The history of the Vancouver, Coast & Mountains region is full of colourful characters. It’s left a legacy of eclectic historic and heritage sites, from Aboriginal culture and Gold Rush pioneers to cannery workers and the famed explorer Simon Fraser.
Visit Vancouver’s historic Chinatown and Gastown districts. Tour Fort Langley, the “Birthplace of British Columbia.” Or explore Aboriginal culture and history at the Museum of Anthropology or Whistler’s Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre.
Walk through the Shakespeare-inspired Othello Tunnels near Hope. In Mission, contemplate a working Benedictine monastery. Or descend underground into an old mining tunnel at the Britannia Mine Museum near Squamish.
Vancouver Historic Sites
Vancouver's Chinatown – North America’s second-biggest – was designated a historic district in 1971. It boasts the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, the largest such garden outside China.
Stroll Gastown’s cobblestone streets and visit art studios, designer shops, Aboriginal art galleries, and antique stores in refurbished heritage buildings. Don’t miss the famous steam clock or the 1912-built Canadian Pacific Railway Station.
In North Vancouver, cross the thrillingly shaky Capilano Suspension Bridge, originally constructed in 1889. In Richmond, tour the International Buddhist Temple, perhaps Canada’s most exquisite example of traditional Chinese architecture.
Historic Aboriginal Sites
Just west of downtown Vancouver, the University of British Columbia’s architecturally stunning Museum of Anthropology boasts numerous BC and international Aboriginal art and artifacts. See traditional canoes, masks, carvings, longhouse replicas and totem poles.
At the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre in Whistler, learn about the distinctive culture and history of local First Nations through displays, live performances, forest walks, and craft-making. Enjoy affordable Aboriginal-influenced food at the on-site café. The gift gallery sells original artwork.
Historic Industrial Sites
The Britannia Mine Museum (between Whistler and Vancouver) features the old Britannia Mines – once one of the world’s largest copper mines. View mining artifacts in Mill 3 (a national historic site) and board an authentic mining train to descend underground into a 1910 tunnel. Check out fossils and minerals, and try gold-panning.
Richmond’s Gulf of Georgia Cannery was built in 1894 and is one of BC’s last remaining intact canneries. Tour the main cannery, icehouse, and drum storage shed, which rest atop wood pilings. There are 10,000 well-preserved artifacts.
The Power House at Stave Falls in Mission tells the story of BC’s power industry. Interactive games and informative displays explain how electricity is created. See turbines and generators, as well as a Detroit model electric car, dating from 1912.
Historic Villages
Fort Langley National Historic Site was once an 1827 Hudson’s Bay Company fur trading post. Beaver pelts and HBC blankets are displayed, and costumed interpreters demonstrate blacksmithing and barrel-making. Walk through the 1840s storehouse, reputedly BC’s oldest building.
Kilby Historic Site (near Mission) is a reminder of the once thriving community of Harrison Mills, now a ghost town. The General Store Museum stocks 1900s goods. Experience 1920s living conditions at the Manchester House Hotel, or explore the adjacent farm with friendly animals – a big hit with children.
Explore Powell River’s Historic Townsite, the only declared National Historic District in western Canada. This unique, well-planned city was first constructed in 1910 and is remarkably intact, with more than 400 original buildings. The Patricia Theatre is Canada’s oldest continuously running movie theatre.
Yale Historic Site
Yale was a Gold Rush boomtown once hailed as the largest city north of San Francisco and west of Chicago. Now much smaller, historic Yale still evokes Gold Rush fever. Explore one of BC’s oldest churches, St. John the Divine. Or walk through Pioneer Cemetery, with headstones dating from 1862. Want to re-live history? Don a period costume, visit the saloon, and chat with Yale’s historical characters in the interactive exhibit, “Yale: A Living History.”
More Historic Buildings and Structures
The Othello Tunnels (near Hope) are a 1900s engineering feat: they were constructed by slicing through solid granite, almost entirely by hand, to link the Kootenay Rockies region of BC to the coast by rail. Their name stems from the engineer’s love of Shakespeare. Visitors can now trek through the tunnels.
View the lifestyle of Benedictine monks at the Westminster Abbey Monastery in Mission. This includes the abbey grounds, seminary campus and the monks' farm. Admire beautiful stained-glass windows and hear the chimes of the 10-bell tower.
Alternatively, visit the Hope Christ Church , a National Historic Site, and the oldest continuously operating church on the BC mainland.
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