Between 1908 and 1912, during the boom that essentially created Grandview, James Guinet was responsible for building at least 45 houses in the community, and probably more. But only the barest of facts are known about him. These are notes for a biography of what might be one of the most important figures of Grandview's … Continue reading James Guinet: A Builder of Grandview
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
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”
(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
In 1903 and 1904, Grandview (or "Grand View" as it was generally called then) was being opened, with uncleared lots being offered in dribs and drabs in the early months, and then in a rush as 1904 began. By early 1904, one particular realtor -- Dow, Fraser & Co. -- seemed to have cornered the … Continue reading How Grand View Was Sold
We had a splendid meeting last night, headlined by an excellent presentation from Bruce Macdonald regarding the need for a genuine mapping of Vancouver's neighbourhoods and, most importantly, the use of historically accurate and functionally useful names for these neighbourhoods. He noted, for example, that the bureaucratically-defined area of "Grandview-Woodlands" doesn't meet either criteria. The … Continue reading Mapping, Naming, Retail History and Fun
Jak's post below shows an ad offering the block bounded by Garden, Parker, Nanaimo and Napier for sale. Six houses had been completed by 1912 when the Goad's Atlas (mentioned in a previous post) was published. The great real-estate boom continued for another year or so before collapsing just before the beginning of the First … Continue reading More about “$300 a lot”
Back in the spring and summer of 1907, Grandview was the hot item both for speculative land investors and working class home-seekers. Much of the land east of Park Drive (now called Commercial Drive) had barely been cleared; new sub-divisions were arriving on the market all the time. This ad from an East End broker … Continue reading Grandview Subdivision — $300 per lot!
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?
grandviewheritagegroup.ca 