Vancouver — Gastown & Chinatown
The Great Vancouver Fire of 1886
Listen at the stop, then read the transcript and follow the sources behind the story.
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Transcript
On 13 June 1886, only weeks after Vancouver was incorporated, fire swept through the new city. A land-clearing fire driven by wind became an urban catastrophe, destroying most buildings in the settlement within a very short time.
The city rebuilt rapidly, using more brick and stone.
Vancouver's origin myth often celebrates that speed as frontier energy. It was also evidence of speculative confidence: railway and port interests expected the city to grow, so rebuilding was financially rational.
Fire was a recurring threat in nineteenth-century wooden cities. Building codes, water systems and professional fire departments were survival technology.
The rebuilt Gastown streetscape records disaster indirectly. The brick you see is partly an answer to what burned.