In 1912, Dominion Blue Print & Drafting Company makes its debut in the city directory. It is one of eight companies involved in blueprints. A half page ad on page 226 of the 1912 directory indicates that Dominion Blue Print & Drafting Company, located at 36 Bank of Hamilton Building (432 Hamilton St.), is a Maker of Maps, Blueprints, Brown Line, and Blue Line Prints.

Horace N. Clarke is listed as the Manager.

The alphabetical section of the directory lists Horace N. Clarke, the manager of the Multigraphers and the Dominion Blue Print & Drafting Company, as living at 1627 Barclay Street in the West End.

By 1912, Vancouver was booming. There were 12,000 telephones, 52 churches, and 13 consular offices and 3 real estate offices for every grocery store.

The newly completed World Building, located at the corner of Pender and Beattie Streets, was commissioned by L. D. Taylor to house his newspaper, The Vancouver World. It was designed by architect W. T. Whiteway. When it was completed in 1912 it was the tallest building in the British Empire at 82 m (269 ft), surpassing the previous record-holder, the Dominion Building located just around the corner. Today it is called the Sun Tower.

In 1928, the Dominion Blueprint Company’s main office was in the newly expanded Arts and Crafts Building at 567 Seymour Street. Horace N. Clarke and his family now lived at 756 Bidwell. This photo by W.J. Moore shows the recently expanded Arts and Crafts Building at 576 Seymour Street. You can still make out the names, The Multigraphers and Dominion Blueprint Company in the left hand window of the third floor.

In 1928, construction begins on the Hotel British Columbia (the current Hotel Vancouver). It wasn’t completed until 1939.

A number of old barges are sunk off Point Grey to form a new breakwater. The presence of the wrecked barges and a shipwreck leads to the naming of the nearby beach as Wreck Beach.

Vancouver’s Percy William became the fastest man in the world winning both the 100 and 200 metre dash at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. It was a proud and highly celebrated moment for Vancouver.

In 1968, the name Dominion Blueprint & Reprographics Ltd. first appears in City directories, and highlighed the diversification of the products and services offered by the company. By 1971, the directory listing is changed to Dominion Blueprint & Reprographics Ltd.

There are now 2 shops, one at 1519 West Pender and one on West Georgia Street.

The 1983-84 listing for Dominion Blueprint & Reprographics offers some more detail on the company. It is a division of Dieterich Post Co. of Canada Ltd. John L. Bingham Sr. is the Vice President and Division Manager.

The directory listing proudly declares that the people at Dominion Blueprint & Reprographics are “The Reprofessionals Serving British Columbia®”. The Vancouver office is still at 1533 West Pender. The North Vancouver office is at 1348 Marine Drive.

In 1986, the company is bought by John Bingham Sr. The 1986 directory lists Dominion Blueprint & Reprographics at 1531 West Pender Street with John Bingham Sr. as General Manager.

In 1968, Pierre Elliott Trudeau becomes Prime Minister of Canada after Lester Pearson retires. Trudeaumania sweeps the country as Trudeau calls an election and wins. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land their Lunar Module and step onto the surface to become the first humans to leave their footprints in the lunar dust.

In 1983, B.C. Place, the largest air-supported stadium in North America, is completed. The stadium covers 10 acres. The Grey Cup game between the Toronto Argonauts and the BC Lions was played in front of 59,345 football fans at BC Place Stadium, with the Argonauts winning their first Grey Cup since 1952 with a final score of 18 to 17.

On January 3, 1986, the Expo Line of the Skytrain goes into regular service connecting Vancouver and New Westminster with state-of-the-art transit service. Vancouver is preparing to host Expo 86.