Magic, prize fights under floorboards as 1920s posters discovered in reno
An unexpected time capsule of Vancouver entertainment in the 1920s and earlier has been discovered during the restoration of the Blue Cabin, one of the most famous squatter shacks in the Lower Mainland.
More than 30 posters were found in the cabin’s subfloor. They include posters for John Philip Sousa and his band at the Orpheum and a magic act known as Richards — “America’s Greatest Magician and His Big Company” — also at the Orpheum. Another is for a fight between boxers Dick Foley and Jackie Johnston. Other posters advertise films and events at venues such as the Pantages and The Dominion.
The posters were a surprise discovery by Jeremy and Sus Borsos, who are restoring the former cabin of artists Al Neil and Carole Itter.
Once the cabin, one of numerous shacks that clustered along the Metro Vancouver foreshore, is restored, it is being turned into the Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency.
In North Vancouver, the Blue Cabin was a part of a community of outsiders living in Maplewood Flats from the 1950s through the 1970s that included novelist Malcolm Lowry, poet Dorothy Livesay and Greenpeace founder Paul Spong.
Jeremy Borsos said the posters and other printed papers were probably used to even out the floor. The discovery of the posters dates the cabin to 1927.
“It’s an extraordinary humble building,” Borsos said. “To be able to save it is really amazing. This is probably the first time that you’ ll see a building restored that represents the heydays of hippiedom.”
It is believed the cabin was built by a Norwegian man on a dock in Coal Harbour. It was brought over to Dollarton Mud Flats where it stayed until 2015, when it was removed to make way for a development by Polygon Homes. The Blue Cabin is now at nearby Maplewood Farm.
Borsos said restoring the cabin is like being an urban archeologist uncovering the social history of Vancouver. He said he knew by looking up at the subfloor that there were pieces of printed paper sandwiched in the floor. He just had no idea how much there was or how well-preserved they were.
“We didn’t have brushes and magnifying glasses, but we were going to be very careful,” he said. “We eased up the boards because we knew there’s something special there. One poster was face up of a magic act with a skull on it. All the rest were face down and we thought: ‘Oh my God, this is amazing.’”
The Borsoses started the renovation project on June 6. They expect to be finished by early October.
Along the way, they have used a wire brush to take years of paint off the old German and Swedish hinges. They found wavy 19th-century glass to replace broken windows. They sanded walls smooth but left the patina of drips and colours of previous paint jobs. Dense, hard first-growth Douglas fir was used throughout the one-room cabin.
Some improvements have been made. One window now has an added lintel because it was roughly carved out of the wall with a chainsaw.
“It’s supposed to be an artist’s studio,” he said. “It’s not supposed to be a restored monument.”
While the original builder didn’t follow any particular architectural style, one of his repeating motifs in cupboards and over windows is a curving scallop shape.
“We don’t know his name,” Borsos said. “We don’t know any other details about him. It’s more an outsider building — a building built by an individual with a vision that was completely his own.”
Glenn Alteen, program director at Grunt Gallery, is part of a team of artists and curators that includes Other Sights for Artist’s Projects and Creative Cultural Collaborations, who are working to turn the Blue Cabin into a floating residency. He said the Borsoses put an incredible amount of time and care into restoring the cabin.
“It’s amazing what they’ve done and found,” Alteen said. “The restoration has been fascinating.”
There is still a long way to go to create the artist’s residency, he said. So far, $225,000 has been raised to restore the cabin. Another $375,000 may be needed to complete the residency, providing operating funds, and put the cabin on a barge.
Jeremy Borsos will talk about the restoration of the Blue Cabin on Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. at Seymour Art Gallery, at 4360 Gallant Ave. in North Vancouver.