#33 – SINS OF MY CITY

The Adventure – The Sins of My City Tour

It is always good to learn something about the community where you live, in particular, the past.

There is richness and wisdom to be found in its history.

Lost in time, are the people, places, and events that can sometimes help one to appreciate how good life is today.

That being said, knowledge can also be particularly helpful when making decisions, to deliberately avoid previous mistakes by choosing a different path for a better future.

Sort of like the way we try to do in our own lives, trying to learn from our past transgressions – sort of like the way I try to do in my own life.

Sometimes.

What can I say? I’m only human.

Sins of My City

Delving into Vancouver’s history by taking the Sin’s of the City tour, I learned about the more scandalous aspects of this beautiful city.

Imagine a world filled with brothels and gangsters.

Gambling, drugs, and boot-legging.

Even murder.

One of the more interesting stories was the ‘Babes in the Woods’ case – where the skeletal remains of two young children were found in Stanley Park in January 1953. Murdered in 1947, their identities and circumstances still remain a mystery 60+ years later.

Add to this, the mystery surrounding the death of one of the world’s most famous actors, Errol Flynn. Some say he died in the arms of a 14 year old girl at Maxine’s Hideaway – others claim it was the result of a week-long binge. He lived hard and fast.

Then, of course, the mysterious opium dens, contraband, and the truth behind the hidden underground passageways located in Chinatown.

Who wouldn’t be fascinated?

Built on its back, a scandalous past…

The tour started at the Vancouver Police Museum, originally home to the Coroner’s Courtroom.

The facility was also a morgue, forensics lab and autopsy facility.

In due course, the walking tour of the downtown east side of Vancouver began.

I was surprised to discover how many secrets this city keeps hidden from public consumption. Like the location of the world’s number #1 HIV transmission site. Or the exact location where public hangings where said to take place. Or where one of Vancouver’s oldest houses still stands today…which used to be a whorehouse only a wee century ago.

This amazing city was built on the back of its scandalous past.

Am I wrong in thinking this is nothing new?

Dig up some secrets…

If given the opportunity, why not dig up some interesting history where you live? The house you live in, the city where you reside, the country you live in. Discover things people have tried to keep hidden. Get your hands dirty!