A Year in Five Minutes: Vancouver 1976
The 1000 block of Robson Street in February, 1976. Item # CVA 780-406.
In 1976, ICBC rates skyrocketed, the Museum of Anthropology got a new home and an earthquake rocked the area.
By Chuck Davis,
Laing Bridge
On May 15, 1976 the Arthur Laing Bridge officially opened, named after a native son of Richmond who became a cabinet minister under Pierre Trudeau, then later a Senator. The $23 million four-lane bridge, which crosses the north arm of the Fraser to Sea Island, vastly speeded up access to the Vancouver International Airport. It reduced the distance from downtown to the airport by more than three kilometres. Traffic had started using the bridge August 27, 1975, but the official opening was May 15, 1976. It’s 1,676 metres (one mile) in total length, and more than 90,000 vehicles use it daily.
A Year in Five Minutes: Vancouver 1971
Pender Street in Chinatown in 1972, which was now part of a designated historic area. Item # CVA 780-447. Photo courtesy of Vancouver Archives.
In 1971, Greenpeace was making waves, there was a riot in Gastown and the CBC started filming a very popular series on the Sunshine Coast.
By Chuck Davis,
1971 census figures for Metropolitan Vancouver
The 1971 census showed the metropolitan Vancouver population had topped the million mark for the first time. One remarkable finding of that census was that Delta’s population had more than tripled in 10 years.
Bowen Island 350
Delta 45,860 (1961 pop. 14,597)
Langley City 4,680
Maple Ridge 24,480