The most frenzied period of destruction, as in the term ‘reclamation’ that was used at the time, of False Creek East and sometimes called ‘hole-in-bottom’, was in 1917-21 as part of the construction of the railway station on Main Street. Along with the railway station, the associated ‘Grandview Cut’ rail route such much of the soil from that dig dumped into the inlet and salt marshes.
In the 1917 image, with the camera pointed due east, into False Creek East, a series of east-west bridges and dykes have been constructed but the northern side of the inlet, near today’s Great Northern Way, was largely unimpeded and still had some deep areas.
In the 1921 image, the centre of the image is due south towards Mount Pleasant along with the construction today’s Main Street a bit south of Terminal. False Creek East is on the far left of the image with tidal movement, passing under today’s Main Street, evident and a covered barged close to shore. As late as 1921, much of hole-in-bottom was still underwater.
captions:
upper photograph:
View of False Creek Flats east of Main Street March 10, 1917 by W.J. Moore Photo, Vancouver Archive Reference code AM54-S4-3-: PAN N87
lower photograph:
1921 June 30 Constructing Main Street Vancouver Archives PAN N158 – [View of the reclamation of False Creek Flats showing the reconstruction of Main Street at the bascule bridge]
photograph above: A view of False Creek East in 1917: directly east from the train station (at today’s Main and Terminal) with a north-south raised road in the horizon which is roughly today’s Clark Drive
photograph below: A view of False Creek East in 1921: the south-west corner (with signs of deep water) around what is today just below Main Street and Great Northern Way
