Notes To September Meeting

We enjoyed a wonderfully full and productive meeting last night. There were almost thirty people in attendance, many of them new to the group. They were interested and articulate, and it was great to welcome them all. The following agenda items were covered:

• Donato Calogero began the meeting with a wonderful presentation on his house at 1350 Graveley. He has conducted considerable research on the property including the collection of a marvellous group of photographs. Donato has discovered that the house was built on the shore of False Creek (then, 1200 E. 1st) probably in 1900. As part of the construction of the First Avenue Viaduct, the house was moved in 1937 to 1726 Clark Drive. In 1956 it was moved again to its present location on Graveley. It is concluded that this is the oldest continuously existing building in Grandview. Over the next short while we will work to put the presentation on this website for all to see. It was also agreed that we will design and erect a plaque noting this important history.
• Centenary Celebration Houses 2016:  We discussed this briefly. Unfortunately there was an online technical issue and we were unable to show the photographs.
• Eric gave another of his fine What’s Happening In the Neighbourhood presentations.
  • We noted the replacement of the Heritage Plaques previously stolen on Salsbury
  • We agreed to replace (for a second time) the plaque on Via Tevere building, damaged by sunlight
  • Work on the Cultch’s Green House is progressing well
  • There was a general note that some heritage houses for sale seem to be staying on the market longer than earlier this year
  • It was noted that Brookhouse (1872 Parker) is showing considerable signs of being damaged due to the length of time it has now sat unoccupied
  • Other properties on Victoria, 7th, 5th, Commercial, William, and Venables were reviewed
  • The current state of the maple trees in Grandview Park was also noted, several trees having already been felled
  • It was also noted that a number of development applications on Commercial Drive are asking for very limited or zero parking
• Eric also took us through a number of Upcoming Events. These include a number of tours via Heritage Vancouver, the Van Hist Society’s lecture on 9/22, and the Friends of Vancouver Archives fundraiser on 10/23
• Finally we discussed the future of GHG itself.  It was noted that the founders are getting older and several are currently working on projects unconnected to Grandview (and thus not suitable for presentation at the monthly meetings). Younger and active volunteers are needed to ensure that we carry on as successfully as we have in the past. However, tonight’s excellent turnout and program shows that the group clearly does have a promising future.