At our regular meeting last night, Andrew Pask who is heading up the upcoming Community Plan for Grandview-Woodland, gave a presentation on the process. He then listened as we bombarded him with ideas for heritage issues that need to be front and centre in community planning for our neighbourhood. He took a lot of notes … Continue reading Grandview Community Plan and Heritage Issues
Author: Grandview Heritage Group
The history and heritage of the Grandview community in Vancouver, BC, Canada
Northwest from Victoria Park, c. 1920
Here's a photo looking northwest over Victoria Park from the top of Edward Odlum’s landmark 135-foot flagpole at the corner of Grant and Victoria Drive, c. 1920. [E. F. Odlum photo, courtesy of Ruth Raymond]
4th & Commercial: 1912
In August 1911, T.A. Allan and his brother received a building permit to erect a three-storey brick apartment building on the corner of Commercial & Fourth Avenue. In the previous two years, the Allan Brothers had erected large buildings at 1872 Barclay, 1460 Bute, 1860 Comox and 3216 E. First. By the spring of 1912, … Continue reading 4th & Commercial: 1912
Commercial Drive in 1912
Just to the east of Cotton Drive, site of the previous photo, stands Commercial Drive, and these are images taken the same year as the panorama of Grandview, one hundred years ago in 1912. The year 1912 saw the end of a major building boom that had been in play for a couple of years. … Continue reading Commercial Drive in 1912
Grandview in 1912
CVA 377-820 This is a marvelous panoramic shot of part of Grandview looking west from a point somewhere on Cotton Drive. Which avenue or street are we looking down, I wonder?
Captain Copp’s Exciting Life
One of the major real estate men who helped boost Grandview in the 1900s was Captain W.H. Copp who built a magnificent estate on Victoria Drive in 1905. An experienced sea captain, he had based himself in Vancouver before the city was even founded. In 1888, on a trip from Liverpool to Vancouver via Australia, … Continue reading Captain Copp’s Exciting Life
The Jeffs’ Residence at Charles and Salsbury
Local history buff and Grandview resident James Evans is the developer of the site on the northeast corner of Charles and Salsbury. He has negotiated a Heritage Revitalization Agreement with the City that enables him to retain the enormous 1907 Jeffs' mansion, move it closer to the corner, and renovate it. He will also add market … Continue reading The Jeffs’ Residence at Charles and Salsbury
Robertson Presbyterian Church Development
A large part of the iconic 1908/c.1921 Robertson Presbyterian Church (and from 1978-2011 a Fijian Hindu temple and cultural centre) will be demolished to make room for a ten-unit housing development on the corner of Napier and Salsbury. The south-facing wing and the west-pointing lean-to will be torn down. The remaining BC Mills Timber & … Continue reading Robertson Presbyterian Church Development
New copper steeple at St. Francis of Assisi
In this era of metal theft and high copper prices, it's wonderful to see the new copper steeple atop the St. Francis of Assisi Church on Napier at Semlin. The church dates from 1938; Franciscan monks had used the grand old house adjoining it as a monastery beginning about 1924. The monastery evolved into a … Continue reading New copper steeple at St. Francis of Assisi
Creating A New Storefront
I see that Liberty Wines are just about ready to open at 1622 Commercial, in the storefront that used to be Waazubee Cafe. I also see they are only taking the south side of what has now become a two-storefront building for the first time. The original property on this lot was an office with … Continue reading Creating A New Storefront
The Development of the 1500-block Commercial
From the earliest days of Grandview's development, the lots on the southeast corner of Commercial and Grant were owned by the Odlum family. Professor Odlum, the pioneering patriarch of the family, built himself a large house on Grant Street, leaving the lots along Commercial vacant, paying taxes on them and keeping them neat. In this … Continue reading The Development of the 1500-block Commercial
The York Theatre
The old York Theatre at 639 Commercial Drive is undergoing a massive renovation. It was originally constructed in 1913 as the Alcazar moving picture show theatre. It quickly became the home of Vancouver's Little Theatre Company who used the facilities for 54 years under the name York Theatre. Some while ago it became a movie … Continue reading The York Theatre
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