Author: Grandview Heritage Group

The history and heritage of the Grandview community in Vancouver, BC, Canada

The Grandview Database: An Introduction

In the menu above, you will find a listing: "Grandview Database".  This is an historical catalog of roughly 5,000 properties in Grandview, nearly 1,200 of which no longer exist. Each entry lists in chronological order all the information known about that lot or property, including, where appropriate, details of the properties that existed on that … Continue reading The Grandview Database: An Introduction →

Notes From The October Meeting

The October meeting of the Grandview Heritage Group was very well attended, including a very welcome visit by Patrick Gunn of Heritage Vancouver. Although a presentation took up much of the meeting, we were also able, as usual, to discuss a wide range of other topics. Jak King presented his Database of Grandview Properties which … Continue reading Notes From The October Meeting →

Notes From The September Meeting

The new season of meetings kicked off on Thursday with a good attendance. As usual, the discussion was wide-ranging and fascinating. We began as usual with our Around The Hood segment in which Eric leads us through an illustrated tour of various changes, sales, rumours etc within Grandview. This month we covered 17 properties. In … Continue reading Notes From The September Meeting →

Brand new Shelly’s plaque up on side of Via Tevere

Have a look at the plaque on the side of Via Tevere next to the preserved Shelly's advertisement. Steve Holmes has mounted a brand-new one. The original one, installed a couple of years ago when the sign was restored, had faded to white. We had installed a smaller one temporarily, but the new one is … Continue reading Brand new Shelly’s plaque up on side of Via Tevere →

Goad’s 1912 atlas now a VanMap layer

Regular readers of this blog, and researchers of local history, will be aware of the 1912 Goad's Fire Atlas, which has been available in low-res images on the national archives website for the past few years. As part of the fantastic digitization efforts undertaken by City of Vancouver Archives, the atlas is now available in … Continue reading Goad’s 1912 atlas now a VanMap layer →

Life & Death of Grandview’s Corner Grocery Stores

In an earlier post, we had described the presentation to GHG of the work created by our UBC student intern, Kevin Shackles, on the history, decline, and future of corner stores in Grandview, and their relationship to the development of retail business in the 20th century. Kevin's excellent illustrated thesis can now be viewed as … Continue reading Life & Death of Grandview’s Corner Grocery Stores →

History of Apartments: June 2nd

Our own Michael Kluckner is giving what sounds like a fascinating talk on the history of apartments and condos in Vancouver.  The following is from the Heritage Vancouver Foundation's notice: "A century ago, half of Vancouver’s population rented. Today, that proportion is unchanged, yet the city is so physically different it’s hard to imagine it … Continue reading History of Apartments: June 2nd →

Meeting Notes: April 2015

We had another exciting and stimulating meeting of the Grandview Heritage Group last night, with about 20 folks in attendance.  The topics we discussed were as wide-ranging as ever. Ann presented information about a film screening and an art show, both of which will be of interest to Vancouver urbanists.  At the Grunt Art Gallery … Continue reading Meeting Notes: April 2015 →

Notes From The March Meeting

Another full house attendance last night -- the Boardroom was bursting -- including several new attendees, with a lively level of conversations and questions.  As usual, we covered a lot of ground: We began with a presentation by Tania Willard about a piece of public art she is organizing.  The art work will be two … Continue reading Notes From The March Meeting →

Jack Burch at Age 92 Recalls Grandview’s 1920, 30s, 40s…

  Jack Burch worked at Grandview's local newspaper, the Highland Echo, from 1949 until he retired in 1994 as the owner and publisher. This video interview starts with Jack's experiences in Grandview in the 1920s and 1930s, and covers his experiences overseas in World War II. After the War, Jack describes his work at the … Continue reading Jack Burch at Age 92 Recalls Grandview’s 1920, 30s, 40s… →

The Sensational Develoment of Grandview

One hundred and ten years ago today, Grandview was essentially empty of residents with, perhaps, two score of enterprising families staking their claim in what was still mostly scrub and tree stumps. But then Dow & Co became agents for the newly opened sub-division, and they became our first boosters.  This Vancouver Daily World ad … Continue reading The Sensational Develoment of Grandview →