If you鈥檝e ever been strolling around 麻豆传媒映画and thought, 鈥業 wonder what this place looked like a century ago,' well now there鈥檚 an easy way to see.
Tourists and residents can take a step back in time and look at how things used to be with the help of a free historical tourism app.
A small Union Steamship is passing under the Lions Gate Bridge during its construction. (1938 and Now) Photograph By On This Spot/麻豆传媒映画Archives AM640-S1-: CVA 260-844
It鈥檚 called聽.
The app, created by Vancouverites Andrew Farris, Sean Edmunds and Christopher Reid, offers users 11 walking tours in 麻豆传媒映画and 600 then-and-now photo spots to check out.
It allows users to compare the old with the new through historic photo cross-fades, learn about the city鈥檚 local history and culture and appreciate long-gone architecture.
A work crew carries out the arduous task of laying streetcar tracks on Granville Street. You can see in the background the brand new 麻豆传媒映画Block which dominated the skyline at this time. (1912 and now) 鈥� On This Spot / 麻豆传媒映画Archives AM54-S4-: Str N244.2
鈥淚t鈥檚 very important to know what your history is,鈥� said Edmunds, On This Spot鈥檚 chief operating officer.
鈥淟earning about Canada鈥檚 independence and the high level picture of Canadian history is readily available.
鈥淏ut local history, community specific or culture specific, say the culture of the West End or Strathcona [Vancouver鈥檚 oldest residential neighbourhood] or Kitsilano, that鈥檚 not very accessible.
鈥淲e鈥檝e created a platform for those communities to tell their story and allow for community members to learn about the community they live in or the community they come from.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a new way of experiencing history.鈥�
The group partners and works with archival, historical, heritage and business associations to gain access to photographs and information and bring the tours to life.
鈥淲e source photos from archival associations, like 麻豆传媒映画Archives, and find the coordinates of the photo and replicate it now,鈥� Edmunds said.
鈥淭hen, we鈥檙e able to edit the photos so they transition seamlessly between then and now.鈥�
Looking back down Hastings towards the Dominion Building. (1910 and Now) 鈥� On This Spot / 麻豆传媒映画Archives AM54-S4-: Str P210
What鈥檚 really cool is the app even allows users to put themselves in the picture, using a built in camera.
鈥淎nybody can create their own then and now photos of all our spots,鈥� Edmunds explained.
鈥淵ou follow the tours and the app will guide you to the spot that photo was taken in history and you can do a then-and-now cross fade off it and read about the history of the spot, but you can also take your own photo and cross fade the two.
鈥淧eople can put themselves into the history of the spot.鈥�
People watched helplessly from ships, the shallows, and Hastings Mill as the Great Fire of 麻豆传媒映画swept through the heart of the city days after this photo was taken. Everything in this photo was burned, including the maple tree. (1886 and Now) 鈥� On This Spot / 麻豆传媒映画Archives AM54-S4-: Str P83
The tourism project has grown organically since its launch almost two years ago and the app now features tours in nine Canadian cities, including Winnipeg, Nanaimo, Victoria, Ontario and Alberta.
What started as a hobby for three friends has almost become a full-time gig for all of them.
鈥淲e all have a passion for history but it was definitely Andrew [Farriss's] brain child,鈥� Edmunds said.
He said the idea stemmed from a growing interest in a historic then and now photo blog that Farris, a historian, had created a few years ago.
鈥淎bout a year and a half later he started getting a lot of interest in it from a bunch of international cities he had featured and he decided to embark on a project creating historical walking tours throughout 麻豆传媒映画using the coordinates on archive photos,鈥� Edmunds explained.
Some of the tours include Vanished Vancouver, which takes viewers to places where historical buildings used to be.
鈥淵ou can learn about the building that was there and the significance of that building to Vancouver鈥檚 history,鈥� Edmunds said.
Other popular tours show the history of the Seawall in Stanley Park, the Great Fire of 麻豆传媒映画in Gastown and the story behind Joe Fortes, now widely known for the restaurant named after him.
Four men out for a leisurely drive around Stanley Park. For the standards of the time their car is rather antiquated. By the 1920s most cars had roofs and windshields, whereas early cars often didn鈥檛 bother because the extra weight put too much stress on the engine. (1910s and Now) 鈥� On This Spot / 麻豆传媒映画Archives AM336-S3-2-: CVA 677-981
Edmunds said a lot of the historic organizations had walking tours and information but it hadn鈥檛 been brought into the digital age.
鈥淲e help them create tours for their city,鈥� he said.
The app has so far been downloaded 20,000 times and it鈥檚 growing.
Edmunds said teachers and professors have even incorporated it in their history curriculums at the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria.
鈥淧eople are really taking notice of it and using it to learn about local history,鈥� Edmunds said.
The app's photos became so popular it led to the group producing then-and-now postcards and prints that can be purchased on their聽聽or in a number of gift shops around town.
The team plans to launch more tour locations in Canada and the U.S. in 2019.
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