This bridge connecting Vancouver and North Vancouver was practically new when the photo was taken, as it was completed in 1938 and dedicated by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth during their royal visit in 1939. The back of the menu is full of superlatives about Vancouver along with a suggestion that people take the “Triangle Tour” between Vancouver, Seattle, and Victoria.
Click image to download a 1.2-MB PDF of this menu card.
The bridge, which cost just under $6 million (about US$70 million today), was financed by the Guinness family, the same one that makes the beer. The family had been persuaded to buy 4,700 acres on the west side of the narrows, and then built the bridge to access its land, recovering some of its costs by charging a 25-cent toll. In 1955, the family sold the bridge to the province for about what it paid to build it (less inflation), and the tolls were finally ended in 1963. Continue reading