W.P. Kinsella
Former residence, 1188 Howe St.
"Growing up is a ritual, more deadly than religion, more complicated than baseball, for there seem to be no rules. Everything is experienced for the first time."
From Shoeless Joe
W.P. (Bill) Kinsella lived here in a condominium in the late-1990s. His short story called Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa was the basis for his novel, Shoeless Joe, which, in turn, became the basis for the 1989 Kevin Costner movie Field of Dreams. He is credited with giving the world the phrase, “Build it and they will come.” In fact, the phrase in the movie is, “If you build it, he will come.” Kinsella often ate at the nearby A-1 Café on Granville and he liked to hang out at the Vancouver Public Library where he wrote parts of several books. Kinsella had three one-act plays produced at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island while he was living in White Rock: Thrill of the Grass, The Night Manny Mota Tied the Record and The Valley of the Schmoon, circa 1988.
