Vancouver Street Cars and Advertising, 1946

There were streetcars being operated in Vancouver from 1890 to 1947 when routes were converted to trolley operations. There are still trolley buses operating in the city.

But take a look back at the postwar advertising on the number 5 street car. There’s an ad for “Taking a Boat to Bowen Island” with Union Steamships for one dollar for a return ticket. Maxwell House coffee is being advertised as being “Good to the Last Drop”.

There’s also a stellar Vancouver Sun poster with an art moderne sailboat design stating “Refresh Yourself, Read The Sun”. The background foilage, the open window at the back of the streetcar and the street car employee in shirt sleeves suggest this photo was taken in a Vancouver summer.

While Union Steamships have not survived, there is still ferry service to Bowen Island, and Maxwell House Coffee and the Vancouver Sun are still going strong. As for the defunct street car service, there is an excellent article from Spacing.ca detailing its history including the date of the last streetcar rolloff on April 24, 1955.

Images Vancouver Archives