City of Vancouver Heritage award winner, 2003

Frank Gowen's Vancouver extended from White Rock to the Sunshine Coast, as the photographer and his camera explored the playgrounds and edifices of a vibrant West Coast community. In the city itself, Stanley Park, and particularly the park's famed Hollow Tree, became Gowen's personal domain.

In this era when the picture postcard was firmly entrenched as a popular means of communication, Gowen's images travelled around the world, establishing an ever-growing awareness of one of the world's finest harbours and the lands that surrounded it. The pictures selected for this book provide a testimonial to the heritage and natural beauty of BC's Lower Mainland.