent on business”