Vancouver after Dark

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Vancouver after Dark: The Wild History of a City’s Nightlife
by Aaron Chapman
Arsenal Pulp Press,
247 pages, $32.95

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.

The interior of Vancouver’s Balmoral Saloon in 1904.
City of Vancouver Archives CVA 677-166. Excerpted with permission from the publisher.
Rudolph Boyce and his band perform at the Vancouver’s Living Room club in 1966.
Roger Vickers Archives. Excerpted with permission from the publisher.
Vancouver’s West Hastings Street at night in the 1920s.
Dominion Photo company co the VPL Special Collections #22253. Excerpted with permission from the publisher.
Vancouver’s Quadra Club was founded in 1923 as a private club that served liquor.
Tom Carter Archives. Excerpted with permission from the publisher.
A poster for Oil Can Harry’s nightclub in Vancouver.
Neptoon Records Archives. Excerpted with permission from the publisher.