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Upcoming event focuses on photos (and fires) from New Westminster's past

The New Westminster Historical Society is focusing on photos for this month’s presentation. The society’s next event takes place on Wednesday, Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Century House, 620 Eighth St.
great fire latest
The photo is of the corner of 6th Street at Columbia St where the police station is today. The photo depicts the old post office after the Great Fire.

The New Westminster Historical Society is focusing on photos for this month’s presentation.

The society’s next event takes place on Wednesday, Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Century House, 620 Eighth St. It’s starting off the new year with a program that looks at miscellaneous historical photos from New Westminster, including the Great Fire of 1898 and other fires.

“New Westminster has a history filled with fires, many of which clearly altered the course of development of a portion of the city or the overall city itself. The selection of fire images in the January presentation will include blazes at Westminster Paper, the Provincial Exhibition, Pacific Coast Terminals, the Rayonier Mill, and Richard McBride School, along with a number of other smaller fires (smaller in terms of the effect on the city),” said a press release about the presentation. “If time allows, a few other non-fire images will be included from the history of the city such as those from a few requests like streetcars in city neighbourhoods, the brickyard in the Glen ravine, and the agricultural fields of the B.C. Penitentiary.”

The program is free and everyone is welcome to attend.