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Nanaimo Mysteries
I’m currently experiencing technical problems with the blog. If you would like to subscribe to notifications, please send me an email at info@evelazarus.com and I’ll add you to the list. With Aimee...
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Aborted Plans: Deadman’s Island
Members of the Town Planning Commission passed a resolution stating that they were not in favour of Deadman’s Island as a site for a proposed museum of Vancouver art, historical and scientific society....
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Iaci’s Casa Capri
Rick Iaci was driving down Seymour Street one day when he was horrified to see dozens of framed photographs being thrown into a dumpster outside #1022—the house that was a family restaurant for more...
View ArticleThe Mysterious disappearance of Clara Millard
The first time Inspector Vance was called to work on a police investigation was for a missing persons case in 1914. Charles and Clara Millard lived in Vancouver’s West End with their 16-year-old...
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Paul Yee’s Vancouver Archives
About six years ago, I was doing some research for my book Sensational Vancouver and took a tour of Strathcona with James Johnstone. I was excited to meet Paul Yee, a historian who now lives in...
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Blood, Sweat, and Fear: A True Crime Podcast
I’ve been working on a true crime/history podcast for the last couple of months based on my book Blood, Sweat, and Fear: The Story of Inspector Vance, Vancouver’s First Forensic Investigator. My...
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Episode 02: The Murder Factory
Japantown, Vancouver in 1928 showing the CPR tracks where Watanabe’s body was discovered behind the American Can Company. Courtesy VPL 4269...
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Streetcar Advertising and the Hobby Lobby Radio Show
My friend, Angus McIntyre emailed me these amazing photos of streetcar advertising that he came across on the Vancouver Archives site this week. Courtesy CVA 586-1872, 1944 The first photo shows Car...
View ArticleEpisode 3: The Suspicious Death of Stewart Ashley
On April 13, 1933, 19-year-old Stewart Ashley went to work out at the YMCA in downtown Vancouver. He didn’t come home. A short time later, a ransom note arrived. It said: “Get $5,000 by April 20 or...
View ArticleThe Kitsilano Laneway House
There’s been a lot about laneway houses in the media over the last couple of years. Loosely defined, it’s a legal way of plonking down a small house in your backyard, and depending on your point of...
View ArticleEpisode 04: Lay Off or We’ll Bump You Off
By the 1930s, Inspector Vance had become a familiar face at crime scenes and was often called to testify in court because of his knowledge of forensics. In fact, his skills and analytic abilities were...
View ArticleEpisode 05: Victoria’s Ghost
In 1936, Inspector Vance was called to the crime scene of 30-year-old Doris Gravlin. Her strangled corpse was found under logs on the beach beside the seventh fairway of the Victoria Golf Course....
View ArticleThe Vancouver Heritage House Tour, Alvo von Alvensleben and the Old Residence
The Vancouver Heritage House tour is coming up Sunday June 2, and I haven’t been this excited since Casa Mia was featured in 2014. Don’t get me wrong, the VHF works hard all year to curate a great mix...
View ArticleEpisode 06: The Widow
Sidney Colbourne lived in Oak Bay, Victoria, and frequently beat up his wife Vera and their five-year-old daughter. One night, the gun that Sid bought to keep Vera in line, went off and shot him in...
View ArticleMay is Asian Heritage Month – Meet Mary Chan
Can’t let Asian Heritage Month go by without a nod to Mary and Walter Chan, the Strathcona activists who helped keep the bulldozers at bay and rallied the community to preserve not only Chinatown, but...
View ArticleEpisode 07: Murder at the Canford Indian Reserve
Inspector Vance is called to a crime scene at Merritt, B.C. in 1934. Two police officers are missing, believed murdered and the investigation focuses in on an abandoned Model B Ford and members of the...
View ArticleEpisode 08: The English Bay Murder
In the early hours of May 2, 1945, 23-year-old Olga Hawryluk was found beaten to death and dumped in the waters of English Bay. A soldier was charged with her murder and defended by scrappy East End...
View ArticleThe West End’s Denman Arena
In 1911, Vancouver had a population of less than 150,000 and yet the city felt big enough to sustain a 10,000-seat arena with the first artificial ice in Canada. It was built by a couple of kids from...
View ArticleEpisode 09: Shootout at False Creek Flats
On February 26, 1947, three teenagers planned to rob the Royal Bank at Renfrew and First Avenue in East Vancouver. Seventeen-year-old William (Fats) Robertson, was upset with his friends for leaving...
View ArticleEpisode 09: Shootout at False Creek Flats
On February 26, 1947, three teenagers planned to rob the Royal Bank at Renfrew and First Avenue in East Vancouver. Seventeen-year-old William (Fats) Robertson, was upset with his friends for leaving...
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