Meet Vancouver's very own paranormal investigator and ghost-whisperer Kati Ackermann! In 2006, Kati founded Vancouver Spooks Paranormal Investigators. Kati and I will be partnering up to host two Ghost-focussed History Walks: one in Mount Pleasant on August 31st and one in Strathcona, Vancouver's old East End, on Sunday, September 15th. The route and content of these two Ghost Walks are the same as my regular Mount Pleasant and East End walks with the added value of Kati's spirit-tuned eyes and ears. Kati, who has been on a number of my tours before as a guest, will share with us about the spirits she sees and what they say to her.
Please note that the price for these "Ghost Walks" will be $30 per person and the size will be limited to 30 people.
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| Me and my ghost whisperer pal Kati Ackermann |
Kati-s Bio:
Paranormal investigator Kati Ackermann was born in St. Paul's Hospital (West End), raised in Richmond (1960's-1970's), and has lived in the Vancouver area all her life. She is the founder of Vancouver Spooks Paranormal Investigations - VSPI), a sensitive (walks with the dead), performs house/people cleansings and has an Associate's Certificate in Leadership Coaching. She is an amateur historical researcher and genealogist, writer, and taphophile (look it up) who loves licorice ice cream. For more info, contact her directly at: vancouverspooks@gmail.com
HERE IS THE FULL SCHEDULE FOR MY HISTORY WALKS IN AUGUST & SEPTEMBER 2019:
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| CVA Photo AM54-S4 - Pol P4 |
August 10 - This tour repeats August 24th
East End Vancouver/Strathcona History Walk
Departs: 696 East Hastings (at Heatley) at 10am.
Duration: 2.5 to 3 hours depending on the size of the group.
Cost: $20 per person
My East End Vancouver/Strathcona walking tour is by far the most popular of my History Walks. It is no wonder... The East End is Vancouver's oldest and most fascinating neighbourhood.
The humble East End was the first Vancouver home to thousands of people fresh off the boat or train arriving from all over the world. Street by street, block by block, the East End developed ethnic enclaves. This neighbourhood boasted the first Synagogue and first Jewish neighbourhood, Vancouver's first Little Italy, Japantown, and Vancouver's only Black identified neighbourhood, Hogan's Alley.
Some blocks were dominated by Scandinavians, others by Yugoslavs, Russians and Ukrainians. Over the years the East End became Chinatown's residential district, home to renowned authors Wayson Choy (The Jade Peony/Paper Shadows) and Paul Yee (Salt Water City/Ghost Train).
Home to three historic red light districts, an unsettling mix of non-British, mostly working class immigrants, three of Vancouver's four Depression era hobo camps, innumerable bootleg joints, even gangs. Vancouver's East End was often viewed by outsiders as an unsavoury, even dangerous place where "those people" lived.
But it was also home to Angelo Branca, who went on to become Supreme Court Justice for British Columbia, Canada's "Amelia Earhart" Tosca Trasolini, boxing legends Jimmy McLarnin and Phil Palmer, NDP Premier Dave Barrett, media personality, musician, filmmaker and actress Sook Yin Lee, CBC programmer, poet and author Bill Richardson, Canadian singing legend k. d. lang, and the Montreal Bakery where the "royal buns" were baked for the 1939 visit to Vancouver by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. And that is just scratching the surface!
Every one of Strathcona's houses has a story to tell. Want to time travel? Come for a History Walk through Vancouver's oldest and most fascinating neighbourhood, the East End.
Parking: There is plenty of free parking along Heatley Avenue, Hastings Street, and Keefer Street further South.
E-mail: historywalks@gmail.com to reserve a space on my regularly scheduled tours, or for more information on how to book a private History Walk.
Remember, Private History Walks are available in English, Japanese and Italian on select dates in August and September for groups of 5 or more at $20 per person or a minimum of $100 for a group of less than 5 people.
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| CVA Photo M-11-22, Bird's Eye View of the West End in 1912 |
August 17th
West End History Walk
Departs: SE corner of Bute and Robson Streets at
Time: 10am
Duration: Approximately two and a half hours and
Finishes: At English Bay near Denman & Davie.
Cost: $20.00 per person
My interest in Vancouver neighbourhood history was born when I moved into my first apartment in the West End. Walking to and from my workplace downtown I would choose a slightly different route each time and I was fascinated by what I saw.
Back in the 1980s, the West End had many more of its original houses. Sadly, most but not all of the West End’s early buildings have been demolished, but you can still find some unexpected jewels hidden here and there among the high-rises and hidden behind storefronts.
This tour, which lasts usually just over two and a half hours, snakes its way through the West End from Robson Street to English Bay. On the way you will see the site of an unusual roof-top airplane crash, the location of the mansions of two of Vancouver’s mayors, the house in which the first English version of "O Canada" was written, the Gustav Roedde House and the beautifully restored houses of Barclay Heritage Square, the site of North America’s first Fire Hall designed for mechanical fire trucks, the location of X-Files’ Agent Dana Scully’s apartment, the apartment building where actor Errol Flynn died, Sugar magnate Benjamin Tingley Roger’s magnificent stone mansion Gabriola, the home of one of the British Empire’s most renowned sharpshooters, the location of English Bay’s first life guard Joe Fortes’ cabin, and much much more.
As with all of my history walks, I supplement what we are able to see today with peeks back into time using archival images to help recreate the lost Victorian and Edwardian streetscapes of the West End.
E-mail: historywalks@gmail.com to reserve a space on my regularly scheduled tours, or for more information on how to book a private History Walk.
Remember, Private History Walks are available in English, Japanese and Italian on select dates in August and September for groups of 5 or more at $20 per person or a minimum of $100 for a group of less than 5 people.
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| CVA 99-3470 - Detectives Donald A. Sinclair and Joseph Ricci in 1924 |
August 24th
East End Vancouver/Strathcona History Walk
Departs: 696 East Hastings (at Heatley) at 10am.
Duration: 2.5 to 3 hours depending on the size of the group.
Cost: $20 per person
My East End Vancouver/Strathcona walking tour is by far the most popular of my History Walks. It is no wonder... The East End is Vancouver's oldest and most fascinating neighbourhood.
The humble East End was the first Vancouver home to thousands of people fresh off the boat or train arriving from all over the world. Street by street, block by block, the East End developed ethnic enclaves. This neighbourhood boasted the first Synagogue and first Jewish neighbourhood, Vancouver's first Little Italy, Japantown, and Vancouver's only Black identified neighbourhood, Hogan's Alley.
Some blocks were dominated by Scandinavians, others by Yugoslavs, Russians and Ukrainians. Over the years the East End became Chinatown's residential district, home to renowned authors Wayson Choy (The Jade Peony/Paper Shadows) and Paul Yee (Salt Water City/Ghost Train).
Home to three historic red light districts, an unsettling mix of non-British, mostly working class immigrants, three of Vancouver's four Depression era hobo camps, innumerable bootleg joints, even gangs, Vancouver's East End was often viewed by outsiders as an unsavoury, even dangerous place where "those people" lived.
But it was also home to Angelo Branca, who went on to become Supreme Court Justice for British Columbia, Canada's "Amelia Earhart" Tosca Trasolini, boxing legends Jimmy McLarnin and Phil Palmer, NDP Premier Dave Barrett, media personality, musician, filmmaker and actress Sook Yin Lee, CBC programmer, poet and author Bill Richardson, Canadian singing legend k. d. lang, and the Montreal Bakery where the "royal buns" were baked for the 1939 visit to Vancouver by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. And that is just scratching the surface!
Every one of Strathcona's houses has a story to tell. Want to time travel? Come for a History Walk through Vancouver's oldest and most fascinating neighbourhood, the East End.
Parking: There is plenty of free parking along Heatley Avenue, Hastings Street, and Keefer Street further South.
E-mail: historywalks@gmail.com to reserve a space on my regularly scheduled tours, or for more information on how to book a private History Walk.
Remember, Private History Walks are available in English, Japanese and Italian on select dates in August and September for groups of 5 or more at $20 per person or a minimum of $100 for a group of less than 5 people.
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| VAN SC P47 - Looking north from Vancouver City Hall in 1938 |
August 31st
Mount Pleasant “Ghostly” History Walk
(As of August 28th
THIS WALK IS NOW FULL!!!)
Departs: 10am from SW corner of Yukon and 12th Avenue and ends at 7th Avenue and Main Street.
Duration: More or less 2.5 hours depending on the size of the group.
Cost: $30 per person
Are you a fan of the show “Ghost Whisperer” or have an interest in spirits or exploring the world of the paranormal? Then this History Walk perfect for you!
In 2018, Vancouver paranormal investigator and ghost whisperer Kati Ackermann came on a number of my History Walks and very kindly shared with me and my walk participants about the various spirits who communicated with her during the tour. Apparently, many of the houses we pass on my walks are still haunted by their former residents and many of these seemed quite interested in our tour. There were even ghosts who followed us for parts of the walk.
So come and explore Mount Pleasant, Vancouver’s First Suburb, on a very different “paranormal-focussed” History Walk. Let’s see which houses, old churches and other buildings along the way are haunted.
Beginning at the crest of the hill beside Vancouver’s iconic City Hall, this history walk crisscrosses Mount Pleasant travelling back in time from the Edwardian Era back to the late 1880s when this area was being developed as Vancouver’s first commuter suburb.
Mount Pleasant is an astonishing mix of Edwardian stately homes, Victorian cottages, elegant brick-faced apartments, historic breweries and churches, This fast changing neighbourhood is also home to Vancouver’s “Most Beautiful Block” on the 100 block of West 10th.
Parking: There is plenty of free parking along the streets south of 12th Avenue.
E-mail: historywalks@gmail.com to reserve a space on my regularly scheduled tours, or for more information on how to book a private History Walk.
Remember, Private History Walks are available in English, Japanese and Italian on select dates in August and September for groups of 5 or more at $20 per person or a minimum of $100 for a group of less than 5 people.
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| CVA 1376-238 - Admiral Seymour School class with Firehall and Vernon Drive houses in background |
September 7th
HISTORY WALK OF THE WORKING/WILD SIDE of VANCOUVER’S EAST END
Departs: 10am from the NW corner of Malkin and Raymur Avenue and ends a few blocks away at 1000 Parker Street.
Duration: More or less 2.5 hours depending on the size of the group.
Cost: $20 per person
This tour focusses on the lesser known but equally interesting and photogenic southern and eastern peripheries of Vancouver’s historic Strathcona neighbourhood. Highlights of the tour include a walk by the old Restmore Manufacturing Buildings, known today as the artist studios of 1000 Parker, the Cottonwood and Strathcona Community Gardens (once the sites of Vancouver’s city dump and home during the Great Depression of a sizeable hobo village), the birthplace of Venice Bakery, Malkin Avenue and Prior Street, the birthplace of character actor John Qualin, and a walk down Union Street to see where Michael Bublé's maternal grandparents lived, the home of boxing legend Jimmy mcLarnin, the Union Market (which started as a Chinese laundry and was once a bootlegging joint), the birthplace of BC Premier Dave Barrett, Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church, the apartments were music legend k.d. lang lived, the site of a pre-World War I era brothel, and the historic Admiral Seymour School.
Parking: There is plenty of free parking along Raymur and Malkin Avenues.
E-mail: historywalks@gmail.com to reserve a space on my regularly scheduled tours, or for more information on how to book a private History Walk.
Remember, Private History Walks are available in English, Japanese and Italian on select dates in August and September for groups of 5 or more at $20 per person or a minimum of $100 for a group of less than 5 people.
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| Man standing in front of Georgia Confectionery at 708 Hawks - Courtesy Lucille Mars |
Sunday, September 15th
East End Vancouver/Strathcona Ghost Walk
(NEW THIS SEASON!!!)
Departs: 696 East Hastings (at Heatley) at 10am.
Duration: 2.5 to 3 hours depending on the size of the group.
Cost: $30 per person
Are you a fan of the show “Ghost Whisperer” or have an interest in spirits or exploring the world of the paranormal? Then this History Walk of Vancouver’s oldest and perhaps most haunted neighbourhood is perfect for you!
In 2018, Vancouver paranormal investigator and ghost whisperer Kati Ackermann came on a number of my History Walks and very kindly shared with me and my walk participants about the various spirits who communicated with her during the tour. Apparently, many of the houses we pass on my walks are still haunted by their former residents and many of these seemed quite interested in our tour. There were even ghosts who followed us for parts of the walk.
So come and explore Strathcona, Vancouver’s old East End, on a very different “paranormal-focussed” History Walk. Let’s see which houses, old churches and other buildings along the way are haunted.
My regular East End Vancouver/Strathcona tour is by far the most popular of my History Walks. It is no wonder... The East End is Vancouver's oldest and most fascinating neighbourhood.
The humble East End was the first Vancouver home to thousands of people fresh off the boat or train arriving from all over the world. Street by street, block by block, the East End developed ethnic enclaves. This neighbourhood boasted the first Synagogue and first Jewish neighbourhood, Vancouver's first Little Italy, Japantown, and Vancouver's only Black identified neighbourhood, Hogan's Alley.
Some blocks were dominated by Scandinavians, others by Yugoslavs, Russians and Ukrainians. Over the years the East End became Chinatown's residential district, home to renowned authors Wayson Choy (The Jade Peony/Paper Shadows) and Paul Yee (Salt Water City/Ghost Train).
Home to three historic red light districts, an unsettling mix of non-British, mostly working class immigrants, three of Vancouver's four Depression era hobo camps, innumerable bootleg joints, even gangs, Vancouver's East End was often viewed by outsiders as an unsavoury, even dangerous place where "those people" lived.
But it was also home to Angelo Branca, who went on to become Supreme Court Justice for British Columbia, Canada's "Amelia Earhart" Tosca Trasolini, boxing legends Jimmy McLarnin and Phil Palmer, NDP Premier Dave Barrett, media personality, musician, filmmaker and actress Sook Yin Lee, CBC programmer, poet and author Bill Richardson, Canadian singing legend k. d. lang, and the Montreal Bakery where the "royal buns" were baked for the 1939 visit to Vancouver by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. And that is just scratching the surface!
Parking: There is plenty of free parking along Heatley Avenue, Hastings Street, and Keefer Street further South.
E-mail: historywalks@gmail.com to reserve a space on my regularly scheduled tours, or for more information on how to book a private History Walk.
Remember, Private History Walks are available in English, Japanese and Italian on select dates in August and September for groups of 5 or more at $20 per person or a minimum of $100 for a group of less than 5 people.
