Various dates and times
Regular walking tours $16 (incl. tax)
Special event walking tour prices will vary
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Notice Regarding COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
VHF is conscious of changing health considerations for individuals attending public events due to COVID-19 (coronavirus) and are closely monitoring the situation and public health advice. We will advise registrants directly if changes become necessary. If you have any questions regarding upcoming events please contact us via email.
Please note that due to public health advice, all spring 2020 walking tours between March 12th and May 31st have been postponed. Registrants have been contacted and we will announce new dates when possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Walking Tours 2020
Walking Tours with Rob Howatson
Select Saturdays and Sundays, 10am – 12pm
Register here, $16
Join lifelong “South Sloper” Rob Howatson for three unique walks where you will hear South Vancouver stories and explore the neighbourhood.
Sunday, June 14 – Fraserview: The Real Story of the War Vets’ Pleasantville
Soldiers returning to Vancouver after WWII were shocked to discover that there was nowhere for them and their young families to live. They occupied the second Hotel Vancouver at Georgia and Granville Streets while Ottawa scrambled to provide affordable housing. One such effort was Fraserview: 1,100 “apple box houses” hastily assembled across the city’s south slope on elegantly curving streets. Saunter through this suburb within the city and explore what went wrong and what went right in Canada’s largest, detached-home, social housing project.
*Please note the April 26th date has been postponed
Saturday, July 18 – Life’s a Ditch: Grappling with the Fraser’s North Arm
One of South Vancouver’s more prominent features is a narrow branch of the Fraser River that mariners lovingly call The Ditch. Once used as a fish trap by local Indigenous communities, the waterway irrigated the city’s first farms in the 1800s, fed logs to mills in the 1900s and is today prime waterfront property for an increasing number of residential developments. Join Rob for a gentle stroll along the foreshore and sluice its history for glittering story nuggets.
*Please note the May 16th date has been postponed
Fraserview’s Shifting Shores
*Please note this walking tour has been postponed
Vancouver’s southern edge was once far from city hall’s prying eyes and thus a loosely-run frontier for farmers, mill owners, and squatters. The Fraserview neighbourhood was tolerant of eccentrics who wished to build giant boats in their backyards or convert chicken coops to dance halls. Life by the river was easy, tough, fun and dangerous – sometimes all on the same day. On this walking join Rob to hear South Vancouver stories and explore a foreshore that still offers glimpses of a noisy, smoky, wild past, even as it transitions to a master-planned future.
Walking Tours with John Atkin
Select Saturdays, 10am – 12pm
Register here, $16
A fascinating cross section of the city’s history can be found along Victoria Drive from the harbour of Burrard Inlet to the Fraser River. The street traverses over 100 years of industrial landscapes, neighbourhoods of modest working class houses, and grander homes that hint at developers’ aspirations. Over the ridge towards the river are neighbourhoods born of the post-war economic boom and development, while at the river’s edge industry is gradually giving over to new housing.
June 13 – Interurbans and a Park (South Grandview)
July 11 – Soggy Ground (Trout Lake)
August 8 – A Farm and an Orchard (Kensington-Cedar Cottage)
Postponed – Cedar Cove (North Grandview)
Postponed – Terminus Point (Grandview-Woodland)
*Please note the there will be 5 more walks from August to November that will be open for registration at a later date.
(Postponed) Lower Mount Pleasant: Industry, immigrants and institutions with Christine Hagemoen
10am – 12pm
$16
*Please note that this walk is currently at capacity. To be added to the wait list please email us.
Mount Pleasant is one of Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhoods and earliest suburbs. Lower Mount Pleasant is the light industrial, mixed use area north of Broadway, bounded by Fraser and Cambie Streets and False Creek. More than just home to several craft breweries, creative industries and nondescript commercial buildings, this distinctive area has long been an integral part of the city’s history and is noted for its unique mix of residential, commercial, industrial, and social heritage. Modern buildings and businesses have long since replaced most of the early houses and industry, but fascinating pockets of the original neighbourhood hang on, including turn-of-the-century houses, brick apartment buildings, and factories. Join Christine on this walk where you will learn about the families, workers, legacy businesses, and social groups who once called this unique part of Mount Pleasant home.
About Christine Hagemoen
Christine Hagemoen is a Mount Pleasant-based historical researcher, writer, photographer and blogger. A self-identified flâneuse, she is constantly looking around her city and discovering things she wants to know more about. Christine loves delving into Vancouver’s history to uncover the untold or long forgotten stories of the people and places of this region.
