Triumph of the Automobile: How Cars Conquered Vancouver

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About

In the 21st Century our lives, our city, and our civilization have been built around our cars. It's easy then, to forget that they are a relatively recent invention. The first car was seen on Vancouver's rutted roads in 1899, and a mere half century later, by 1950, our society was well on its way to transforming into an all-embracing car culture.

Few people alive today can remember much of this transition, so it might be difficult to understand just how fast and dramatic the rise of automobiles was. For us today, the only comparison can be to the rise of computers. They first began appearing in the 1970s, gained popularity in the 1990s, and in the 2010s practically every job, every business, and every person's social life depends utterly on computers. We can scarcely imagine our lives without them. That is what it must have seemed like for people in the 1950s, looking back 50 years before the car reigned supreme.

In this tour we will learn about the fascinating early history of cars: who invented them and why, how people felt about them, and how they came to conquer Vancouver and much of the world.

Links

• Website onthisspot.ca
• Download App apps.apple.com

Organizer

On This Spot

The On This Spot app takes people on guided walking tours through the history that surrounds them.

At each stop on their journey users will find themselves standing on the spot a historic photo was taken. They can view a then and now photo comparison, use the built in camera to create their own, and read about local history and how it ties into the broader human experience.

Based in Vancouver, On This Spot is working with heritage, tourism, and business organizations across Canada to expand the app's coverage.