While researching the previous post, I came across this image of the Methodist Church at Venables and Victoria. The quality of the image is not great (old newspaper + microfilm + online) but I am sure this is the earliest image of the church as it was taken before the dedication ceremony in March 1909, … Continue reading Venables and Victoria
At the last GHG meeting, we reported that Donato Calogero gave a wonderful presentation on the history of his house at 1350 Graveley Street. The research indicates that the house is almost certainly the oldest existing house in Grandview, having been moved twice in its 116 year life. Donato has graciously allowed us to include … Continue reading The House That Wouldn’t Fade
Vancouver is fortunate in having a very fine Library and City Archives (CVA) system that maintains an enormous body of documentary and visual evidence of Vancouver's history and heritage. There is, in fact, so much data available that it can be overwhelming for both professional and amateur researchers alike. To assist researchers, the CVA has … Continue reading Research Methods For Local History
The neighbourhood's ghost sign at Via Tevere Ristorante on Victoria Drive at William is the subject of a Vancouver Historical Society lecture on Thursday, September 22nd. I will be talking about the discovery of the sign, its restoration by the Grandview Heritage Group in 2012 or was it 2013, and the advertising campaign the bakery … Continue reading Lecture about the Shelly’s 4X sign
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 … Continue reading Notes To September Meeting
The wraps are off the Green House – the former rectory of the Grandview Methodist/United Church on Venables near Victoria, which is being renovated to resume its role as the administrative and workshop space for The Cultch. Kudos to the city and the contractor! Earlier posts on this thread tell the story....
Thanks to all the owners who are hosting our Centenary signs for our 5th year. As in a few previous years, we have concentrated the signs in one area – on a couple of blocks just east of The Drive on 2nd and 3rd Avenues. Easy to visit on your next visit to Continental Coffee! … Continue reading 2016–17 Centenary Houses
We had another interesting meeting last Thursday evening. Claire Shepansky gave an excellent presentation on her recent project which was to document and analyze the residential displacement caused by the building of the Britannia Community Centre in 1973-1974. The regular monthly feature on Neighbourhood Changes discussed Heritage Conservation Areas (as is being mooted for Mole … Continue reading Meeting Notes — June 2016
We had another lively, informative, and well-attended meeting last Thursday evening. After introductions: We took note of our fifth anniversary on 5th May Centenary Signs Campaign All the previous year's signs have been collected Maria and Donato have assembled a number of possibilities on the west side of Grandview It was agreed we will look … Continue reading Notes From The May Meeting
During a recent debate on the future of Commercial Drive, Jak King briefly described the historical/social processes that have created the Drive of today. These remarks may be of interest to our readers: "From its founding in the early years of the 1900s through to the Second World War, the Drive was a rather staid … Continue reading Getting To Today On The Drive
Today -- May 5th -- is the fifth anniversary of the very first meeting of the Grandview Heritage Group! Modest though we may be, I believe we are all proud of our achievements over this time. Here's to the next five years!
As mentioned in the minutes to the last meeting, GHG and GWAC are co-sponsoring one of this year's Jane's Walks (named for famed urbanist Jane Jacobs). The walk along the Drive -- with the theme Human Scale Urbanism -- will be led by Lewis Villegas and Steve Bohus. Jak King will tag along to offer … Continue reading Human Scale Urbanism On The Drive
The GHG had another interesting and productive meeting last night with a fine turnout for a warm "early summer" night, After introductions, Jak attempted to show a short video entitled "Living In Gunter's World" which takes viewers through a short history of surveying measurements and how that has directly affected the shape and history of … Continue reading Meeting Notes: April 2016
First, a reminder that GHG's first walking tour of the year is this Sunday. It is a walk and talk through the older industrial section of Grandview north of Hastings. It begins and ends at Pandora Park. Details can be found in this post. In addition. the Vancouver Heritage Foundation is holding a tour of … Continue reading Walking Tours
Join heritage expert John Stuart as he explores Grandview's industrial heritage. Sunday 10th April 2016, 11:00am Free (though donations to GHG are always happily accepted) Tour begins and ends at the facilities building at Pandora Park, Garden & Pandora "A feature of recent town planning has been the separation of work and living spaces. Today communities … Continue reading Grandview Heritage Walking Tour
In January, I wrote of the anniversary of the first meeting of the Grandview Ratepayers Association. Since then I have received correspondence from our friend Jim Wolf of New Westminster. He has sent the following image, probably taken in 1911, of Maxwell Smith, the Ratepayers' first President. Jim writes that Maxwell Smith was also a … Continue reading More on Maxwell Smith
Our February meeting ranged over a number of topics: • Cynthia Low, the ED of Britannia Community Services Centre, attended the meeting to ask whether GHG would be willing to coordinate a research project on the history of First Peoples in the Grandview area. It would involve consultation with Elders, a review of historic documentation, … Continue reading Notes from the February 18th meeting
As mentioned in the report on this month's meeting, I gave a presentation on the growth of Grandview using the data collated in the growing Grandview Database. This post is a brief and attenuated version of that report. In the maps that follow, the following streets are highlighted to allow orientation: It has often been … Continue reading The Growth of Grandview 1901-1915
The GHG had another well-attended and fascinating meeting last night, covering a wide range of topics: Eric took us through a long list of items on the regular Neighbourhood Update segment. We discussed the recent fires on Lily Street and Commercial Drive; land assembly around Broadway; new buildings on E. Peder and Ferndale; and another dozen … Continue reading Meeting Notes, January 2016
"The Grandview Ratepayers' Association was formally constituted last evening at a meeting held at the Grandview schoolhouse, the following officers being elected: President Maxwell Smith; vice-president J.J. Dougan; secretary-treasurer, J.R. Shannon. A constitution was adopted and immediate steps will be taken to secure recognition from the ratepayers' central executive. The the attention of the city … Continue reading GV Ratepayers’ Organized 105 Years Ago Today
grandviewheritagegroup.ca 