Dunbar, Vancouver, BC - Blog

Victoria Day

gerry.gramek@century21.ca — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Victoria Day - In Honour of a Great Romance

This portrait, commissioned in 1843, shows the young Queen Victoria with her long brown hair loose around her shoulders, gazing into the distance. She was just 24 when painted by the German artist Franz Xaver Winterhalter and his work was described as her husband Albert's "favourite picture". The artwork is just one of 400 paintings, drawings, photographs, drawings and sculptures which will appear in an exhibition Buckingham Palace, showing the Queen's enthusiasm for art.

Jonathan Marsden, chief curator of the exhibition established in 2009 that focuses on the younger Victoria, said the collection should challenge the image of Queen Victoria as a melancholy widow who grieved her husband's death for 40 years.

"This exhibition will overturn the popular image of Queen Victoria and reveal an energetic, passionate young woman who delighted in the company of artists, musicians and performers and who idolized the opera and ballet stars of the time," he said.

"Commissioning and exchanging art was at the very heart of Victoria and Albert's relationship."

Victoria Day is a Canadian statutory holiday celebrated on the Monday preceding May 25. It honours Queen Victoria's birthday. In 2012 it is Monday, May 21.

Victoria Day is Canada's official nod to the birthday of Queen Victoria, but many Canadians consider this festive long weekend in May as the official kick off to summer. As such, the Victoria Day weekend is often a chance to leave town for a few days and embark on an early summer adventure. It also marks the unofficial time of the year for getting all your bedding plants in the ground. I, however have decided to dedicate this Victoria Day blog to the amazing life and romance of Victoria and Albert.

The above mentioned exhibition, Victoria & Albert: Art and Love, focuses on the time between her ascension to the throne in 1837 and Albert's death in 1861.

One of the Queen's journals shows her delight upon accepting the proposal of marriage: "Oh! to feel I was, and am, loved by such an Angel as Albert was too great a delight to describe!

"He is perfection in every way - in beauty, in everything!"

Queen Victoria reigned as Queen of England from 1837 until 1901. This British monarch was the longest sitting sovereign in history, keeping her seat on the throne for an astounding 63 years, 216 days. Canada has been celebrating the date of her 1819 birth since it was declared a holiday in this country in 1845. It became a legal day off after the monarch's death in 1901.

Wedding photo of Victoria and Albert

Victoria and Albert met when she was seventeen years old. An affection developed between them, but she did not wish to marry at the time. At eighteen, Victoria became queen (in 1837). The affection between her and Albert never ceased to exist and although there was no need to rush into marriage, they wanted it. As she was the queen, she proposed to Albert on 15 October 1839. They were married on 10 February 1840, in the Chapel Royal of St. James's Palace, London. Albert became both Victoria's companion and an important political advisor. They had nine children and forty-two grandchildren. Their marriage was very happy and their love strong. In 1861, Albert fell ill with typhoid fever and died. Victoria was devastated and wore black for the rest of her life.

Victorian Christmas

Victoria and Albert with their children celebrating Christmas

Many of our Christmas customs can be traced back to Great Britain during the Victorian era. The Christmas tree, Christmas cards, carol singers and Santa Claus stem from this era. The BBC produces an excellent television program called Victorian Farm Christmas. In it you get to see how people would have actually made Wassail punch or Christmas tree decorations in the Victorian era. This is all due to how the populace emulated the style in which Queen Victoria celebrated the festive season.

It's hard to imagine now, but at the beginning of the 19th century Christmas was hardly celebrated. Many businesses did not even consider it a holiday. However by the end of the century it had become the biggest annual celebration and took on the form that we recognise today.

The transformation happened quickly, and came from all sectors of society.

Victoria and Albert gathered around the Christmas tree with their children.

Many attribute the change to Queen Victoria, and it was her marriage to the German-born Prince Albert that introduced some of the most prominent aspects of Christmas. In 1848 the Illustrated London News published a drawing of the royal family celebrating around a decorated Christmas tree, a tradition that was reminiscent of Prince Albert's childhood in Germany. Soon every home in Britain had a tree bedecked with candles, sweets, fruit, homemade decorations and small gifts. The now familiar Christmas cracker was invented in the 1880's and remains essentially the same today. The Christmas card industry also began in this time.

While Charles Dickens did not invent the Victorian Christmas, his book A Christmas Carol is credited with helping to popularise and spread the traditions of the festival. Its themes of family, charity, goodwill, peace and happiness encapsulate the spirit of the Victorian Christmas, and are very much a part of the Christmas we celebrate today.

These themes seem to encapsulate the aspects of life most important to Victoria and Albert.

A Nation Mourns

Prince Albert's tomb at the mausoleum at Frogmore

When Prince Albert, died in the winter of 1861, the 42-year-old queen and her nation were paralysed with grief.

Britain was in mourning for the German-born Prince Consort who had helped to bring stability to the monarchy and who had been everything to their popular queen ... husband, companion, father of their children, friend, confidant, wise counsellor and unofficial private secretary. Their love was a great one.

Sympathy poured out for the royal family at their shattering loss but gradually the public grew impatient with her cult of grief and court circles became weary of the never-ending imperative to wear nothing but black and festoons of jet mourning jewellery (albeit a boom time for Whitby’s jet-making industry).

Victoria & Albert's daughters with his memorial bust

Over the next ten years, Victoria’s retreat into a state of impenetrable pathological grief and her stubborn refusal to return to public life sparked a resurgence of republicanism and even talk of abdication.

It took the near-death from typhoid of her much-maligned eldest son Bertie in 1871 to finally shock the reclusive queen out of her self-indulgent and self-imposed isolation and take up with renewed vigour the reins of monarchy for another 30 years.

What was the best part of your week?

Hope you've enjoyed this posting. If you have any questions, any little known facts or interesting Vancouver Stories or pictures you'd like to share, please feel free to contact me.

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For all your Real Estate needs, please contact me at:

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Coming soon to Yaletown

michael.laprairie@century21.ca — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Yaletown Newsletter: Make Music Vancouver

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Coming soon to Yaletown

Be on the lookout for these things coming to Yaletown this Summer:

MAKE MUSIC VANCOUVER

A fantastic free event is coming to Yaletown this Summer! On June 21st, Make Music Vancouver will bring in hundreds of bands to the streets and businesses of Yaletown. This event gives the local music community an opportunity to step up and share their passion for music.

Make Music Vancouver is a part of "Fête de la musique", a global event that began in France in 1982. The event brings both experienced and emerging musical talents to the streets on the longest day of the year (June 21st). Last year, Make Music Vancouver brought out 150 local bands and 20,000 people for the free outdoor event.

Are you a musician, or do you know a band that would like to perform during this event? Please contact the Yaletown BIA so that we can have them included in the City permit.

YALETOWN HISTORY

The Yaletown BIA has produced 20 story boards which will be attached to street lamp poles on the "Steamline Walking Route" along Hamilton & Mainland St. These boards will create a self-guided history tour that you can enjoy as you walk the streets of the neighbourhood. Each board has a unique story, fun-facts, or before-and-after photos of the neighbourhood. Watch out, this tour will be expanded soon to include even more streets with more stories.

History boards will be installed this summer! Check out all the locations online here:
http://yaletowninfo.com/visitors/walking-tours/yaletown-history-boards/

PLACES THAT MATTER

The Vancouver Heritage Foundation has approved 2 of the Yaletown BIA's nominations for "Places that Matter". The 2 locations that will receive plaques at an event in the near future are:

Recreation Park: The first Athletic Park, located in the 5 acres bordered by Smithe St, Nelson St, Hamilton St and Homer St. This recreation park had a stadium and playing field. This park opened in 1905 and survived until 1913.

First Gas Station: Canada’s first gas station opened in 1907 at the southeast corner of Cambie and Smythe (now spelled Smithe) in Yaletown. This station was operated by the Imperial Oil Company, where pails were hand-dipped into a large wooden barrel of gasoline and then transferred to cars.

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Marine Gateway Presale with Pricing

mike.stewart@century21.ca — Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Marine Gateway Vancouver Presale Pricing!

Posted on May 1, 2012 by mike

Marine Gateway, a New Presale Condo on Vancouver’s Canada Line at the end of Cambie in Marpole

Marine Gateway is a major, new condominium development in the rapidly gentrifying Marpole area of South Vancouver. Located on the southeast corner of Cambie St. and SE Marine Drive, this mixed-use development will have residential, retail and office space. It will be connected directly to downtown Vancouver, the airport and Richmond via the rapid transit Canada Line.

Marine Gateway will feature two towers. The North Tower, topping out at 38 stories, will house 234 suites. Tentative completion is set for November 30, 2014. The South Tower will feature 29 levels with 180 suites planned for completion January 31, 2015.

Marine Gateway’s Ultra-Convenient Location

Marine Gateway is directly on the Canada Line, meaning your less than 20 minutes from the downtown core and five minutes from YVR and the multicultural dining of Richmond. But with a T&T grocery store, coffee shops, banks and an 11-screen movie theatre right on-site, you don’t really need to go anywhere.
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Pricing for Marine Gateway Presale Condos
One-bedroom apartments at Marine Gateway will start at $262,000 including parking and external storage locker. There will be 2-bedroom condos between $481,000 and $800,000. Nearly 200 of these condos will be under $350,000. Looking for a penthouse at the Marine Gateway condo development? Those will set you back about $1,050,000.

Floor Plans at Marine Gateway
The condos in Marine Gateway will be a mix of 1 and 2-bedrooms, with some units also featuring a den. Most units will feature substantial balconies with excellent views.The 1-bedroom condos will average between 468 and 561 sf. The 1-bedroom + den condos at Marine Gateway will average 575 sf. Look for 2-bedrooms between 797 and 1120 sf. Limited numbers or penthouse units will be available between 1177 and 1347 sf.
Interiors at Marine Gateway
These modern Vancouver condos will come in two colour schemes; Matinee (light) or Evening (dark). Units will boast laminate floors, granite countertops in both bathroom and kitchen along with high-end, stainless steel appliances like integrated Bloomberg dishwashers and refrigerators, stacking Whirlpool washer and dryer and built-in Panasonic microwave. Environmental touches like dual flush Kohler toilets and geothermal hot water baseboard heating add a nice green touch.

Find Out About New Presales & Get Access to VIP Openings and Special Promotions!

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Development team for Marine Gateway
The PCI Group is developing Marine Gateway. They are one of the city’s most celebrated real estate developers, with over 6 million square feet of mixed-use developments in Vancouver. The development’s architect, Perkins+Will, also designed PCI’s Crossroads development at Cambie & Broadway.

Presale Deposits for Marine Gateway

20% down. 10% at signing. 5% 6 months later plus last 5% 6 months after that.

Expected Completion for Marine Gateway
North Tower- November 30, 2014
South Tower – January 31, 2015
Parking and Storage
All suites will include one underground parking space, but there is no option to buy additional spots. Each unit also comes with a 4x4x8 storage locker.

Amenities
The 9th floor will feature a shared garden. An outdoor rooftop terrace will have both BBQs and a children’s play area. A Bike Mobility Centre will be available for servicing and repairs. Marine Gateway will also feature a live-in caretaker. Additionally, all units will include TELUS Optik TV free for the first year.

Marine Gateaway Open House Info Marine Gateaway Open House Info

Marine Gateway Postal Code
V6P 6N6

Ever Wonder How Much the Commission is to Sell a Home in Vancouver?

Check out this great Video on Vancouver Realtor Fees!

Looking for other New Condos in Vancouver?

Check out these great Vancouver Presale Condos with Video, Pricing, and Floor Plans!

8 ways investors make it so hard for Realtors

sanjin.cvetkovic@century21.ca — Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Realtors specializing in investment properties are offering a list of the Top Eight ways investors make it so hard to help them.

So if you think you're not getting the best from your Realtor, it could be you're making one, if not all, of these deal-killing mistakes.

Top Eight Mistakes Property Investors Make with Realtors:

1. Lying about how much buying power they have
“Often investors are not honest with respect with their buying power and how much cash they have available, or they hope they can reduce the price or get some miracle and find the extra cash down payment,” says Montreal Realtor Banny Bar.

2. Backing out of deals
“A lot of hard work and effort can go into putting a deal together,” says Edmonton-based Realtor Corey Young. “Sometimes because an investor is not emotionally attached to a property, the slightest thing wrong with the inspection or with financing and they can pull the plug. That can definitely be frustrating for a Realtor.”

3. Being vague about where and what type of property they want to buy
First-time investors are especially vague, point out several Realtors. Requests for “cash flowing” properties could be answered with a single family home in a suburb, or a 100-unit building downtown. Know what type of building, tenant and cashflow you need, says one frustrated real estate agent, as well as the neighbourhoods and price range that interest you.

4. Being goal phobic
“If an investor comes to us and says that they want to buy a condo investment, we usually ask ‘what for?’,” says Toronto Realtor Adam Brind. “If they can't give us a straight answer it means that we usually have our hands full.”

5. Expecting miracles from the Realtor
Bar has seen emails simply asking “Do you have any great deals?” without context or more information.
“I love those ones," he says. "My reply is: ‘Yes I do, how many hours have you got? And I charge $2,000 per day.’”

6. Failing to listen and communicate
You use a Realtor for a reason – their expertise in the market. If they make a suggestion or ask you a question and you don’t take the time to consider it, you’re probably limiting yourself.
“The clients that actually follow through and purchase or sell product are the ones that ask the good questions,” says Young. “They are the ones that respond with in depth answers to my questions.”

7. Assuming the developer is on your side
Hello, investors: developer has their own agenda, and it's really your Realtor who can help on issues such as picking the right floor plan for resale and weighing the adjacent land plans.
“It's important for us to remind new clients that we have existing relationships in the industry and that we're working for them - not the developer,” Brind says.

8. Having too many advisors
“Nothing is worse than working with an investor or first-time buyer that is getting mixed messages from various sources,” Brind says. “Very often we get investors that have 'relatives' in the business or 'semi-professional' friends that moonlight as real estate professionals.”