The Great Storm of '23 On Tuesday 5th June 1923, Vancouver was enjoying a heat wave, with noontime temperatures close to 80 across the city. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a storm erupted east of the city, moving rapidly west, moving first over Grandview and then much of downtown. "Great crashing in the heavens and … Continue reading 100 Years Ago Today in Grandview, #12
Category: 1920s
100 Years Ago Today in Grandview, #10
Strawberries In the early spring of 1923, shoppers in Vancouver had been buying strawberries from Washington State. However, on Monday 28th May 1923: "The first British Columbia straws were put on sale Monday by a Chinese vegetable dealer at 1409 Commercial Drive, two crates being received from his Woodward's Landing ranch ... The inspector declared … Continue reading 100 Years Ago Today in Grandview, #10
100 Years Ago Today in Grandview, #9
. On Friday, 18th May 1923, John Y. Steel received a $3,000 building permit for a new store at 1544 Commercial. Steel had operated a dry goods business at 1584 Commercial since 1918. This image from 1922 shows the empty lot beside the corner block. Steel had moved into his new building by the spring … Continue reading 100 Years Ago Today in Grandview, #9
100 Years Ago Today in Grandview, #8
One hundred years ago today it was Mother's Day and then, as now, flowers were the usual gift for the celebration. At the time of this ad in the Vancouver Sun, Grandview Florists had been established less than one year. They would stay on the Drive until the mid-1980s. The full history of the Buftons … Continue reading 100 Years Ago Today in Grandview, #8
100 Years Ago Today in Grandview, #7
A Major Accident Friday 27th April 1923 began as an ordinary working day. That afternoon, Drive power-broker and realtor Charles Smith was driving his touring car south on Commercial. He had in the car with him a Mr Wilbrand who was looking for a property, and a Mr. Robinson who seems to have been just … Continue reading 100 Years Ago Today in Grandview, #7
100 Years Ago Today in Grandview, #6
. Monday 19th March 1923 saw the first running of motor buses as scheduled units within the BC Electric system. It seems self-evident to us today that the bus would eventually take over the role in transit that streetcars used to serve. But in 1923, this was still a new and exciting development, allowing better … Continue reading 100 Years Ago Today in Grandview, #6
International Women’s Day: Catherine Bufton
In honour of International Women's Day, I thought I'd write a short piece on one of the most dynamic women ever to grace Grandview and Commercial Drive. Catherine Bufton (nee Drake) was born in Gloucester, England, in 1881. She emigrated to Manitoba where she met and married Hubert Bufton. After Hubert's service in World War … Continue reading International Women’s Day: Catherine Bufton
100 Years Ago Today in Grandview, #5
. Friday evening, 23rd February 1923, saw the opening of the new I.O.O.F. Hall at 1718 Graveley Street. The new building was described as "handsome" and "commodious", with electric heating. More than 250 members attended the opening banquet, and they enjoyed: "an interesting program of vocal and instrumental music, followed by dancing to the orchestra … Continue reading 100 Years Ago Today in Grandview, #5
100 Years Ago Today in Grandview, #4
. On Friday 9th February 1923, movie-goers at the Grandview Theatre on Commercial got their first chance to see fan-favourite Harold Lloyd as a country doctor who cures a girl (Mildred Davis); she promptly falls in love with him to the ire of her father (John T. Prince.)Having been released at the end of November, … Continue reading 100 Years Ago Today in Grandview, #4
100 Years Ago Today in Grandview, #2
. It was a big day for Grandview -- January 29th, 1923 -- as the Grandview Theatre debuted its brand-new $15,000 orchestral organ. It was, they said, "the last word in organs." You got all this, plus a Jackie Coogan feature, for just 30 cents!
100 Years Ago in Grandview, #1
. One hundred years ago today, on 24th January 1923, it was announced that the School Board had purchased the block between Lakewood & Templeton, and E. Georgia and Barnard (now Adanac), for the sum of $10,500, a price that was considered "exceptionally low". This would eventually become Templeton School.
Happy 100th Magnet Hardware!
. Magnet Hardware, which currently operates as a Home Hardware franchise on the corner of Commercial & Graveley, has been in business for exactly 100 years today. Magnet originally opened on 28th October 1922 “in the gallery of the Cal Van Market” at 25 Hastings Street. By early 1923, the business was located at 1515 … Continue reading Happy 100th Magnet Hardware!
Louis Toban: Drug Store Tycoon and Philanthropist
. Louis Toban was born in 1901 in Lithuania to a Jewish family. His father, Samuel Toban, came to Vancouver in 1910. The following year, Samuel’s wife and six children joined him and they were all naturalized as Canadian citizens in 1914.i It took a while for the Toban family to settle down; between 1914 … Continue reading Louis Toban: Drug Store Tycoon and Philanthropist
The Buftons of Commercial Drive: A Biographical Sketch
. The Bufton family opened a store on Commercial Drive in the early 1920s. By the time they closed their business in the 1980s, they had become Drive royalty, both as a result of their corporate longevity and also because of their active involvement in so many of the issues that faced Grandview in those … Continue reading The Buftons of Commercial Drive: A Biographical Sketch
The Viaduct That Saved Grandview (1938)
. The boom for building in Grandview was in the decade before the First World War, and by 1914, the neighbourhood was filling out and thriving. Unfortunately, the impact of the War and the business downturns immediately after, left the Drive without much opportunity for further development and expansion. These difficulties were exacerbated a decade … Continue reading The Viaduct That Saved Grandview (1938)
The 50 Year Struggle To Get A Library in Grandview
. It was during 1950 that the Grandview Chamber of Commerce took up the issue of a lack of a library in Grandview. The need for a library in the district had been recognized as far back as the 1920s, and a site on the northwest corner of 3rd and Commercial was selected and purchased … Continue reading The 50 Year Struggle To Get A Library in Grandview
House Contents, 1922
One hundred years ago today, 3rd June, 1922, there was an auction of household contents at 1549 E. 2nd in Grandview. The 6-room wooden house had been owned and occupied for some time by Albert Cameron and his wife, Susannah. Albert is listed in the census of the previous year as a carpenter in a … Continue reading House Contents, 1922
A Church, Lost and Found
. At the last monthly meeting of the Grandview Heritage Group, Jak presented his research on an early church in Grandview. The following is a version of that presentation (1). This story began with a mystery. In the 1905 Vancouver City Directory, there are just a few listings for Park Drive, the original name of … Continue reading A Church, Lost and Found
Drugs and Booze: The Rowdy History of 1761 Grant Street
The one-and-a-half storey house at 1761 Grant was built under a $2,250 building permit issued to W.H. Creitz at the beginning of January 1910. By May it was on the market, described as having seven rooms “with every up-to-date convenience built in.” It was “not an ordinary house; come and see it; if you see it, … Continue reading Drugs and Booze: The Rowdy History of 1761 Grant Street
The Rental Market in 1921 Grandview
An innovation of the 1921 Canada Census was to ask detailed questions regarding those who rented, how much rent they paid, and how many rooms they occupied. According to the 1921 Census counts, in the core district of Grandview, there were: 4,547 people living in rental accommodation, or 44.27% of the Census population; They were … Continue reading The Rental Market in 1921 Grandview