Online exhibit tells the historic story of Vancouver’s West End
Posted October 3, 2014 8:46 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – If you’ve ever wondered about the rich and eventful history of Vancouver’s West End, you might want to have a look at the Vancouver Public Library’s new online exhibit.
A large collection of pictures have been catalogued along with oral stories to accompany them. All the material has been offered by people who lived or went to school in the area between the 1930’s and the 1960’s
Kay Carhill, the acting manager of the library’s digital services says there are a number of very interesting tales.
“There were some great stories here. The ones I find particularly fascinating are the ones that talk about Vancouver at the end of the war, so they discuss what it was like to actually be living in Vancouver. There’s one that talks about the explosion of a freighter in Vancouver’s harbour that’s really quite dramatic.”
Carhill says it’s a touching collection of some really personal memories that paint the picture of what life used to look like.
She explains while this exhibit is complete, the library hopes to hear from other community groups to develop and expand the site.
Carhill says there is a team at the library that is working on the projects and looking at ways to collect unique, local content with the potential for digitization to expand the site.
This new site aligns with the inspiration app coming in January that will be a digital creation space the library plans to open at the central branch. Carhill says there will be sound booths, video production, sound software, and digitization tools, meaning people could have their grandparents narrate family photos.
