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Boom Times in Chilliwack: Memories from the Post-war Years
What began as a steamboat landing on the Fraser River, in the traditional territory of the Stó:lō Nation, became a pioneer settlement in the 1860s. Today, Chilliwack is a thriving agricultural hub with a population in excess of 100,000. The more the city grows so too does local interest in its history, coupled with a move to preserve what is left of the community’s past and its heritage.
Boom Times in Chilliwack celebrates a dynamic time in the city’s past when it experienced unprecedented growth. After World War II, with surging population growth and a steadily increasing tax base, came major infrastructure projects such as a new library and firehall, courthouse, arena, hospital and civic centre. The Paramount Theatre installed its iconic neon sign downtown in the spring of 1949, and a drive-in theatre on the edge of town opened the next summer. Meanwhile, the city’s restaurant options, retail sector, schools and sporting scene all grew significantly.
These cultural and physical shifts—including fast-food drive-ins, subdivisions and a burgeoning consumer culture—represent in microcosm changes that were happening in communities across North America, but with a special local flavour. Accompanied by a wealth of archival photos, Boom Times in Chilliwack chronicles the entertaining tales that come with rapid change, and captures the developments and the economic optimism of the 1950s and 1960s that laid the groundwork for the Chilliwack of today.
Boom Times in Chilliwack celebrates a dynamic time in the city’s past when it experienced unprecedented growth. After World War II, with surging population growth and a steadily increasing tax base, came major infrastructure projects such as a new library and firehall, courthouse, arena, hospital and civic centre. The Paramount Theatre installed its iconic neon sign downtown in the spring of 1949, and a drive-in theatre on the edge of town opened the next summer. Meanwhile, the city’s restaurant options, retail sector, schools and sporting scene all grew significantly.
These cultural and physical shifts—including fast-food drive-ins, subdivisions and a burgeoning consumer culture—represent in microcosm changes that were happening in communities across North America, but with a special local flavour. Accompanied by a wealth of archival photos, Boom Times in Chilliwack chronicles the entertaining tales that come with rapid change, and captures the developments and the economic optimism of the 1950s and 1960s that laid the groundwork for the Chilliwack of today.
336 pages, Hardcover
Published March 31, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 3, 2026
A well researched and surprisingly engaging slice of history of my hometown, which even I, a fan, must concede is not a very interesting place as far as they go.
I did not expect to be held in rapt attention by the chronicles of various retail outlets and subdivisions that have come and gone in this town, but it was delightful to see the development of areas I had thought were well known to me overtime.
Though I’ll be the first to say that I think the growth of Chilliwack in recent years that has made it, if not a real city than perhaps a distant cousin of one, has been a positive change, it’s hard not to be a bit sad for the loss of the way things were (even though I never experienced most of the way things were set out here).
I mean, I’d never trade out my modern entertainment options for bowling, but the idea of living in a time and place where bowling was so popular that a city of 20,000 people had competing bowling venue options makes me wistful in a way I find hard to pin down.
Highly recommended to Chilliwackians and anyone else interested in Chilliwack (the ven diagram of which is probably a circle).
P.s. From reading this it seems that a shocking number of notable Chilliwack structures have been lost due to confirmed or suspected arson. If you happen to own an interesting building in Chilliwack, I might double check my insurance policy if I were you.
5 stars.
I did not expect to be held in rapt attention by the chronicles of various retail outlets and subdivisions that have come and gone in this town, but it was delightful to see the development of areas I had thought were well known to me overtime.
Though I’ll be the first to say that I think the growth of Chilliwack in recent years that has made it, if not a real city than perhaps a distant cousin of one, has been a positive change, it’s hard not to be a bit sad for the loss of the way things were (even though I never experienced most of the way things were set out here).
I mean, I’d never trade out my modern entertainment options for bowling, but the idea of living in a time and place where bowling was so popular that a city of 20,000 people had competing bowling venue options makes me wistful in a way I find hard to pin down.
Highly recommended to Chilliwackians and anyone else interested in Chilliwack (the ven diagram of which is probably a circle).
P.s. From reading this it seems that a shocking number of notable Chilliwack structures have been lost due to confirmed or suspected arson. If you happen to own an interesting building in Chilliwack, I might double check my insurance policy if I were you.
5 stars.
March 3, 2026
It is a (3.5/5) okay this was going to be a 4 star but at the end it just drove me nuts. Why nuts you say? well first off I am not a big sport fan; l
ike playing but not reading or watching. But I was like okay part of the book. Well it went to hockey and then golf and then back to hockey but Peewee hockey. I just believe that that part could have come before the golf part because by the time I finished the golf chapter I was done and then I had to read more about hockey which just drove me nuts and I was going why wasn't this in the hockey section. The other thing I don't understand is why most of the pictures were in negative form. like couldn't you get a copy of the picture and use it but no you had to put it ina negative form . drove me nuts. Now if it is said some where why it was done then I may up the score.
But my biggest annoyance is that it seemed like the author or whoever typed this out, hit the space bar to many times in a lot of areas in the book because there were big gaps between words. this book might not have been 635pgs if the spacing between words were just one spaced and not two or more.
I borrowed it from the library that is why it too so long to read.lol
ike playing but not reading or watching. But I was like okay part of the book. Well it went to hockey and then golf and then back to hockey but Peewee hockey. I just believe that that part could have come before the golf part because by the time I finished the golf chapter I was done and then I had to read more about hockey which just drove me nuts and I was going why wasn't this in the hockey section. The other thing I don't understand is why most of the pictures were in negative form. like couldn't you get a copy of the picture and use it but no you had to put it ina negative form . drove me nuts. Now if it is said some where why it was done then I may up the score.
But my biggest annoyance is that it seemed like the author or whoever typed this out, hit the space bar to many times in a lot of areas in the book because there were big gaps between words. this book might not have been 635pgs if the spacing between words were just one spaced and not two or more.
I borrowed it from the library that is why it too so long to read.lol
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews