Grouse Mountain Tram
by Greg Reed
Title
Grouse Mountain Tram
Artist
Greg Reed
Medium
Photograph - Photo
Description
Circa 1972 taken with a Mamiya C220 with 80mm lens on Ektachrome.
Early 20th Century
The prewar economic boom expanded markets for such BC products as fish, minerals and lumber. Most lumber was sold on the prairies. The beginning of a worldwide economic depression in 1913, and the First World War in 1914, severely reduced trade, slowed railway development and, coupled with declining resources, ended much of the mining boom in the Kootenay and Boundary districts.
During the 1920s growth resumed and Vancouver replaced Winnipeg as the leading city in western Canada. The export grain trade held up remarkably well during the Great Depression of the 1930s, but the city suffered extensive unemployment, especially since the unemployed of western Canada regarded Vancouver, with its mild climate, as a "mecca." Unrest among the unemployed caused several incidents, including the reading of the Riot Act by Mayor G.G. (Gerry) McGeer in 1935 (see also On to Ottawa Trek).
The outbreak of the Second World War and the development of war industries, particularly shipbuilding, ended unemployment, but sharply reduced the grain trade. Trade grew once shipping became available again after the war, especially after Canada began selling large quantities of wheat to China in 1961.
During the war, Ian Mackenzie, MP for Vancouver Centre, was a leading figure promoting the removal of Japanese people from the coast. As the first stage of internment, many of the Japanese from coastal communities outside the city were temporarily housed at Vancouver’s Hastings Park Exhibition Grounds before being moved inland. The province’s Japanese residents, including roughly 8,600 from Vancouver, had their property confiscated by the federal government and sold at rates well below their assessed value (See Japanese Canadians). Meanwhile, the general population grew as wartime industries, especially shipbuilding, drew people to the city.
Like the Japanese, Vancouver’s Chinese population also faced racial discrimination in the early days of the city’s development. Owing in large part to the gold rushes in the area and the role Chinese labourers played in building the Canadian Pacific Railway, Vancouver has always had a prominent Chinese community, including a Chinatown which, from its earliest days, served as a residential, social and commercial hub. While in part a natural gathering place, Chinatown also developed due to restrictions preventing Chinese people from buying property outside the area until the 1930s. Today, Chinatown exists mainly as a social and commercial district as the descendants of the pioneer Chinese tend to live throughout the city while newer immigrants have moved primarily to the suburban city of Richmond.
Mid-20th Century – Present
Following the war, Vancouver expanded its role as the head office centre for such provincial corporations as: BC Forest Products, Cominco (since 2001, Teck Cominco) and MacMillan Bloedel; a variety of smaller firms; the major provincial labour unions; and the regional offices for national enterprises such as the chartered banks.
In 1967, as part of a controversial project of urban renewal, the city of Vancouver began the levelling of the Hogan’s Alley neighbourhood as well as parts of Chinatown. For several decades Hogan’s Alley had been the centre of Vancouver’s black community. The neighbourhood and nearby Strathcona were also home to several other immigrant groups who, like African Canadians, were unable to live elsewhere in the city due to housing discrimination. In recent years, there have been efforts to commemorate the neighbourhood, through community and government initiatives such as a stamp issued by Canada Post in February 2014 as part of Black History Month.
Source: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/vancouver/
Uploaded
March 3rd, 2013
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Viewed 1,642 Times - Last Visitor from Cambridge, MA on 04/24/2024 at 9:25 PM
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Comments (3)
John M Bailey
Congratulations on your feature in the Fine Art America Group "Images That Excite You!"
Greg Reed replied:
Thanks John for the fav and the feature in the Fine Art America Group "Images That Excite You!"!
Eena Bo
Love this shot!
Greg Reed replied:
I appreciate the great comment Eena! It took me a while to get it, I had to time expose the city and then flashed the tram with a Braun RL 515 strobe when it came up! About 30 minutes to get into position until the flash on the tram.