Understand
Despite being a suburb of Vancouver today, New Westminster once eclipsed it in importance. Founded by the British in 1859 as the capital of the new colony of British Columbia, it was the first city incorporated in the colony. The name came from Queen Victoria for her favourite part of London and has earned the city the nickname "The Royal City". The hopes for colonial grandeur took a blow when Victoria was named the new capital of British Columbia in 1866. The city's importance continued to gradually decline as the major transportation routes moved north through Coquitlam and Burnaby into Vancouver, however many Victorian era houses and buildings remain giving the city a different feel than the rest of suburban Vancouver.
