From soon after the city of Vancouver was established in 1886 until the late 1950s, thousands of its citizens embarked each summer on steamboats to view the scenic coastline and visit seaside resorts.
The most popular of these resorts was established by the Terminal Steamship Company on Bowen Island in 1902, and greatly expanded after the Union Steamship Company purchased it in 1920.
On Thursday, September 29, Bowen resident Jack Little, a history professor at SFU, will be giving a free public lecture called Vancouver's Playground: Leisure and Sociability on Bowen Island, 1902-57.
As he will explore, the 1920s saw the rise of the automobile vacation throughout North America, thereby killing the popular resorts established by railway and streetcar companies in the states to the south. However, the poor quality of British Columbia's roads ensured that Bowen Island would become more popular than ever.
The party finally ended in the 1950s when the Bennett government's road-building program greatly facilitated automobile access to the interior of the province.
The lecture is free but reservations recommended: www.sfu.ca/reserve. 5 - 7 p.m. at Fletcher Challenge Theatre, 515 West Hastings.
