Since becoming a tour guide for the Sins of the City Walking Tour, I have developed a passion for Vancouver’s heritage that borders on madness. I want to know it all – the details of every seedy story, the tawdry tales behind the burnt out neon signs, the whisper of tassels grazing flesh at the countless closed burlesque houses. This is the Vancouver that I am hungry for – its sordid tales replaying themselves through my voice under the mottled grey skies, skies dark and purple like a bruise on a junkie’s arm, like the shadow on the eye of a bawdy house girl.

Alexander Street Historic Brothels

The history that lies just under the cobblestone streets of this much-maligned neighbourhood is strangely present all around you, and if you start to listen and learn you can plunge your hands inside of it, all the way to the elbow and dig around, find the stories that interest you and connect them to the buildings in front of you.

Take, for instance, the 400 block of Alexander Street, now a no-man’s land of halfway houses and factories. In 1910, it was the bustling centre of Vancouver’s colourful sex trade, women of all shapes and sizes hanging their heads from balconies and windows to entice passersby. The deeds to these house, and all of their original water and power records are in the names of the enterprising women, mostly Californian and escaping the ruins of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, who built them. Their names are even inscribed in the tile work of the doorways. Standing with mouth slightly agape at the corner of Dunlevy and Alexander, the history springs to life.

A lot of the areas on the first half of walking tour are eerily empty, the streets abandoned during the day with only the

Japanese Hall

occasional factory along the way. But it is in these areas, down on the wrong side of Hastings St along Powell and Railway and Alexander – it is down here that the down and dirty early stories of this rough and tumble little town took place. The Hastings Mill that started it all, bustling Japantown and its tragic end, Gassy Jack and his barrel of whiskey – it all started right here.

Studying for and running this tour has opened up my eyes and piqued my interest in such a fascinating way. Every walk I lead, every step I take around this city feels like an exciting discovery and there is so much more beneath the surface that I want to scratch away and reveal.

Wooden bricks lay just beneath the asphalt.

So come and take a walk with me. There is nothing I would rather do.

We've got our game faces on!

Hard to believe it’s only a few days until the 2010 Olympic Winter Games descend on Vancouver; more than 350,000 visitors are expected to visit Vancouver and Whistler over the two-and-a-half weeks of the games. You can’t imagine how much we want to see some of those folks come through our doors…

The only problem? We’re not exactly rich, so we don’t have a million-dollar marketing budget. Buying advertising during the Olympics? Not unless you’ve got a sizable pile of cash. Guerrilla advertising? Risky, to say the least, since the rules are (understandably) super-strict for events like this. Do nothing? Seems foolish when so many people are coming to town.

Swiss House, German House, and... Big House?

So, what *is* our Games-time strategy? We can’t pay for advertising, but thankfully nothing beats word-of-mouth. We hope that our friends, both online and offline, will help us spread the word that we’re open, we’re worth visiting, and we’re up to interesting things during the Olympics.

We are offering our popular Sins of the City tour every day during the Games; we’re also extending our hours by staying open on Sundays. Some have even suggested that we re-brand ourselves as the “Big House” for the Olympics. (Not so sure about that idea… but if you want to get your mugshot taken here, we’d be happy to oblige!).

So, to put it as plainly as we can, we need your help.

Not for you. (But you can have a great t-shirt!)

Do you have a great idea on how we can promote ourselves or our walking tour over the next few weeks? Do you know someone (who knows someone) who’s profoundly influential and willing to let people know we exist? Can we put our logo on the side of your poodle? If so, or if you have a better idea, post them in the comments below or send us an email at chris@vancouverpolicemuseum.ca. We’ve got a stack of “Sinner” shirts looking for new homes, and we’re happy to pay (in apparel, not in cash… although $1.2 million looks appealing, doesn’t it?) for your great ideas.

You know this place

Milling about outside the Penthouse Nightclub before our (a group of us staff from the Police Museum) Heritage Vancouver-arranged tour, it was interesting to note how many different kinds of people had gathered for a peek inside one of Vancouver’s most notorious hot spots.  The crowd was definitely what you’d call ‘multi-generational’ (one sweet little old lady claimed to have visited the Penthouse in her youth…over 70 years ago!), and most of them looked like they wouldn’t be caught dead hanging around a peeler bar any night of the week, even a tame Wednesday evening at 6pm.  No one quite knew what to expect, but we all hoped for something interesting.

The Penthouse is an iconic building in Vancouver.  Who could claim themselves a Vancouverite and not know about that purple stucco building with the green tin showgirls (who have graced its façade since the 1940’s,  fyi), the lit marquis, and finally, the neon green Penthouse sign?   Well it turns out this place is more than just a strip club.  It is a vibrant piece of Vancouver’s history, and we were about get an ear, and an eye – ful.

The Penthouse is a family business, one of the oldest in Vancouver; Danny Filippone, our guide for the night, told us that his father Ross, and his Uncles Joe, Mickey, and  Jimmy opened the club in 1947, and that this bar and neighbourhood have been a part of his life as long as he can remember.  In fact, he tells us, the late, great George Burns was performing stand-up at the Penthouse the night Danny was born and handed celebratory cigars out to the patrons!  Danny likes to tell people that “God” handed out cigars to celebrate his arrival.   George Burns was not by far the only celebrity to have patronized this club.  Danny, our dynamic and obviously passionate guide, regales us throughout the tour with wonderful stories of the “good ol’ days” when ‘Uncle Joe’ and the Penthouse hosted the likes of Jimmy Durante, Carmen Miranda, Bing Crosby, and a hundred other Hollywood hotshots!

Where Sammy Davis Jr. jammed

Originally, the main floor of the club was a boxing arena and athletic club for youth.  Uncle Joe was big on boxing and passionate about getting troubled kids off the streets.  The grown-up action happened upstairs.  Encouraged to “use our imagination”, we were brought into a small room with a black baby grand piano, a few small tables and chairs, and two mirrored dancers pedestals in the corner.  This is The Lounge.  Slightly rundown in its present form, it once was privy to some real action.  Big names like Sammy Davis Jr. jammed in here and played this very piano!

How would you like your steak, sir?

We were next lead into The Steak Loft.  Again, this room revealed only hints of its previous grandeur, and it was through Danny’s story-telling that we were able to imagine it as it once was:  The Penthouse was a “supper club” in the 1950s, and it was the place to be and be seen in Vancouver.   A small open grill against one wall was one of the many reasons people came:  this was the first restaurant in Vancouver to serve steak!  (The Penthouse also claims to be the first place in Vancouver to serve pizza by the slice.)  The club didn’t open until 10pm, after other clubs in the city like The Cave and The Palomar closed.  In those days, Penthouse patrons wore tuxedos and evening gowns, and if you wanted a drink of liquor, you brought it yourself.  With imagined scents of open-flame grilling and cigars, we moved along.

The Green Room. Pretty self-explanatory.

As we shuffled even further towards the back of the building, we ventured into The Green Room.  Now, if you were someone in Vancouver, you would definitely be seen in The Lounge or in The Steak Loft, but only if you were really the crème de la crème, could you possibly endeavor to enter The Green Room.  The Green Room was aptly named, as the entire room is covered in gorgeous green velvet wallpaper.  It was in this room that the Mills Brothers stayed when they were in town, and where Frank Sinatra went to avoid the crowds.  That’s right, old Blue Eyes himself.  Frank Sinatra famously stood on stage at the Orpheum after a show and announced “I’ll see you at the Penthouse!”  You can imagine the line.

Interestingly, it was in this room that Errol Flynn spent some of his diminishing coin on drinks and entertainment the night before he ended up dead and on our autopsy table here at the Vancouver Police Museum.

Joe Filippone’s Supper Club was definitely a lively place to be in Vancouver’s early social scene.  Before the club had its liquor license, ‘Uncle Joe’ hired full time lookouts that patrolled on top of the roof.  When a fleet of coppers was spotted, alarms were rung throughout the club, and everyone knew to hide their liquor.  However, since most of the club’s regulars were celebrities, judges, and off-duty cops… as long as the booze was hidden, the raiding police officers turned a blind eye.  Around this same time, ‘Uncle Joe’ was holding private parties in his apartment in the house next-door.   These parties were not immune to police raids, and the headline “Joe Filippone’s Penthouse Raided Again” appeared the papers so often, that when the club owners finally got their liquor license, there really was only one name for the place:  and so The Penthouse was born.

Where the end-of-evening magic happened

We were served a lovely Indian buffet and treated to an interesting presentation on the Nightclubs in Vancouver in the 50s and 60s.  Our next, erm, “presentation” was a house specialty, and it’s possible that while mired in all the history we’d forgotten what the house was: a strip club.  If so, the petite girl in the scandalous Minnie Mouse outfit who methodically removed her clothes (all of ‘em) was an excellent reminder.  The Penthouse first got into burlesque in the 1960s and 70s, becoming a full-fledged strip club by the 1980s.  It was fun to watch the expressions on the faces of the history buffs as they nervously watched the dancer flip upside down on the gleaming pole center-stage.

Business at the Penthouse is booming, and that’s a good thing.  After decades in the business, this place is a true piece of Vancouver. It is through Danny Filippone’s willingness to share his family stories that we are able to appreciate it.  So here’s to another 63 years of the Penthouse!  Here’s to keeping the stories coming!  And oh – here’s to keeping the condos at bay!

Support one of Vancouver’s most interesting places and go see some peelers will ya?

Heritage Vancouver has added another date for this awesome tour – You should go.

Image by Matt Hamm. Some rights reserved.

In the past year, we’ve been experimenting with different forms of social media, seeing which of the many tools available best suit our needs. No matter which platform we’ve engaged with you all on (Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, or this blog) we’ve found a welcoming group of enthusiastic supporters willing to help us learn the ropes and spread the word about what we’re up to. Thank you so much for the advice, the support, the introductions and the friendliness you’ve shown us since we started this experiment.We can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next.

We’re really like to pay you all back for your kindness, but as non-profit organization and registered charity, we really can’t afford give you the fancy and expensive gifts you deserve. That said, there are a few things we can do for you:

1) Sins of the City Tour – Heard about it earlier in the summer and meant to check it out? For the last four tours of the season (Sept 23, 25, 26, and 30) we’ll give you and a friend a spot on the tour for just $5 each (regular price is $15!). Just be sure  mention that you read our blog when you book your spot. (Or follow our tweets, or are a fan of us on Facebook). Tour details are here.

2) Event Hosting – Looking for an unconventional venue for an event? How about the city’s former morgue and coroner’s offices? We can’t offer the space up for free (for most events), but it doesn’t hurt to get in touch and ask. At minimum, you can be sure that if you’ve supported us, we’ll support you in return…

3) Gift Shop – 10% off everything in our gift shop for our Twitter followers, Facebook fans and blog readers until October 15th.

In the next few months, we’ve got some cool new things planned with FourSquare, podcasting and geocaching. Since you follow us here, you’ll be the first to know.

Thanks again for your assistance and we hope we can return the favour in our own small way. You guys are awesome, keep it up!

The people who came out include: @mojaveband, @gusf, @russbystarlite, @abc4, @gusgreeper, @staciebee, @rott1058, @bluey037, @emmerogers, @trishussey, @raincoaster, @hummingbird604, @dale42, @atomicfez, @jonjennings, @tofufighting, @anthonyfloyd, @owlex, @jpadamson, @johnbiehler, @mdiane_rogers, @JenniferPriest, @faustsid67 and @petequily. Also, @thedarkerside and @operagal19 joined us later at the Irish Heather (@theirishheather). (I’m sure we’ve missed someone… sorry!)

Image by John Biehler. Some rights reserved.

Rather than duplicate the work of others, we’ll just point you to what others are saying about the tour. Hummingbird604, a fantastic local blogger, has already posted his impressions, along with a great little video. Dale McGladdery and Corrina Carlson have also posted his thoughts and included a number of great photos from the event.

Stacie Biehler,  John Biehler,  Ian A. Martin, Jon Jennings, and Corrina Carlson have all uploaded photosets from the event to Flickr.

Thanks to everyone for a fantastic event! I look forward to seeing you all at the next one.

(This post will continue to be updated as additional blog posts or photosets come online from our Tweetup. If you know of something we’ve missed, let us know in the comments below.)

Next Thursday (June 4) at 6:00 PM, we’ll be hosting a special tour for our twitter friends, digging a little deeper and being a little braver than usual as we show off the newest iteration of our naughty little tour.

There will be an open house from 4:00-6:00 PM at the museum and then we’ll head out on our walk. Everyone is welcome to the open house, but you have to reserve a spot for the walk. (30 spots available for now but I’m going to try and get some of our other guides to come out, then we can take more people.)

To reserve your spot, please comment below with your Twitter ID and whether you’re bringing a guest. (I’ll update this post as additional spots become available, but don’t be shy about adding your name to the list if we’re past 30 already.) We’ll confirm with everyone through email or Twitter early next week.

We look forward to seeing you next week!

“Sins of the City” is back with new guides, new stories and a new route. Although our big public launch is at the start of June, we began running tours quietly last week to train our new tour guides, work out the logistics of our new route and invite friends and family to give us feedback and help us spread the word.

For May, the tours run every Wednesday at 4:00pm, Friday at 5:00pm and Saturday at 4:00pm. In June that schedule will be modified and expanded; details to be announced shortly.

At the end of May, we’ll be doing a couple of top-secret extra-special tours; if you’d like to be on the invite list for those, make sure you comment below. (And include your twitter ID if you’ve got one…)

Part-Time Employment Opportunity

Sins of the City Walking Tour Guide

Are you an outspoken heritage interpreter who can tell a story (and a joke), handle a heckler or two and engage a group of 30 tourists on the sidewalks of Vancouver?

Our ideal candidate will be able to work independently, have experience giving tours, a quick wit, and an interest in learning and sharing the history of Vancouver’s naughtier side.

Tours run May 9 to September 31, 2009, are two hours long and run several times a week. Workload and hours are flexible—most tours are in the afternoon and on weekends.

Closing Date: April 9, 2009

If you follow this blog, you already know about our Sins of the City walking tours; they’ve been one of the more popular things we’ve launched in the last few years. They’ve now grown enough that we need additional help to deliver them. Please help spread the word about this fun, and unusual, job. The detailed posting can be found here.

Come join our team!

The next day, we received a phone call from someone who said they’d seen the interview on TV and were wondering if we’d like some more information about her father. Turns out, her father was Detective Ricci and she had boxes and boxes of newspaper clippings about her father’s incredible career as a police officer.

Ricci was no ordinary officer; he was a minor celebrity in Vancouver, mentioned in the newspaper once or twice a week for another one of his exploits busting the gambling dens, opium houses and brothels in Chinatown.  (See our previous blog entry Stalwart Defenders of the City’s Morals go Beyond the Call for more information on Ricci and his partner Det. Sinclair).

Over the next few months, we’ll be pouring through those newspaper clippings and other personal information; many of these stories will be added to the Sins of the City tour this summer, for sure! Down the road, you might even see a book published from this.

Hidden Places (Photo: Aki Mimoto)

Frequently, at the end of the Sins of the City tour, I’ll ask participants about their favourite part of the tour. The top answers are usually pretty predictable:

• opium dens
• the old brothel district
• Blood Alley
• the ping pong ball
• the tunnels under Chinatown

Bricks (Photo: Aki Mimoto)

Each one has a special place in my heart (especially the ping pong ball!) but it’s the tunnels under Chinatown that seem to engage the most people. Everyone’s heard the stories about the extensive secret network of tunnels that run from the water all the way to the heart of Chinatown. Used for smuggling people, booze, drugs and other contraband between the opium dends, gambling houses and mysterious warehouses, these sound like amazing places that any urban explorer would be thrilled to poke around. (Maybe someone should start a guided tour and sell tickets! Hmmm….)

Secret Spaces (Photo: Aki Mimoto)

Hundred-year-old newspaper headlines like “Getaway is Under the Ground” or “Police Explore Chinese Tunnels” (both of which are discussed on the tour) reinforce the excitement, as do stories of the police taking a pick-axe to the sidewalk at #10 E. Pender to gain access to the opium den underground. And then there are those purple glass tiles in the sidewalks…

So what IS underground in Chinatown? Telling too much would ruin the tour, of course, but we photo-documented one of our recent adventures and you’ll see the pictures to the right. My good friend Aki Mimoto (http://www.disconti.nu/) took these pictures. There are other photos, as well, but I’m saving those for next year’s tour.

Underneath (Photo: Aki Mimoto)

(For those who came on the tour this year, remember to take a look at the satellite view in Google Maps to see that hidden treasure in Chinatown I told you about…)

Through the winter, we’re going to take many more pictures of some of the cool places hidden in Chinatown and Gastown and we might post some of them on this blog, or on his website.