Vancouver Police Museum & Archives

Slightly a bit off the way but walkable from the vancouver Chinatown. Here lies the police museum with our short history as well as tools that were used by the police officers to investigate and solve crime. It was an interesting visit if you were into criminology

It was very cool to go through the museum learning all the different way the police had done forensic, weapons, transportation and different criminal and crime. We were able to learn a lot and had fun walking around.

Fascinating, well laid out exhibits in an historic building. The docents were knowledgeable and clearly moved their subject matter.

Great displays, information and items, but not recommended for kids under 8-10 years as theres morgue and weapons displayed on the place. We bought a stuffed K-9 named Vook which is at service right now!

Fascinating top to bottom. Every exhibit drips with passion, and the staff go above and beyond. If you want to learn about history, justice, forensics, technology, weapons or even just appreciate a historic building, this is for you. Parking was dirt cheap 4$ for 2h on the street, not even hard to find a spot. Admission is much lower than I expected too... Honestly I can't think of a reason not to go! Don't hesitate!

the museum was really interactive. if you're looking to spend a good time and go into depth for every exhibit this is the place! staff was very friendly as well 🤍🫶😌

The Vancouver Police Museum was a surprise hit with our family of adults and teen kids. It's a small museum but packed with unique history. You aren't meant to take photos in what we considered to be the most interesting parts ie. the autopsy and mortuary rooms - but some of the items in these rooms are absolutely fascinating and not anything that many of us ever get to see in person. If you have an interest in such things and a few hours to spare it's well worth a visit. Note that the museum is located in an "unsavoury" part of town. Do some research prior to your visit as you may not enjoy walking around some of the surrounding streets at night. You may like to time your visit to allow for this.

The Vancouver Police Museum is a fascinating and unique spot to explore the city’s history. The exhibit is small but well-organized, featuring everything from old police equipment to stories of true crime in Vancouver. Perfect for anyone interested in crime history or law enforcement!

Small but a very neat and historical review of Vancouver police and forensics. Staff is very friendly and helpful. Only suggestion is to Uber or Taxi there. The area is unsafe for walking.

Cool little tourist spot to visit if you are in Vancouver. Check hours before showing up.

It simply does not get any better than this for a phantasmagorical way to spend the day than this. Easiest way to tell you where it is ..simply, if you were hypothetically at the infamous No. 5 Orange you'd find yourself [in the company of severa exotic dancers that Mr Chuck Chew will always have on hand to entertain.. but I digress . Out the door of the No. 5 Orange , you will be on the corner of Main & Hastings..the fire hall will be directly across the street if you look left. Beyond that are the beautiful mountains that are the way I learned to navigate this city. .remember, the mountains are ALWAYS North. turn right and walk East ..about 2 blocks ..[if that].. and look to the right[drum roll please! ] there you are, I don't want to give away anything but I honestly think this is one trip you should get a sitter. I'm not trying to be mean but there are a lot of "parts" to the museum, and it certainly needs to be said that it's an adult themed venue [ only in my opinion] spoiler alert, one feature has human organs that have been penetrated via a prison shank , bullet hole, hunting knife and the evidence of the assault weapon is there to view. not for children. my fave thing to do is putting on the prison overalls ,where, you can actually get behind bars so you may only this one time in your life ..you will see and FEEL what that would be like. After taking a picture..I swung that thick & heavy rebar door that's made of 30M rebar [that indicates it's thickness . I think the thinnest is yellow, then green is 30? I think..and from there a 30 M bar would be used in a column in the underground parking garage of a building. The thickest is of course used for earthquake damage prevention. GO SEE FOR YOURSELF! My friend from Calgary came in for a couple of nights and this was the first place I thought of.. inexpensive to visit and so worth it, to support the museum I bought a book about the Penthouse Club..and it's history & 2 shot glasses ..That I'm SO ashamed .. but be man enough to admit.. I foolishly broke them by throwing one in anger against the wall HARD. ..and why? because my gf didn't turn left on Glen Drive and turned at Prince Albert instead?!? Are you kidding me? I wish I was , but my babe whom I LOVE more than anything in the world forgave me.. and I have not raised my voice or been angry with her since . 26 years later. wink7

On a rainy day, we were looking for an indoor activity. Groupon led us here! Now, it's a smaller museum, but it's really interesting and packed with interesting information/stories. There is a tribute room for all those who died on duty (police officers and police dogs); a morgue (you can see information on different diseases, body parts etc); the true crime stories (I love true crime so I enjoyed reading these stories); and a jail cell! Remember to take your pic with the orange jumpsuit! An interesting way to kill an hour or 2! Definitely check on Groupon for discounted rates.

What an interesting and fun little museum to explore while in Vancouver. I found this on a travel website and thought it would be fun to check out. It's quite small but it's packed with history and stories. This might be morbid but the most interesting portion was the autopsy room. It held samples of body parts with different injuries and diseases. It was quite interesting to see each one, it's not something you see everyday. An example was seeing how a smokers lungs look like. They had a sample of a jail cell that you can walk into with orange jumpsuits. They had stories of real cases and copies of artifacts from those cases. Overall it was a fun museum. It didn't cost much to get in.

I knew I'd enjoy visiting this museum, but I didn't know how much I would love it. And I did, totally! What a superb, historic building, chock full of stories (boy, if those walls could talk!), artifacts, displays and interactive exhibitions. If you know someone who is interested in '30's Vancouver architecture, police and/or forensic history, or simply the history of the city of Vancouver, this is a fabulous place to visit. And if you can snag a Groupon for the admission here (as I did), it's a killer of a deal, too (no pun intended. Ok, maybe a bit...!). I visited with my daughter and we both like the CSI series on tv, so we were fascinated by the authentic forensic tools on display, and the grisly history of some of Vancouver's scandalous murders (some still unsolved). There are actual cross-sections of victims' organs on display, with the bullet holes or knife stabbing marks intact. There are actual murder weapons in showcases (I'm still thinking of an old axe - intact with a victim's hair still clinging to the rusted blade). There are informative displays about the collection of evidence and preserving the crime scene, fingerprint analysis, profiling, polygraphs, and more. There's a whole room devoted to early gambling artifacts (I MUST take my dad here when he next visits! He'd love it!), drugs, and counterfeiting (gosh, I remember the showcased Canadian bills from the 60's. What a walk down memory lane). Speaking of, nothing like seeing rotary phones and typewriters and other items from the early '60's to remind oneself how OLD one is, and how rapidly technology has changed. Yikes! And seeing how drastically the city of Vancouver has changed in the past 100 years. It's quite shocking, actually. Did you know there used to be a kiddie "driving school" in Stanley Park? That the science of "geographic profiling" was "discovered" and developed here in Vancouver, at Simon Fraser U? That liars typically avoid eye contact, provide more details than needed when answering questions and often repeat the question asked of them? I could go on and on about the fascinating factoids learned at this museum. But it loses impact without seeing the photos and objects in person. The autopsy room is fascinating, and the tiny holding cell is, too. I also liked how there is a hallway and room devoted to the stories of the officers and police dogs who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Very respectful, and it strikes home, the sacrifice of those who protect us. There are some local true crime books available for purchase at the check-in/check-out counter. I really can't say enough good things about this place. It's rare to find such an authentic museum to visit, to really get a genuine, true understanding or feeling for a subject. My only suggestion for improvement, here, is for the museum curators to go through all the informative information signs posted throughout the site, as I found quite a few typos and they really diminished the overall excellence of the museum. (I mean, they even posted about the "Canandian [sic] Pacific Railroad". Blatant typos of commonplace words).

The police museum was everything I was expecting and more. I loved every aspect of the museum from the dress up, to all the fun facts, to the morgue area and tribute room for the police and dogs who died on duty. Really enjoyed the crime area that shows true crimes including the actual weapons used in them. Very neat experience. Highly recommend adding this to your list of places to check out. Great for all ages, there is a 'jail' cell that kids and adults can dress up as an inmate and shut themselves in the cell - makes for great photos! I spent about an hour checking everything out. If you're on a time crunch you could enjoy it all in less time, and if you're not in a hurry you could spend even more time taking in all the details. Street parking was easy to find within a block, and $2 covered 2 hours. Though I bought a groupon for myself, the price at the museum is also very fair to get in.

Excellent museum! Came here on vacation with family, first time to Vancouver. It is indeed in the somewhat shady and downtrodden part of Vancouver near the gas lamp district and Chinatown. Full of history! The museum is next to the Police station. It is in the old coroners court and pathologists morgue. Super cool! The museum was excellently done and was a mix of crimes scene investigation (current and past), the history of the police in Vancouver and past&current issues like gangs, true crime stories in Vancouver and the super cool former morgue room! I super recommend for anyone into history, crime, CSI, gangs, police and police history and city history! We ALSO went on the super awesome 90 minutes tour about Sins of The City! Fascinating and well done walking tour!! Highly recommend. Our tour guide Kat (Katherine or perhaps Catherine and Cat) was great! :) thank you C/Kat! (Haha) Sorry y'all! This was from 2017 and I didn't realize it was a draft!

One of the coolest ways to learn about the history of the VPD. Parking is available a few blocks E of here, near Oppenheimer Park. Be sure not to leave any valuables in your car. Admission is reasonable, at $12 for adults. Even though the museum itself is quite small, the exhibits are pretty neat. One can see the history of the police force, a room full of guns over the last century, and weapons that have been confiscated over the years. Gotta say that some people are quite ingenious when it comes to making things that hurt people. The autopsy room is one of the most interesting exhibits in the place. If there's one thing I learned, it's not to run around with a rifle, in case you trip, fall, and accidentally stab yourself through the eye with the barrel of the gun. Yikes. It's probably good to bring kids here too, so they can see where they may end up if they choose a life of crime. My only complaint is that the place is closed on Sundays. Found out the hard way, before I could free up a Saturday. Definitely recommended. I personally wouldn't mind coming back again either.

The autopsy room is intense. Some parts of the exhibits look quite dated and as you would expect it's pretty pro police (protests equal riots). I did learn a lot and felt the ninety minutes (I did it thoroughly) was worth the $12. A lot of spelling mistakes in the exhibits.

I thought this was a cool museum! I went here on a whim with a friend when we were in Vancouver for the day! They currently have a Groupon deal that made admission around $4.50 USD for each of us. SUCH a good deal! There was plenty of street parking in the area when we went. The museum is not huge - I would say one hour at the most is all you would need! They had some really cool confiscated weapons and drugs, different police uniforms and weapons through the history of the Vancouver Police Department, a room all about forensics and facial recognition, a room with evidence from actual crime scenes (and the history/stories of what happened), and my favorite part - THE AUTOPSY ROOM! So cool. There were still bloodstains on the ground, as well as a mystery bullet hole in the window that has a little story attached to it. You can also sit inside of the holding room that they have, which was cool. Overall, not on the list of top museums ever, but it is up there for a fun quick stop in if you're looking for something around Gas Town!

This is a good place to come and see the history of the Canadian police department from past so future.

Very interesting and fun small museum, with brilliant information about the Vancouver Police Department. There were small and enlightening exhibits about women in the Vancouver police (women were only allowed to carry firearms and do normal patrol duty in 1973!), the mounted police, the ERT special squad, confiscated weapons, counterfeit money, and so much else! A highlight was the autopsy room and morgue, which were ACTUALLY USED by the Vancouver police until 1980. $30 for a family ticket was reasonably priced, but there was probably only an hour or two worth of stuff to look at. Staff were friendly and went out of their way to be helpful and answer questions. Also was able to connect to wifi and get an app to do a very informative audio tour from my smartphone! In addition to all this, you can buy chocolate police badges!

Interested in drugs, guns, murder, and weapons - and the sordid stories of Vancouver's past? Get yourself down to the Vancouver Police Museum, where you'll see displays on some of Vancouver's most notorious murders and marvel at the creativity of the criminal mind. My favourite room was the one with all the confiscated weapons, many them homemade and fashioned out of everyday objects like forks, rope, and nails, as well as motorcycle chains (filed and shaped into handy brass knuckles) and chainsaws. Lots of daggers made by people with a file and time on their hands, plus the ingenuity to hide the blade in an ordinary object - such as the blade camouflaged as a belt buckle. In the gun room, next to the gift shop, there are also some homemade guns. I picture some scary guy putting these things together on his coffee table. The murder displays are freaky. In front of one that tells how a mentally disturbed teenager wasted his family one Christmas Eve in the 60s is the long-handled axe from the crime scene - with blond hairs clinging to the blade. Another tells of the mysterious case of the children's skeletons found buried in Stanley Park - again with what seem to be original artifacts along with the plaster casts made from their skulls. Starting in May, the museum will be running "Sins of the City" walking tours that will cover the fun and sordid history of Chinatown and Downtown Eastside/Strathcona neighbourhood (http://www.vancouverpolicemuseum.ca/SinsoftheCity.htm) and include a visit to this small but interesting museum. I'll be back for that.

My only regret is wishing we had more time here. To really experience it, I'd give yourself at least 1 to 1.5 hours. My friends and I arrived 30 minutes prior to closing so I immediately went to the exhibits high on my list (morgue and case files). We also did the tour as well, which our guide was very informative. The tour focused a lot on Chinatown and we saw some interesting buildings and heard facts involving them we would never had known otherwise.

The museum is small and a bit dingy. The best room is the old autopsy room without a doubt. The rest needs a good cleaning and better presentation. Highlights are the confiscated guns and weapons display cases, unsolved murder displays, the prison cell model room, the uniforms and some of the other displays but overall it could be a lot more interesting if it was designed properly.

Small museum but filled with artifacts. Pretty neat that it is in the old coroner's office. The exhibit on forensics and autopsies was interesting. Definitely worth a visit, especially if you are interested in forensic sciences. Also really loved all the seized weapons on display.

Just visited this museum today. On pictures it looks much better than in reality. It's dirty, small & worth visiting only with discount bought at Groupon.

Pretty sketchy part of town but since there was an event to watch the Shining and it's October... I figured why not being my date there? Turns out the morgue is pretty tiny, but the museum did give us the creeps. So it did its job :) If you're going to watch a movie there I recommend going early to snatch the best seats because if you're short like me then you'll be trying to look over someone's head. It was a mistake not to bring popcorn though.

If you and the ones you love have a taste for murder and mayhem, this is the place to go. It's got an amazing collection of various drugs and paraphenalia, including a long "candy cane" created by a coroner to showcase the wide variety of drugs available to OD on. There are weapons a-plenty! Lovely shanks made with various levels of ingenuity; just the thing to get your teenager interested in metal work! Interesting forgeries of IDs and money show how interesting and easy it used to be to use your graphic skills for gain. They also have a burglar's kit which demonstrates the great loss of skills we have suffered in that venerable trade. Deeper in the museum, nice cases showcase some of the more gruesome and unsolved murders which have occurred in the City of Vancouver. At the back" a coroner's collection of some very interesting samples collected while pursuing the trade; not for the squeamish And lots of history on the VPD - the men and women who try to keep our streets on an even keel. Brilliant for kids on a rainy day!

The museum is on the second floor of the old BC Coroner building. There is no elevators and two flights of stairs. It's a older building with no air condition - so it's hot in the summer. Aside from the bad - here is the good. This museum give us a look into the history of the Vancouver Police Department. From confiscated weapons to unsolved mysteries, the museum is a great place for those who love crime and solving crime. They have a summer program for children - a CSI camps - which is great for those little detectives. If you can stand the heat, take a whirl in to Vancouver sad past and present.

Unfortunately, on the day I took the 'Sins of the City' tour the museum was booked for an event and I was unable to take a look around the exhibits. Good news is that I got a free voucher to come back and take a gander at the museum. So I'm just gonna review the tour for now. It was fun and interesting, very informative. Those who may be a bit skittish about taking the tour, because of its proximity to Hastings, may rest assured that it's totally safe. There was only one bad moment on the tour when a very loud and persistent homeless man came and started shouting for money, but another (probably?) homeless man came and chased off the other one. Our guide (I can't for the life of me recall her name), explained that that was as bad as it ever gets on the tours. It was very interesting, there were lots of things I hadn't known about Chinatown till then. There was also lot of interesting stories about the brothels, speakeasys, and saloons that used to be so central to Vancouver. The tour starts from the Police Museum and ends in Gastown. I would recommend this tour to anyone who has the slightest interest in the sordid history of our fair city.

This is one of the most interesting, pellucid and engaging museums I have ever been to. Neato stuff!! - confiscated weapons of all kinds - uniform, badge, and weapons variations - police software for reconstructing photos of suspects that you can play with (I made my boyfriend) - cute stories about the humble origins of the department - a sweet REAL morgue with fascinatingly creepy exhibits about forensic entomology and blood stain patterns and really cool organs and stuff Improve your mind!! - the story of women in the department and their feminist struggles and victories - other historical stuff Excellent organization, too. A clever curator set this all up. Very nice. Yeah, really really cool. I bored my parents for like half an hour recounting minutiae from these exhibits. Well worth the $12!!

I attended a private event held at the Vancouver Police Museum and it was one of the ultra coolest dinners! What a neat place to tour, and the museum's curator tells the best stories. I can't explain why it is so creepy to stand in the middle of an old autopsy room, but it is. I am usually pretty squeamish but couldn't take my eyes off the wall of human bits an pieces that could be called "all the ways humans can die" in one interesting set of well preserved samples. This is not something one would normally think to do with the kids, but I guarantee it is totally worth an outing. As far as renting it for a private dinner? Not sure of the cost, but it sure as heck makes a lasting impression, especially if they set up the dining tables right in the autopsy room. This place is a hidden gem of Vancouver.

I'll keep this short and sweet as there are some really great and informative reviews that tell you all you need to know. I had quite a bit of fun poking around this museum. I was one of those geeky kids that loved stories about gangsters from the '30s and the old Prohibition days, so I was right at home amidst the Tommy guns and other period weapons. If you want flashy and high-tech, this isn't the museum for you, but if you think there's a lot to be said for the crime-filled stories of the '30s, '40s, and '50s, this macabre little joint will tickle your seedy bone. I loved the variety of weapons, checking out an old-school morgue, and even poking around the autopsy tables. This is a side of old Vancouver you just don't get to see much of anymore. Not that I'm complaining. :)

Great for a one time visit, but it's changed very little (like, veeeery little) since I was last there. Husband enjoyed it as his first visit, but we were in and out in an hour and a bit. The exhibits were pretty neat -we both enjoyed learning about the history of the Vancouver Police Department and the history of the building really. The creepy coroner's office is an exceptional section to check out - although it's not the feint at heart (I may or may not have been sort of creeped out...). They've also got an intriguing room full of dangerous weapons, illegal drugs and counterfeit materials that we spent a good deal of time in. They only recently added a crackpipe to the display so that's... sort of new? The museum is self-guided and small, and you could probably be in and out in about two hours. Basically, if you've never been this place is worth a visit. I say go check it out at least once :)

At first I was hesitant about going here, museums are not know to be fun but this place was cool, lots to look at and if you do the tour with a group it's really fun, oh and dress up is a must.

I just took the Sins of the City tour and was fascintated. There's so much great history in this city. It was a practice run for our guide and she did really well. I want to get our team at work to do this tour so they can regale visiting suppliers with interesting tidbits about prohibition, racism, gambling, prostitution, stripping, riots, drugs and more. The fact that you can go from Chinatown through the Downtown East Side to Gastown in three blocks demonstrates a diversity that must be fairly unique. Finding out where the secret alleys are just makes me want to go exploring. Personally I think this kind of history should be mandatory in high school. Kids should know their city's history including its seedier side. Next time I want to tour the museum too and then I'll update my review.

I thought the police museum was an interesting place to visit. The parts of the museum that I found interesting were: - the display of prohibited weapons - the kaleidoscope of pills (a collection of pills that were collected from crime scenes where people had accidentally overdosed) - learning about counterfeit money - the computer program that will show you a face for 10 seconds, then you can try to create an identikit by choosing the different facial features,. Then you can compare the images side-by-side on the screen to see how well you did. You can choose the level of difficulty on this too. Some displays/rooms are macabre, so I wouldn't recommend it to those who are squeamish or uncomfortable with seeing real objects that were used in crimes or found at crime scenes. One of the most chilling things that I saw displayed there was an axe that had been used by a 17 year old to murder his family, and a fine blonde hair can still be seen on the axe. There are also real crime scene photos on display, along with stainless steel drawers from a morgue. In the next room is an autopsy room, complete with real preserved specimens on the wall (including foetuses). Just a warning too, when you are making your way to or leaving the museum, DO NOT walk via East Hastings street. Book yourself a taxi from the museum so you do not have to walk through this area. It certainly isn't an area that any tourist would want to walk through. There are very large numbers of homeless people and drug addicts for quite a few blocks on East Hastings street. I wasn't familiar with the area and all of a sudden found myself on this very dodgy street! I tried to hail an empty cab, but the taxi driver waved his hand at me, so please avoid walking through this area, unless you want to end up in the police museum yourself!

A great look at Vancouver's seedy underbelly! The workshops (offered in kid and grownup versions) are a blast, and a fantastic way to spend a day or evening. The giftshop has some great gift ideas for the hard to buy for (or just plain creepy), too!

Totally rad and amazing. Such an interesting look at history. With weapons and devices galore you are sure to be in there for hours examining everything and reading up on some of Vancouver's most interesting past..

This is for anyone slightly interested in law enforcement. It offers a look back at the past and today's law enforcement. The museum includes a wide variety of weapons, shanks, police equipment, vehicles, Tommy gun's, case files, etc. The staff member was extremely friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. They offered cool t-shirts and other items for purchase. I definitely recommend this fun little tour, you will really enjoy it.

I have been here a few times and if you're a fan of crime this is a cool place to see some evidence. It's like walking into a real CSI room without the red head with glasses reciting a cheesy one liner before a Who song kicks in. The admission is modest and goes towards a good cause. There are certain parts of the museum which may not be for the faint of heart. I generally have a fascination with the criminal mind and here you will find pieces of popular murders in the city. The home made weapons seem something off Breaking Bad....but real. It's the perfect man date. A lot of dark history of Vancouver within the walls that are both interesting and sad and every piece is worth a second glance.

Just did the Sins of the City walking tour today. So interesting!! Our guide was fantastic. She has a background in history, forensic anthropology and criminal investigation. Wow - what great qualifications to lead the tour. She had so much information and was a great speaker. So much time and research went in to this tour. It was interesting the learn about the early start of the city of Vancouver and see the sites where there used to be brothels, opium factories and gambling joints. We learned about some infamous people and all the rampant corruption (mayor, VPD). I would highly recommend this tour. Interesting if you are visiting Vancouver. But even more interesting if you actually live in Vancouver and want to here about the formative years. Plus, included in the tour (which is $20 very well spent!) is admission to the Police Museum which is also pretty interesting (although not nearly as good as the walking tour!!). Highly recommended!!

As a local who is interested in social and legal histories, I have been curious about how the Vancouver Police Museum and its walking tours framed its content for a while now. What stopped me from going was a concern that the museum would take its curatorial inspiration from Ripley's Believe It or Not / Discovery Channel and/or have its content dictated by the VPD PR department. I finally followed a tour last Saturday, and was pleasantly surprised. Our very knowledgeable guide began by acknowledging that the history of the VPD is closely tied to (the comparatively short) history of white settlement in the area. The dominant themes of the tour included the material implications that racism has had on issues ranging from the human geography of Vancouver, the definition of crime (criminalization of opiates), disorder (displacement of the sex trade) and policing priorities. I would recommend this tour to anyone and everyone. Regrettably, the tour is "strictly 18+"- apart from concerns about liability, I am not sure why this would be the case... I think it would be an excellent tour for grade 10 social studies students to attend. Though drugs and prostitution and gambling are all discussed, the content that is presented is definitely not glorifying those activities. As a youth worker, I would not hesitate to bring clients on this tour (whereas I would probably opt out of taking them on other tours of the DTES that are targeted to high school youth because of how some tours unjustly encourage participants' contempt of DTES residents).

The Vancouver Police Museum provides a fascinating look into the criminal side of Vancouver. The museum's display of home made weapons is a tribute to human ingenuity and inventiveness. And there's more than just weapons: the museum also has guns, drugs, forged bank bills, and human body parts. I also highly recommend the Forensic Science workshops offered at the Museum.

Have always wanted to take a wee gander in here and I was not disappointed. The place is rich with history, interesting facts and a look at all the illegal vices you can imagine. I will be back.

We purchased discounted certificates via Groupon, which said to call 24 hours in advance to arrange a tour. I thought that calling on Sunday to book a tour on Wednesday would be plenty of time, but they were booked out for a week. One star for poor planning on their part - they shouldn't have sold the certificates if they couldn't honor them in a reasonable time frame (and I do think that being booked out for a week is unreasonable for a tourism centered business.)

I went with a group for their Movies at the Morgue showing of Ghostbusters and it was awesome! Great venue for scary movies with very interesting (and creepy) exhibits and very friendly staff. Popcorn and pop was only a dollar! Definitely doing this again!

Just did the tour today. It was really interesting and put together a good history of downtown Vancouver from the early days into the 1930's. The tour brings to life the history of Vancouver.

We did the combined Museum and Sins of the City tour -- great fun. The museum itself is a series of small rooms in the former city coroner office; contained inside now is the history of the VPD in photographs, weapons, uniforms and assorted paraphernalia. Different areas feature forgery (wow, how many false identities can one guy have!), facial recognition tests, weapons legal and otherwise, forensics, old unsolved crimes, capital punishment and most intriguing of all, the old morgue complete with body cabinets, specimens and tables. (Errol Flynn was reputed to have been autopsied on one of them) There is a small gift shop if you want a souvenir. The tour leader was a young woman who really knew her stuff as she led us through Chinatown and Gastown, pointing out the buildings where things happened and reciting the history of the opium trade, crooked politicians, gambling den raids and ladies of the night. Many of the old structures have been razed by our current city hall which seems intent on destroying our architectural past but enough remain to fascinate those who still care about Vancouver history. An excellent tour!