The building at 1872 Parker Street, on the south west corner of Victoria Drive, is a fine example of the Queen Anne style popular in the Grandview neighbourhood. It was built in 1909, probably for George N. Jordan, a realtor who lived there until 1916. The house is known locally as Brookhouse, named for a … Continue reading Brookhouse: The Interior
Back in May, I posted a first analysis of the 179 individuals who were counted as living on Park Drive (later known as Commercial Drive) at the time of the census in 1911. In this second part, I'll take a look at immigration patterns, employment, wages and the position of women. Of the 179 people, … Continue reading Who Lived Here In 1911 (Part 2)
We had a marvelous meeting last night, with lively discussion on a wide range of topics. These included: our Centenary Signs project (the signs will be ready next week); the age of the buildings on the 1200-block Lakewood Drive (1909 and 1910); wallpaper stylings in early heritage homes; the large number of "party hats" (or … Continue reading Meeting Notes
Next Tuesday there is an important public meeting about the future of transportation in Grandview. In anticipation of that meeting, I thought you might be interested to see this headline: This was the front page story in "The Highland Echo" dated 3rd November, 1938 -- seventy four years ago! We have been struggling with this … Continue reading Grandview Transportation: The Long View
Here's a photo, by Connie Minogue, of the group on the walk on Saturday morning in front of the monastery/manse of St. Francis of Assisi Church at Semlin and Napier. Thanks to everyone who came out and contributed to the financing of our Century House Signs project, which will be launched soon.
In an earlier post, we described how the Brandon Block on Commercial Drive was pushed back by seven feet when the street was widened in 1913. Further to that, I have now found the Local Improvement Schedule that includes the widening. The Schedule was published on 18th October 1911 and called for the widening of … Continue reading Widening Commercial Drive
One of our currently vacant storefronts is about to be taken over by, I believe, Pharmasave. Several people have said to me: "Why do we need another drug store on the Drive?" Fair enough question, and it led to me to see how many drug stores we have had on the Drive historically. The following … Continue reading Drug Stores On the Drive
The renovation of the old York Theatre at Commercial and E. Georgia is moving ahead quite quickly. As a result of the stripping of stucco from the south wall we now have another "ghost" sign: this one for the Little Theatre. It is not so easy to see, especially with the scaffolding still in place, … Continue reading York Theatre Renovation
I am reliably informed that the Jeffs House currently being renovated at Charles & Salsbury will be settled on its new foundations tomorrow. Might be fun to watch!
Thanks to everyone who came out for the history tour of Commercial Drive yesterday morning. It was great fun, we raised a little bit of money for our centenary birthday signs project, and we had a good time. Thanks again for your support! And don''t forget Michael Kluckner's walk through Grandview next month.
Local resident and author Michael Kluckner will lead a walking tour of a corner of Grandview, examining blocks of century-old builders' houses and contrasting them with the finer homes of the real-estate speculators who put the 'grand' into Grandview, as it were. All proceeds benefit the projects of Grandview Heritage Group. Gather at 9:45 am … Continue reading Grandview Walking Tour, July 7th
In the late spring of 1939, as the political situation in Europe darkened and war with Germany became inevitable, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth toured Canada by train to meet their subjects and bolster the bonds of Empire From small-town whistle stops on the Prairies to bustling cities coast to coast, eager crowds cheered, … Continue reading The King and Queen Visit Grandview
I have spent more than a few days recently with my head in the Canada Census for 1911. The original census takers' sheets are now available on line (I'll have more to say on that at the end of this post.) and it is possible to build up a fairly detailed picture of the pioneers … Continue reading Who Lived Here In 1911? (part 1)
For some while now, the Grandview Heritage Group has discussed the idea of placing celebratory signs on local houses and buildings that are 100 years old in a particular year. 1912 was an excellent year for buildings here and so we were keen to make sure the program kicked off this year. Therefore, we applied … Continue reading A Grant For Birthday Signs
There have been a few explanations of the name of our neighbourhood or, rather -- because the name is so obviously descriptive -- the date and person who coined the name. In the 1920s, City Archivist Major Matthews noted that Prof. Edward Odlum, scientist and local realtor, always claimed naming rights. I have now found … Continue reading The Name “Grandview”
Lily and Rose Streets are two of the most interesting oddities of Grandview, being "off the grid" of the surrounding streets. No doubt they were a function of lot-splitting at some early date. I have found what may be one of the first mentions of "Lily Street". In August 1907, famous local auctioneer J.J. Miller … Continue reading Before Lily Street Was Named
(This is an excerpt from the recently published Vanishing Vancouver: The Last 25 Years [Whitecap Books]. The photographs are from The History of Saint Francis Parish, Vancouver, published in 1959) The Franciscan Monastery, its front porch closed in, on Semlin at Napier in the 1950s There are just a handful of places in … Continue reading St. Francis of Assisi church and the Italian community
The stretch of elms that runs along 6th Avenue in the nine-block stretch between Woodland Drive and Nanaimo Street has been recognized by the Vancouver Heritage Foundation as one of the 125 Places That Matter, celebrating the city's 125th anniversary. We are told that the elms received the third largest number of votes out of … Continue reading Grandview’s Historic Elms Win Recognition
Historian Jak King will conduct a two-hour guided walk along Commercial Drive from Venables Street to Second Avenue. He will identify and discuss many of the heritage buildings along the route and relate stories of the people and businesses that occupied them. Meet up on the southeast corner of Venables & Commercial at 9:45am Saturday … Continue reading Commercial Drive Walking Tour: June 9th
The Alvarado Block, which still dominates the corner at Commercial & Graveley, opened for business one hundred years ago in 1912. Owners J.Y. Griffin and J.M. Brown received a building permit on the 7th April 1911 and they hired architects Townsend & Townsend to design a $16,000 three-storey brick edifice with stores and apartments. Townsend … Continue reading The Alvarado Block
grandviewheritagegroup.ca 