A hundred and twenty years, approximately, separates the two images used in this Then & Now. In the original we’re looking at the Canadian Pacific Railway’s Illecillewaet Bridge in Revelstoke British Columbia and in the second the Mark Kingsbury Memorial Bridge occupies that same spot today. The latter is for foot or bike traffic even if it’s built in the style reminiscent of a railway structure.
The then photo is the scan of a vintage postcard (estimated to be from 1900-1910 period) and sent in by a seller on Ebay. Thanks WinstonJefferson for the fun and enjoyment it brought. The publisher is the Copp-Clark Company Limited of Toronto Ontario and interestingly this firm founded in the 1840s remains in business today.
CPR Illecillewaet Bridge Revelstoke BC: a similar view but well over a century apart. More dollar store history with Chris Doering & Connie Biggart (BIGDoer/Synd).
Thanks to ”Bob Fortin” for helping out and sponsoring this page.
It seems Copp-Clark produced postcards starting around 1900 and into the early 1910s at least. While this example is undated it would be safe to assume it’s from this period (plus there’s other clues to help date it). Most of their postcards shows street views or town scenes and we saw locations from all over Canada in their offerings.
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The contributor also sent in a scan of the back of the card and we noted someone had written “Mile 1.29 Arrow Lakes Subdivision CPR” plus the number “4(?)20” on one corner. The card otherwise looks unused and never mailed.
We welcome reader submitted photos for this series and please contract us if you have an old family picture or vintage postcard you think could be used this way. Broad street or scenic shots work best and they must be your copyright or in the public domain. Most postcards are.
In the Then photo we’re looking down the tracks from the south side of the Illecillewaet River and towards Revelstoke. Town’s not far away. A couple folks can be seen on the structure and if you look close you can see both sitting off to the left, on a beam. What’s the story and who are they? It’s on our minds and probably yours too.
That image isn’t terribly sharp, but it appears to be a man and lady based on the hats visible. Chapeaus were big business back then and for each gender distinctive. Formal hats, casual hats, everyone had a hat and always wore a hat!
The Illecillewaet Bridge in the old photo is made of large timbers and original to this line. We’re along the Arrowhead Branch here (not Arrow Lakes as said on the card), built in the 1890s and running south to its namesake community from Revelstoke. Built mainly to connect with sternwheelers plying Upper Arrow Lake, it paralleled the Columbia River the whole way down.
Due to a dam, the Columbia just downstream of Revelstoke is now part of the Arrow Lakes. For the most part.
A steel truss bridge replaced this wood structure at some point and we suspect early on. Photos from the 1920s (exact dates unconfirmed, but somewhere close) shows a different structure in its place. Wood truss bridges are generally temporary anyway and put in as a low cost stop-gap measure.
The steel Illecillewaet Bridge remained in use until the line here was abandoned and pulled up in the late 1960s. That’s long after the lake boats stopped running and traffic by this point had slowed to a trickle. The rising of Upper Arrow Lake due to a dam downstream is what ultimately doomed the branch, but we can surmise the CPR would have been happy rid itself of it earlier, had government regulations allowed. You needed a good excuse to abandon a line back then and they found it here.
A parallel road bridge once stood right beside from at least the late 1910s and onward. This road also got rerouted thanks to rising waters and directly below the comparison image is a shot taken from the old bridge approach for it. Remains of its paved surface further south can still be found on the flats, dashed lines and all, but nature is taking over. This odd highway through the grass is now part of a walking trail but at one time, the only way down the valley.
The old railway roadbed is just to the east side, but so overgrown as to be impassable and sometimes it’s not even visible.
Regarding the rising waters. Revelstoke is at the upper limits of the Arrow Lakes reservoir and water levels just below town can vary as a result of this. Here on the south side of the Illecillewaet, the old Columbia River flats can sometimes be under water but mostly stay dry. It all depends.
The Columbia River just to the west is now slow, meandering and sometimes more a lake than river. The two waterways join just downstream of the Illecillewaet Bridge.
On our visit, someone had set up a homebrew disc golf course in the area and here’s us without our gear. We do play, but very, very, VERY badly. The “holes” are suspended red metal cylinders hung off trees and they chime when hit.
The current Illecillewaet Bridge for pedestrian use was placed here late in 2011 and dedicated the following summer. The cost: three quarters of a million baby! The Mark Kingsbury Memorial Bridge is named after a former president of Canadian Mountain Holidays, whose foundation made a $100,000 donation to the project in his name. This new crossing reuses the old concrete abutments from the earlier steel railway bridge.
That it’s in the form of a railway bridge but made smaller, is deliberate. It made sense to honour the railway this way but it seems they had other ideas at the start. “It is a departure from the suspension bridge design initially envisioned…” Revelstoke Review Newspaper.
The angle of our now photo is not exactly the same and this due to changes in the railway approach over time. But it’s close enough. The hill in back, a lower flank of Mount Revelstoke, helps tie the two eras together and it’s timeless scene.
The Revelstoke Museum and Archives has a scanned copy of this same postcard online and displays a dated cancellation of April 20th, 1920 from Rossland (British Columbia). This means it got sent and we would have loved to see the backside of that one for the message.
In the early 1970s, your author lived within shouting distance of this location (Illecillewaet Trailer Park & Cabins, a “five star” resort), but only briefly and never explored this far down river. Six or seven year old me had the bug to explore even then, but never went too far afield.
Chris and Connie have a unique way of documenting the places they visit, not copying the style or technique of others, but making it their own.” Alex Craig, Producer.
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Date of adventure: Roughly 1900-1910 (original) and 2023 (Team BIGDoer). Location: Revelstoke, BC. Article references and thanks: Revelstoke Museum, BC Archives, Northern BC Archives and the Revelstoke Review Newspaper.
(A long read) After twelve years it's time to put a face to the name and come clean on something. That's rarely-seen Chris in the photo, one half of Team BIGDoer, my best friend for almost thirty years and orchestrator of everything you see here. For his entire adult life, he's battled a deep depression.
Mostly it's manageable, but there are extended bouts where it's crippling and his life comes to a grinding halt. Sometimes there are days or weeks where he's lost. Sleep does not come easy at this time and further aggravates the issue. As he ages, it's worsening and seems intent on destroying him from the inside.
If you see a lack of posts here, or ones poorly worded, confusing or simply off, it's from one of these periods.
Through all this, he remains as kind, thoughtful and loving as ever, but is somewhere else. To the family, it's just Chris and accepted as it should be. The kids and grandkids adore him no less. Until today, however, this has been hidden from the outside world, although closer friends and some readers were probably already suspect of his condition. I hope admitting this does not break the site.
He finds clarity when we're out and doing things, hiking or documenting something historic and it's only THE reason this page and our website exists. It's therapy. Then he's a new and passionate person, but the monster as he calls it always returns. The Beer Parlour Project has brought out a side I've never seen and when out in the field he's never been so on point and confident.
This post is not for sympathy but to inform. Just so you know where he is and here's what you can do to help (a last ditch request)...
If you see a missed comma or oddly worded sentence in a post, please be kind. You'll probably see his uncertainty when he's off and be nice there too. But if you like what you see, even if the write up could be presented better, post your encouragement. Say something and say it loud...it's important and will keep him sharing. Help Chris get better by cheering him on.
Other than some photos that are mine, everything else comes from him. All the tiring research and the writing (he admits he's NOT a writer), are his.
Chris puts every dollar he makes into this "project of a lifetime", and it's supplemented by donations from readers who enjoy the content. If you want to help...
Admittedly he was not thrilled with the idea of posting this but agrees it probably should be said, even if it makes him uneasy. He doesn't like appearing in photos either. He's so shy, thinks he looks goofy and hates his husky eyes. I love them and they're windows into a wonderful, complex and quiet, but tortured soul. It breaks my heart when he's in a bad space.
This image comes thanks to photographer Arturo Pianzola and was captured while exploring the historic Riverview Mental Hospital in Coquitlam BC. Chris thought since he was in the area last year, he'd stop by to visit with a grandfather he never really knew, who spent his last years at the facility and is buried on the grounds.
Thanks for listening and your understanding. Hopefully we'll see you next week. Johanna (Connie).
Journey of Natty Gann (Disney 1985) and the same location in the Crowsnest Pass 2014. We're visiting the Pass over the new year, as we often do, and this time we'll be staying at a house that appears (briefly) in the film. How cool, eh? Chris has decided it's time on this visit to reshoot this and other Natty Gann comparison shots we did from ten years ago. Stay tuned!
This scene was shot in historic downtown Coleman and shows the former Holyk's Grocery. It was built in the early 1900s and the store closed in the '60s. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
From 2015. Rob Pohl and his strange old-style view camera joined us in documenting the Laing House (with permission). Head down to the comments to see an amazing coincidence with something I found inside.
From the Crossley slides, it's an undated view of Towers School, out near Cluny Alberta. It was originally called Swastika School but that's before the word and symbol were ruined by negative connotations. Built 1922. Gone? _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
The same alley in downtown Calgary's west end, in the 1970s & today. You have to look hard to see the connection! The area was quite run down back then and is in stark contrast to all the shiny condo towers seen present day. Calgary Place West, an apartment block, appears in both images although it's barely a sliver in ours. Check the comments for more info.
Photo credit: James Tworow collection. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
Lost highways (2022): a section of old #93 in Southeastern BC. That BIGDoer-mobile is gone now but quite famous and had a following of its own. Old mine roads, cow paths, 4x4ing across fields - no problem and people would recognize us out in remote areas just by this car. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Chris.
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