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Happy authors at the 2013 Galiano Lit Fest, where we read from Vancouver Noir. Great event, great organizers.

Buyer’s Remorse.

Buyer’s Remorse..

3rd Printing!

Vancouver Noir is headed to the presses again, this time with a few of the inevitable edits. One reviewer picked up on our misplacement of Dashiell Hammett in LA (should be ‘Frisco, of course), and there were a couple of photo references in which we erred. What always amazes us about publishing a book is how that fine-tooth comb one uses pre-publication seems to be missing a few teeth….

Link

Janet Nicol reviews Vancouver Noir. And a very nice review it is, too.

Every House Has A Story

One of the great resources on the street-level history of Vancouver has to be Eve Lazarus’ book, At Home With History.  And Eve Lazarus herself is a tremendous resource.  She has a blog called Every House Has A Story that enriches our knowledge of the city while engaging with a community of interested Vancouverites who are busy digging around for more dirt on the city they love.  She has a few things to say about Vancouver Noir in the latest entry.

Vancouver Skyline photos

These skyline shots come from DiscoverSeattle and were recently highlighted by Vancouver – City of Glass.  Thanks to both!

Look at all the houses in old ‘Ward Two’! This was a thriving neighbourhood until the age of Noir. That’s the Cambie (Connaught) Bridge in the background.

By 1947 there’s hardly an inch of unused housing space across East Van. The old Georgia Viaduct is visible in the lower right and the street goes straight thru to the eastside — because MacLean Park and RayCam Housing Projects are not there.

View to the northeast from above UBC/Point Grey. Notice how white and airy the west side is and how dark, dark, dark the East End is.

1956 and the West End is still mostly houses, though many are boarding houses.

Looking east on Georgia Street from near Denman in 1958. No gleaming bank towers yet … they’re more than a decade away. Note the who-cares approach to parking. And, off in the distance, the False Creek Gas Works. Let’s hope the wind doesn’t shift….

Don’t Argue

Con Jones was a local figure in the early mid-20th century in Vancouver.  He owned a chain of tobacco stores which doubled as pool halls (and, very likely, gambling joints).  Past Tense has posted a great photo of the Hastings Street operation, with its splendid neon slapstick.

Comics Burning

A couple of websites have picked up on our comment re the 1956 pyre of comics organized by the Jaycees.  Past Tense took the lead in this regard — thanks!  We would very much like to learn more about this event, as it occurred at or around Jackson and Prior in Strathcona, which is, truth be told, an odd place to build a bonfire of comicbooks.

New Review at Amazon

Thanks to Roger Albert (patron of the arts, sociologist, bon vivant, and activist) for this review!

Dan Francis on Noir

The accomplished Vancouver historian Dan Francis takes a look at the contribution photographers make to our understanding of the city’s past and along the way he reviews Vancouver Noir.  From the pages of Geist magazine.