I was doing some
research for my upcoming Seafaring Ancestors: When a Merchant is Ship-Owner,Maker or Supplier presentation and happened across Changing Vancouver then and now images, a blog that features before and after photographs, mostly from the
Vancouver Archives, BC Archives and Vancouver Public Library collections.
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| City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 99-4836, photographer Stuart Thompson |
I realized when
looking at the post for Robson and Burrard – sw corner (1) that while I have
the 1892 Williams Illustrated Official BC Directory entry for my ancestor, John
Rounsefell, I had never located 800 Burrard on a map. I have walked past the location of his former residence countless times without realizing my own connection.
Changing Vancouver is
an interesting way of looking at Vancouver with the historical images next to
the current images. I love sites like this and HistoryPin as they provide a
current context for your research. It is hard to imagine parts of the city as
residential or to place them in your mind.
By 1894, John Rounsefell moved
down the street to 1126 Robson, with his real estate office in the Hollandblock, 413 Cordova – a rather iconic part of Gastown.
A good reminder for family historians to map their ancestors. Next time I am in
downtown Vancouver I will be looking at it from a different perspective.
