for cattle grazing and so failed. The land was renamed the Burns Bog and maintained its original state until around the 1940s, when peat harvesting began and parts of the bog were dug up. In 1907, Dominic Burns, a brother, oversaw the construction of Burns Foods' first slaughterhouse in Vancouver. When it was torn down in 1969 the man in charge of the demolition said it was the toughest building to destroy he had ever seen with brick walls that were thick. Burns constructed the historic 18 West Hastings Street as his regional head office and one of several retail outlets in the city. The building is a six-storey brick Edwardian commercial building on West Hastings Street, Vancouver. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Hastings Street corridor was the centre for Vancouver's trade and manufacturing. In 1910, Dominic had the Vancouver Block built on Granville Street, Vancouver. Dominic moved into the penthouse upon completion of the building in 1912 and lived there until his death in 1933. The building is recognized by its large clock tower and has incredible historic value with its prominent location, the highest point of land in Downtown Vancouver, and being an early example of Edwardian commercial buildings that typified the building boom at the turn of the 20th century. The Blakeburn coalmine, near Princeton and Coalmont, was another of Burns' ventures. Bow Valley Ranch The Bow Valley Farm became the functional headquarters of his cattle empire. Burns purchased the Ranche in 1902 from William Roper Hull. Burns also acquired adjacent sections of land, as they became available. Eventually, the Burns Ranch at Bow Valley included some bounded on the north by what is now Stampede Park, on the east by the Bow River, on the south by 146th Avenue, and on the west by MacLeod Trail, a large property by any standards but only a small segment of his ranching empire. The farm was an ideal location with respect to the Burns family meat packing plant. Many large cattle drives were brought to the site where the animals were bedded, fed, watered and rested before being herded to the stockyards. Burns frequently offered the hospitality of the ranch to distinguished people visiting the Calgary area. Hull was responsible for building the natural brick two storey Bow Valley Ranche House which was said to be the finest country home in the territories. When