Vancouver Historical Society

City Reflections
About the Award-Winning DVD

The DVD contains the 53-minute main feature (which was shown on May 22, 2008) but has been supplanted by the Youtube video.

This main feature is based on the earliest known surviving film footage of Vancouver, shot in 1907 by William Harbeck from the front platform of a streetcar as it made its way through the streets of downtown and the West End. Besides the main feature and 1907 film, it also includes a full-screen version of the same route in 2007. Many additional features round out the DVD including news items from 1907, interviews with film and streetcar historians, and more on the intriguing life of filmmaker William Harbeck who died in the Titanic disaster of 1912.

There is also a special film bonus showing Victoria in 1907. Harbeck shot the film just days before his Vancouver footage. This equally fascinating Victoria footage shows the Francis Rattenbury-designed B.C. Parliament building, the Empress Hotel under construction, downtown streets and views along the Gorge waterway.

Still from William Harbeck 1907 film
Still from William Harbeck 1907 film
British Columbia Historical Federation's Award of Merit, presented by Ronald Greene, BCHF President, in Nelson B.C. on May 16, 2009.
British Columbia Historical Federation's Award of Merit, presented by Ronald Greene, BCHF President, in Nelson B.C. on May 16, 2009.
City of Vancouver Heritage Award through the Vancouver Heritage Commission to recognize and honour special projects and accomplishments in the field of Heritage Conservation.
City of Vancouver Heritage Award through the Vancouver Heritage Commission to recognize and honour special projects and accomplishments in the field of Heritage Conservation.