Happy 129th Birthday ‪Vancouver‬

Today, April 6th, 2015 marks the 129th birthday of the City of Vancouver. It was incorporated on April 6th, 1886, the same year that William Van Horne established a terminal for the CPR and gave the city its name in honour of Captain George Vancouver.

This photograph taken in September 1886 by Louis Denison Taylor, (1857-1946), shows Vancouver’s 1st Council in front of a tent with the sign City Hall. The portrait captures a look at the first Vancouver City Council meeting after the great fire of 1886. The tent shown here was erected on the east side of the 100 block of Carrall Street. City of Vancouver Archives CVA 1477-419.

The Great Vancouver Fire on June 13th, 1886, razed the entire city. The Vancouver Fire Department was established that same year as the city quickly rebuilt.

This photograph taken in 1886 by Louis Denison Taylor, (1857-1946), is looking West from Hastings Mill and shows Hastings Mill and the Princess Louise boat. City of Vancouver Archives CVA 1477-414.

Vancouver’s population has grown over the years from a settlement of 1,000 people in 1881 to over 20,000 by the turn of the century, a 100,000 by 1911 and at present more than 603,502 people live in the city limits, making it Canada’s 8th largest city, but 3rd largest with a metropolitan population of more than 2,313,328 (2011 census).