Authors: Dave Doroghy & Graeme Menzies (Emons Verlag, 2023)
Where did Harry Houdini hang out – literally? What do those secret stones hidden in the seawall mean? Which is the oldest independent record store in town? Come on an eclectic and quirky tour of Canada’s vibrant West Coast gem in 111 Places in Vancouver That You Must Not Miss.
With this popular series launched by Emons Verlag in 2008, almost 500 titles in multiple languages have since been published, with over 2 million copies sold. Why 111 Places? The series is published in the beautiful city of Cologne, Germany, where the number 11 is good luck. But 11 places wouldn’t fill a whole book, so they added another 1 to get to 111!
- From the Emons Verlag website
Now in its third edition, this frolic of a book written by Dave Doroghy and Graeme Menzies provides some much-needed levity and fun at a time when we desperately could use a lift. And much to my surprise, as a Vancouver resident now for over 25 years, I found myself on several occasions doing a double-take on what has for many years been right before my eyes. For as one of the writers Dave Doroghy was born and raised in Vancouver, there is a fresh take on some of the usual suspects that demonstrate how even a young port city like this one can still possess some rousing folklore.
Like a kind of municipal mythology, this particular book builds on other great anthologies, from Chuck Davis in his Vancouver Book, to the decades-old Exploring Vancouver guidebooks by Hal Kalman and Robin Ward, adding an up-to-the-minute take on living in modern-day Vancouver. And for a city that used to have X -Files walking tours, it is no surprise to see such local legends as Raymond Burr here, one of many also including Joe Fortes and Nat Bailey. There are also such favourites as the wooden roller coaster at the PNE, along with the spot where Harry Houdini escaped from chains and a straightjacket in 1923, hanging above city traffic on Pender Street.
As one would expect to find across the entire popular series, most of the local greats are here—the little False Creek ferries, the painted concrete silos on Granville Island, the yellow sulfur pile on the north shore of Burrard Inlet, along with the local favourite eatery the Naam and several microbreweries. The Gastown steam clock is a notable omission, however.
With each must-see destination presented alphabetically in the book, the authors have waxed poetic in several instances, and in the process have touched upon the zeitgeist as much as the actual, physical place, with Dude Chilling Park and Leg-in-Boot Square being some noteworthy examples.
Having given walking tours of Vancouver, I am always happy to see architecture featured so prominently in a series like this one, aimed at a more general audience. In 111 Places in Vancouver, the authors have included three of my personal favourites – the Marine Building, the Sylvia Hotel, and the Museum of Anthropology. Other notable buildings include two in Chinatown—with the Same Kee and Wing Sang Buildings each offering a brief history lesson—as well as the original Hastings Mill store now at Jericho Park in Kits, which just happens to be the oldest building in the city.
With each of the 111 given a page of text along with a photo, the book is filled with curious tales of local people, tastes, buildings, and breweries. Notable cultural stops including Mushroom Studio (now Afterlife Studios) and Neptoon Records. The inclusion of several notable watering holes like the Alibi Room and Shameful Tiki Room provide for some fun local facts, including that the actors Gillian Anderson and Jason Priestly were the ones that started the Alibi Room.
As one would expect, many of the entries provide a platform to speak to much bigger and more serious issues. The history of the LGBTQ2S+ community in Vancouver is discussed in Rainbow Crosswalk, with Hendrix’s Grandma’s House hearkening back to when Hogan’s Alley was a vibrant neighbourhood, when Jimi Hendrix used to play at clubs on Granville street while staying with his Grandma, before her house was bulldozed to build the Georgia Viaducts. Also, here are the Punjabi Markets, which speak to the history of the South Asian community in Metro Vancouver, one of the largest outside of India.
But the most serious entry here would most certainly have to be Deadman’s Island. As an acknowledgment of the unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh, the authors remind us that in the 1700s a great battle was fought on the island, in which 200 Coast Salish warriors perished and were buried, with the site remaining a burial ground right up to our present day, giving it the reputation as the most haunted site in Canada.
As is always the case with such collections, it is the off-beat local lore which only Vancouverites know that provide the lighter moments, like the basketball from the last Grizzlies game, or the Nine O’clock Gun, and my personal favourite – the BowMac Sign on Broadway. This last particular entry provides a moment to speak to the Vancouver’s halcyon neon days, when the BowMac signed loomed the largest on the luminescent landscape.
With stories like these and more, 111 Places in Vancouver provides a storehouse of local fun destinations, with restaurants, night spots, museums, and parks sure to provide for the tourists and locals alike, offering up some Easter eggs as well for the longtime residents, whether as destinations or local facts.
As something to peruse on a rainy Sunday afternoon or as a serious tourist guidebook, 111 Places has something for everyone, and certainly a different spin on the standard travel guide. And with other Canadian cities in the series featuring Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa, Victoria, and Whistler (hello Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Halifax!), each is sure to give its unique spin on local folklore mixed with multiple layers of civic history.
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For more on this book and others like it, visit the Emons Verlag website.
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Sean Ruthen is a Metro Vancouver-based architect.
