Great Fire, The | Historical Event | Mythical-sounding moniker for the massive fire of June 13th, 1886. In less than an hour it destroyed all but a few of the buildings in Vancouver. The city was only a couple of months old at the time, and a huge number of Vancouverites lost all their possessions. 21 people lost their lives. News of the fire spread across the world, and rebuilding began just days after. The image above (via the City of Vancouver Archives) was taken following the conflagration’s end. It shows refugees gathered in a tent on the southeast corner of Hastings & Carrall (where the Pennsylvania Hotel is located today).

Usage | “I heard that during The Great Fire, a bunch of guys headed into the empty saloons and drank all the booze they could find.”