Vancouver after Dark

The Wild History of a City’s Nightlife

Written by Phil Koch

Posted August 21, 2020

HOT SPOTS The photographs shown below are from the book Vancouver after Dark: The Wild History of a City’s Nightlife, by writer, historian, and musician Aaron Chapman.

The first black-and-white image shows the interior of Vancouver’s Balmoral Saloon in 1904, while the first colour image shows Rudolph Boyce and his band performing at the city’s Living Room club in 1966.

Originally from Trinidad, Boyce was one of the first Caribbean performers to become well-known in the city’s nightclub scene, while the Living Room was an intimate and often crowded basement venue.

Chapman specializes in entertainment history, and his book includes dozens of images of event posters as well as photographs showing the venues, watering holes, performers, and other personalities who made Vancouver nights regularly memorable and sometimes rowdy.

Buy this book from Chapters-Indigo

This article originally appeared in the August-September 2020 issue of Canada’s History.

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