What do you think?
Rate this book
Vancouver Remembered
"An essential record of Vancouver's recent history."
More than 20 years ago, artist Michael Kiuckner created Vancouver: The Way It Was, combining a historical narrative with a unique mix of his own watercolors and a diverse collection of photographs and vintage postcards. Divided into neighborhood sections, it was accessible to everyone from the serious historian to the new resident. It became one of the classic books about the city, and remained in print for more than a decade.
In Vancouver Remembered, Kluckner continues his exploration of the city and its multi-layered past. Dozens of new, contemporary watercolors and a tremendous range of previously unpublished images concentrating on the city and its neighborhoods since the Second World War make Vancouver Remembered an essential record of the city's recent history. Also included is an introductory essay on the city, a section on day trips, an extensive bibliography and bird's-eye maps of areas that have drastically changed.
More than 20 years ago, artist Michael Kiuckner created Vancouver: The Way It Was, combining a historical narrative with a unique mix of his own watercolors and a diverse collection of photographs and vintage postcards. Divided into neighborhood sections, it was accessible to everyone from the serious historian to the new resident. It became one of the classic books about the city, and remained in print for more than a decade.
In Vancouver Remembered, Kluckner continues his exploration of the city and its multi-layered past. Dozens of new, contemporary watercolors and a tremendous range of previously unpublished images concentrating on the city and its neighborhoods since the Second World War make Vancouver Remembered an essential record of the city's recent history. Also included is an introductory essay on the city, a section on day trips, an extensive bibliography and bird's-eye maps of areas that have drastically changed.
- GenresCanada
240 pages, Hardcover
First published November 16, 2006
7 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 24, 2024
Vancouver Remembered is an artistically beautiful coffee table book, but unfortunately a highly white-centric account of history that portrays non-white communities in a rather questionable way.
For instance, while the names of current locations with anglicized Indigenous names are acknowledged (e.g. Siwash Rock, Capilano River, and Kitsilano (16)), I'm not sure why the original names could not be mentioned. Alright, "[t]he Capilano River recalls a chief of the Squamish Nation" (16); but why does "Royal Navy Captain George Vancouver" (16) and "Spanish navigator Jose Maria Narvaez" (16) receive full identification, while Supreme Chief Kiapila'noq of the Squamish Tribe does not? This isn't research-level data—it's a two-second google search. Surely one would assume that an author with the capacity to write a full book of the historical account of Vancouver has enough words to contribute to the acknowledgement of the Indigenous Peoples of the land?
Moreover, the absence of the Anti-Asian riots in 1907 in the chapter "Chinatown" is so questionable to the point that it's comical. Although the "Introduction" mentions the riots, the representation of the racist incidents as "a hiccup in the midst of the economic feast caused disaffected whites to rampage through Chinatown, breaking windows, destroying businesses and beating anyone who couldn't get out of the way" (26) demonstrates clear undertones of ignorance. These riots were not merely an economic "hiccup" driven by wage competition; they were violent acts of racism against visual minorities. The adjective "disaffected" also suggests that marginalized groups are supposed to cater and assimilate into settler-colonial ideals, which by the way, are ideals founded upon the violence, racism, and injustice against Indigenous Peoples.
So if "Chinatown" doesn't allude to the riots, a key historical event that defines how Chinatown has been historically represented and treated in Vancouver, what then is actually conveyed in the chapter? According to Kluckner, the Chinese Immigration act "allowed major capitalists like the Dunsmuirs on Vancouver Island to obtain a supply of cheap labour [of Chinese people] while effectively stopping the importation of wives whose children would colonize the province and demand the rights of citizenship" (58). Has anyone who has read this book...actually read this? This description is an exemplar of the white settler colonial fear of non-whites "colonizing" what has already been violently colonized by primarily Anglo-Saxon settlers.
I couldn't read any further than this chapter because of this one-dimensional representation of Vancouver. I will acknowledge that my critique is not the author, but the ideologies implicated through the choice of diction. It is beautiful art, but unfortunately here, the words speak much louder than the visuals, and while I am by no means an expert of history, I do know that any attempt to historicize Turtle Island should carefully acknowledge and consider what is being represented, how its being represented, and who is being represented.
For instance, while the names of current locations with anglicized Indigenous names are acknowledged (e.g. Siwash Rock, Capilano River, and Kitsilano (16)), I'm not sure why the original names could not be mentioned. Alright, "[t]he Capilano River recalls a chief of the Squamish Nation" (16); but why does "Royal Navy Captain George Vancouver" (16) and "Spanish navigator Jose Maria Narvaez" (16) receive full identification, while Supreme Chief Kiapila'noq of the Squamish Tribe does not? This isn't research-level data—it's a two-second google search. Surely one would assume that an author with the capacity to write a full book of the historical account of Vancouver has enough words to contribute to the acknowledgement of the Indigenous Peoples of the land?
Moreover, the absence of the Anti-Asian riots in 1907 in the chapter "Chinatown" is so questionable to the point that it's comical. Although the "Introduction" mentions the riots, the representation of the racist incidents as "a hiccup in the midst of the economic feast caused disaffected whites to rampage through Chinatown, breaking windows, destroying businesses and beating anyone who couldn't get out of the way" (26) demonstrates clear undertones of ignorance. These riots were not merely an economic "hiccup" driven by wage competition; they were violent acts of racism against visual minorities. The adjective "disaffected" also suggests that marginalized groups are supposed to cater and assimilate into settler-colonial ideals, which by the way, are ideals founded upon the violence, racism, and injustice against Indigenous Peoples.
So if "Chinatown" doesn't allude to the riots, a key historical event that defines how Chinatown has been historically represented and treated in Vancouver, what then is actually conveyed in the chapter? According to Kluckner, the Chinese Immigration act "allowed major capitalists like the Dunsmuirs on Vancouver Island to obtain a supply of cheap labour [of Chinese people] while effectively stopping the importation of wives whose children would colonize the province and demand the rights of citizenship" (58). Has anyone who has read this book...actually read this? This description is an exemplar of the white settler colonial fear of non-whites "colonizing" what has already been violently colonized by primarily Anglo-Saxon settlers.
I couldn't read any further than this chapter because of this one-dimensional representation of Vancouver. I will acknowledge that my critique is not the author, but the ideologies implicated through the choice of diction. It is beautiful art, but unfortunately here, the words speak much louder than the visuals, and while I am by no means an expert of history, I do know that any attempt to historicize Turtle Island should carefully acknowledge and consider what is being represented, how its being represented, and who is being represented.
September 17, 2022
This is a beautiful book that visually documents historic buildings in Vancouver, some of which were destroyed for development.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews