A LENS ON VANCOUVER'S PAST

Have you heard of East Vancouver photographer Walter Frost?

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• Walter Edwin Frost (1898-1988) was an avid amateur photographer interested in ships, trains, and the city of Vancouver.

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• Walter entrusted his extensive collection of 13,369 images including 83 photos of Holland-America Line freighters and passenger ships docked on Vancouver's waterfront to the City of Vancouver Archives in 1984.  

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• Walter's body of work demonstrates in crisp, clear black & white photographs how the nature of shipping and naval architecture have evolved.
   

For more about Walter, click here.

 

What is inspiration for HAL | VAS?

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• Did you know that Holland-America Line (abbreviated as HAL) ships have been calling at Vancouver for over 100 years?

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• Or that the radio callsign V-A-S was the radio callsign of the former Vancouver Harbour Marine Communications and Traffic Services Centre?

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Why now?

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The year 2024 marks:

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• 40 years since East Van photographer Walter Frost entrusted his extensive collection of 13,369 black & white photographic negatives to the City of Vancouver Archives.

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The year 2020 marked:

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• 100 years since the Holland-America Line began its North Pacific Coast service

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• 45 years since HAL's first Alaska cruise

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The S.S. Eemdyk (2) inaugurated HAL's North Pacific Coast service when the 7,665-GRT freighter arrived in Vancouver on September 29, 1920 to load 5,000 cases of B.C. salmon and general cargo destined for continental Europe.

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In 1975, HAL's 8,566-GRT passenger liner M.S. Prinsendam completed HAL's first Alaska cruise on the Inside Passage itinerary.