Vintage Matters — 100 Years
Massage · Sauna · Reflexology · Detox · Wellness · Est. 1926
Since 1926 · Celebrating 100 Years · 766 E. Hastings St, Vancouver
Where Every Wall Has a Story
Hastings Bath House was built by Finnish businessman J. P. Wepsela in 1926 — the same building you walk into today. Over a century of renovations and one parking lot excavation next door, we've turned up license plates, car parts, antique bottles, old photographs, a vintage Singer sewing machine, and a few things nobody can fully explain. We kept all of it. Walk the hallway upstairs and this is what you're looking at.
The Original Chalkboard Sign
"Hasting Steambaths — Finnish Sauna — Since 1926." This is the original sign from the front of the building. Dark green board, amber gold lettering, brass corner bolts. The old gift certificate taped to it still reads "Hastings Steam & Sauna" — a name regulars from the 70s and 80s will remember. It now hangs in the upstairs hallway.
"Hasting Steambaths · Finnish Sauna · Since 1926" — the original front sign
Steambath Rates — The Old Pricing Board
This is what it cost to come in. Private sauna for 1 person: $22. Two persons: $39. Public steam regular: $12, or $10 on Mondays. Private group rental for up to 40 people: $400, reserve one week in advance. The prices are different. The offer is the same.
Original "Steambath Rates" pricing board — still on display upstairs
766 East Hastings — Then & Now
Here since 1926
The building at 766 East Hastings Street has had the same purpose for 100 years: a place for people in Vancouver to come and relax. J. P. Wepsela built it when this stretch of Hastings was the commercial heart of the east end. It's still standing, still open, still doing what it was built to do.
766 E. Hastings St — the building today, 100 years after it opened
Gertie Wepsela, Grouse Mountain Tyee Ski Club · photo courtesy North Vancouver Museum and Archives
The Wepsela Family
The people behind the building
J. P. Wepsela built the Hastings Bath House in 1926. His relative Gertie Wepsela became a national ski champion at Grouse Mountain in the early 1940s, on track for the 1940 Olympics before the Second World War cancelled everything. The framed collage at the top of the stairs is a tribute to her story.
The Grouse Mountain Frame
Artist unknown · c. 1940s
This framed collage — twelve black-and-white photos around a hand-drawn sketch of the Georgia Ski Lodge at Grouse Mountain — was found in storage during renovation. Nobody knows exactly how it ended up here. We hung it at the top of the stairs because it belongs to this building's story.
The Georgia Ski Lodge, Grouse Mountain — artist unknown, c. 1940s
B.C. plates 1926 & 1928 · Zenith carburetor · battery tester
License Plates & Car Parts
B.C. plates from 1926 and 1928
When the building next door was developed, excavating the old Wepsela parking lot turned up quite a bit. Two B.C. license plates: one from 1926 (the year the bathhouse opened), one from 1928. Also: a Zenith carburetor, 6-volt battery tester, distributor cap, spark plugs, and Chevy hubcaps. We're fairly sure it was Wepsela working on that car.
Steering Wheel, Horn & Carriage Light
Miscellaneous items from storage · c. 1920s
The large wooden steering wheel mounted above the shelf, a carriage light (what headlights looked like before electricity), a truck horn, and a rear-view mirror. The sign next to them reads "not much has changed!" We agree.
Wooden steering wheel · carriage lamp · truck horn · rear-view mirror · c. 1920s
Carriage lamp · spark plugs · distributor cap · 6-volt tester · 1920s speedometer
J.P. Wepsela's Fancy Chevy
1920s automotive parts from the excavation
The carriage lamp above the shelf is what headlights looked like before electricity. On the shelf: a 1920s speedometer, mini 6-volt tester, distributor cap, spark plugs, and Chevy hubcaps. "J.P. Wepsela must have had a fancy Chevy." Based on the evidence, we agree.
What They Used
Grease gun · wood auger · wrench
The tools on the wall shelf were the maintenance kit for a building like this — a grease gun, a wood auger for boring work, and a wrench for all the pipe work a steam bathhouse constantly needs. Working tools, not decorative ones. Saved because they belong to this building's story.
Grease gun · wood auger · wrench — the old-timer engineering department
All Bottles, No Caps
Local medicine flasks from the 1920s
The small corked flasks on the hallway shelf came from the parking lot excavation. Look closely and you can read names pressed into the glass — Georgia Pharmacy, Owl Drug Vancouver, Dry Gin. They used corks because twist caps didn't seal reliably until the 1950s. Some were pocket flasks snuck in by patrons. They avoided detection. They did not take the empties home.
Medicine flasks from the parking lot excavation · Georgia Pharmacy, Owl Drug Vancouver, Dry Gin
Pepsi-Cola · 7-Up · Rainier beer · up to 1970s
Antique green glass bottles · excavated from the lot
Old ceramic spice jars & shakers · left behind in the building
Original brass locks, knobs & handles · fastened with solid brass nails, not screws
Locks & Handles
Brass hardware from the original construction
The brass locks, door knobs and handles were removed from the building during various renovations. The door handles were fastened with solid brass nails — not screws. The glass crystal knobs are original to the 1926 building. All of it was saved because someone thought it was worth keeping.
The Singer Sewing Machine
Treadle model · early 1900s
Sitting by the upstairs window is a cast-iron treadle Singer sewing machine on its original oak cabinet. The ornate gold scrollwork is still intact. Treadle Singers like this were common from the 1880s through the 1920s — foot-powered, no electricity needed. We keep it by the window where the light hits it well.
Singer treadle sewing machine · original oak cabinet · early 1900s
Vintage tube radio (Loewe Opta) · c. 1950s–60s
The Old Radio
Loewe Opta · c. 1950s–60s
A vintage Loewe Opta tube radio mounted on a wall bracket in the hallway. The hand sanitizer sitting on top of it is about as good a summary of this place as anything: something a hundred years old, something from last year, sharing the same wall.
100-Year Anniversary — March to April 2026
The history is on the walls upstairs. The sauna and massage are downstairs. We're running anniversary packages through April 6 — come in and see what 100 years looks like.
See Anniversary Specials →