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Johnson Street Ravine

The Johnson Street Ravine, originating from a marsh near Quadra and Fort streets, was a physical divide between Chinese residents along Cormorant Street and the European-dominated city centre from Johnson Street south. Three footbridges crossed the ravine at Douglas, Government and Store streets. Chinese labourers built or rented wooden huts that projected over the northern side of the ravine, seen here in about 1890. From the 1880s, these shacks were replaced by brick commercial buildings (Royal BC Museum, BC Archives, D-04747).

The Johnson Street Ravine, originating from a marsh near Quadra and Fort streets, was a physical divide between Chinese residents along Cormorant Street and the European-dominated city centre from Johnson Street south. Three footbridges crossed the ravine at Douglas, Government and Store streets. Chinese labourers built or rented wooden huts that projected over the northern side of the ravine, seen here in about 1890. From the 1880s, these shacks were replaced by brick commercial buildings (Royal BC Museum, BC Archives, D-04747).