If you love exploring historic photographs and imagining the stories behind them, you may have noticed that information about old images is often scarce, and much of what we know may survive only in local archives or through community memory. Yet, these photographs remain powerful windows into the past, inviting us to rediscover forgotten stories.

The selected images below from the Uno Langmann Family Collection of B.C. Photographs reveal New Westminster’s evolving landscape – a city shaped by time. Some buildings still stand, carefully restored, while others have faded into the dust of history. Do you recognize any of the buildings below? Share your stories with us!

Penitentiary, New Westminster, 1886

Known as B.C. Pen, the British Columbia Penitentiary was a federal maximum-security prison in New Westminster that operated for 102 years before being decommissioned in 1980. Most of the former prison grounds have since been redeveloped into residential city blocks in the Sapperton area, though the historic gatehouse remains. For more details, read the news article here.

[Women’s Building, New Westminster, B.C.], 1904

Image of the Women’s Building in Queen’s Park, New Westminster, B.C., from 1904. The Queen’s Park fountain is visible in the photograph.

Lord Kelvin School, New Westminster, B.C., [not after 1909]

This old building existed in the last century. The school looks very different now with a single-storey structure.

The New Richard McBride School, New Westminster, 1929

The school, rebuilt after a 1929 fire, remained in operation until a recent redevelopment project replaced the building. It is now known as Skwo:wech Elementary School. For more details, read the news article here.

Hotel Russell, New Westminster, [not after 1909]

This building later became the College Place Hotel, known as a nightclub spot. The building still stands today and now it is the Russell Housing Centre in New Westminster.

Irving House Historic Centre, built in 1862, New Westminster, B.C., [between 1920 and 1930?]

The building still stands today as one of the oldest community heritage sites in B.C. It underwent a restoration project in 2018. For more details, visit the New Westminster city website here.

Carnegie Public Library, New Westminster, B.C., [between 1910 and 1920?]

This Carnegie Library served the community from 1905 to 1958 before the building was demolished. The library then moved to a larger site, which is today’s New Westminster Public Library. For more details, see the timeline here.

In the Uno Langmann Family Collection of British Columbia Photographs, we also have photographs and postcards of streets from other cities for BC. The following is useful subject headings to search:

• Subject: Streets (in Uno Langmann Family Collection)
• Subject: Cities & Towns (in Uno Langmann Family Collection)

We hope you enjoyed this post. To view more historic photographs, please visit our Open Collections.