Vancouver History
The Vancouver Public Library has extensive primary and secondary resources on the history of Vancouver. This guide is designed to help you begin your research on this topic and use library resources effectively. The guide focuses on political and social history. Most materials are located in the main non-fiction collection at the Central Library as well as in Special Collections on Level 7.
Vancouver was built on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
Useful Websites
Historical Organizations
Digital Library Resources
Recommended Titles
The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver
971.133 D26c
2011
The story of how Vancouver grew from a ramshackle tumble of stumps, brush and crude wooden buildings to today's urban metropolis turns out to be interesting, complicated, frequently rancorous and occasionally even funny. And the book is, as the late author hoped, "fun, fat and filled with facts."
Historical Atlas of Vancouver and the Lower Fraser Valley
911.71133 H41h
2005
More than 370 original maps chart the region's development beginning with the years of discovery and exploration. They depict its days as a fledgling colonial outpost, its appearance on the world scene after the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway, through to its emergence as a postwar Pacific metropolis.
A Plan for the City of Vancouver, British Columbia, Including Point Grey and South Vancouver and A General Plan of the Region, 1929
710.09 V22p 1929
1929
First city-wide planning document, created in 1928 and updated in 1929, provides a wealth of detail on Vancouver in the late 20s.
Three Faces of Vancouver: A Guide to First Nations, European and Asian Vancouver
971.1004 A31t
2009
A historical and pictorial look featuring three diverse ethnic groups. Also includes a walking tour that encompasses different neighbourhoods.
Vancouver's Queer History
306.766 V22b
2011
Special double issue of Sad Magazine with stories and images from LGBTQ history in Vancouver.
Vancouver: A Visual History
971.133 M1351v
1992
Full-colour historical atlas brings to life Vancouver's first fourteen decades.
Vancouver in the Seventies: Photos From A Decade That Changed the City
971.133 B618v
2016
This striking pictorial history offers insightful views of Vancouver, B.C., and the issues with which its citizens were wrestling year by year during the 1970s, a decade of social upheaval.
Vancouver Is Ashes: The Great Fire of 1886
971.133 S65v
2014
On the morning of June 13, 1886, a rogue wind fanned the flames of a small clearing fire, and within five hours the newly incorporated city of Vancouver, British Columbia, had been reduced to smoldering ash.
Vanishing Vancouver: The Last 25 Years
971.133 K66vb
2012
Vanishing Vancouver explores the origins of our landmark buildings and public spaces, working harbour, shops, houses, apartments, urban farms and gardens, and bears witness to the recent dramatic changes that have taken place in them.
Northwest History Index
This card index in Special Collection provides access to the Northwest History Collection, a heritage collection covering the early history and exploration of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest.
The collection includes:
- magazine and newspaper articles
- pamphlets
- books
- chapters in books
- many other resources
As of August 1998, no new material has been added to the Northwest History Index. It is continued by the British Columbia Index.