BO-47-650 : Burkeville, Sea Island

 This is the community of Burkeville on Sea Island, in Richmond, from 1947. It was established in 1943 as a port of the Dominion Government’s Wartime Housing Plan. You can see the Vancouver Airport in the background.

BO-48-3590 : Massey Tunnel Site

 There is a bit of uncertainty with the exact location of this image, but it appears to be roughly the location of the George Massey Tunnel from November 22, 1948. It looks like the tunnel will end up going through the field in the lower-left corner of the image. Construction of the tunnel didn’t begin…

54-30 : Gibbons Drive, Richmond

 This is Gibbons Drive in Richmond from 1954, approximately where James Thompson Elementary School now sits. The intersection at the very top of the image is No. 1 Road and Granville Avenue.

BO-47-2585 : Vancouver Airport / Boeing Plant

 This the Vancouver Airport from 1947 looking south-east towards the Boeing Plant. In 1939 Boeing built a huge manufacturing factory on Sea Island to build aircraft for the war effort. Following Japan’s surrender at the end of the Second World War, the plant immediately closed leaving 7,000 workers stunned and scrambling for work.

BO-47-2588 : The Airport in Vancouver

 This is the Vancouver Airport main terminal from 1947. Through the 1940’s the airport was actually more of a military base which the city leased out to the Federal Government. In 1947, the city of Vancouver resumed control of the airport and begun serving a number of airlines. A year later in 1948, the airport…

55-91 : Moray Bridge Richmond

 The is an interesting shot of the east end of Sea Island in Richmond from 1955. What makes it interesting is the fact that this image was taken just before construction of the Moray Channel Bridge began. Also in upper-left, you can see the first pillars of the Oak Street Bridge being built. Both the…

BO-51-238 : Brighouse Race Track

 This is what was left of the Brighouse Race Track in Richmond from 1951. Brighouse was originally called Minoru Race Track when it first opened in 1909. It closed in 1914 when the first world war began and reopened in 1920 as Brighouse. It operated for 22 seasons until finally closing forever in 1942 when…