The Best Little Movie House in Vancouver

Photo Credit: Arthur Delamont and his Kitsilano High School Band having their photo taken on the steps of the Court House in downtown Vancouver, 1931.

NOSTALGIC VANCOUVER Roy Johnston joined the Kitsilano Boys Band in 1929. As he told me, “Arthur was different from other musicians of the day. He did not drink or use profanity and he prospered. Mickey Hunt was another professional trumpet player around Vancouver in those days. Mickey Hunt played at the Hotel Vancouver. There was a tunnel underneath the hotel that led to the Castle Hotel. When the first show was over, the band would all go over to the Castle and sit there until it was time to go back for the second show. Mickey could drink twenty glasses between shows and still play a good show. I took lessons from Mickey Hunt. My dad would meet Mickey once a month at the hotel and he would pay him for my lessons. By the time my dad left Mickey, all the money he had given him had been spent. He never owned a home. He always lived in a rental place. He ended up on welfare, in a city-owned house near fourth and Alma. He lived there until he went into the hospital where his legs were amputated and he died. There were lots of stories about the escapades of Mickey Hunt! That was the way so many were. -excerpt from The Life & Times of the legendary Mr. D.

Who was the Chairman of the Board? Max used to come down to the salon every Saturday morning at 7 a.m. to have his haircut. He was always first in line. Trevor Peele (Chairman of the Bank of B.C.) would come down as well. At noon they would all go over to the Charcoal Room in the Four Seasons Hotel for lunch. At first it was just Max and Joe Segal but eventually others came down, Syd Belzberg (Max’s cousin) President of Budget Rent-A-Car of B.C. Ltd., Maury Wosk (aka MJ) who was in real estate, Jack Diamond, the owner of Pacific Meat Co. and creator of a “Day at the Races,” Charlie Diamond (his son), Leon Kahn (a successful real estate developer) and me. There were more, about twelve but I cannot remember their names. I just came along to hand out business cards and to make contacts. People kept in touch over lunch in those days and to catch up on the latest gossip around town. This was before computers and social networking. I think they were supposed to be at the synagogue but this is what they did every Saturday at noon for years. I don’t think there even was a Chairman of the Board. –excerpt from My Greek Barber’s Diary

My English wasn’t good enough. Three guys were working for CJOR. They were Neil Soper, Peter Lake and Red Robinson. They were all clients of mine. “CJOR is for sale,” they said, “you can buy it for $12,000.” “No, my English is not good enough.” I felt it would be hard for me to run a radio station if I didn’t understand what they were saying. They mentioned the same thing to Jimmy Pattison and he bought it. CJOR operated from the basement of the Grosvenor Hotel, at 840 Howe Street, on the east side of Georgia Street. The hotel featured the Simon Fraser Dining Room (full of murals of Simon Fraser’s discovery of the Fraser River). It was one of the more upscale hotels of the day. When the realtor was negotiating the sale with Mr. Pattison, he said, “The building is for sale, including the parking.” “How much is it?” “It is $190,000 for the hotel and the parking.” “Make it $200,000 for all including CJOR.” -excerpt from My Greek Barber’s Diary

Dining around the Old Court House District (past and present)