If you visit Port Coquitlam today, you’ll find it difficult to find a port, aside from a log sort yard a marina and a boat repair shop located some distance from each other along the Pitt River.

When the name “Port Coquitlam” was chosen  in about 1912, there were hopes for the creation of a major shipyard on the Pitt, but this never came to be.

Settlement in the area was focused  east and west of Shaughnessy Street, in what is still the downtown commercial area.  The attraction here was the junction of two rail lines, the Canadian Pacific main line and a branch line to New Westminster.  It’s true that the Coquitlam River runs through the middle of what was called “Westminster Junction,” and it’s a pretty stream, but you would be hard-pressed to operate any craft bigger than a canoe in its waters.  Continue reading →