This is the third chapter in my history of early Commercial Drive. Chapter One: In The Beginning Chapter Two: False Start * * * * What pushed things forward was the change in use of the interurban line and its inclusion in the city-wide streetcar system. The Vancouver Electric Car Co had been given rights … Continue reading The Drive: Birth of a Community (1901-1907)
. 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
. 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
Today — May 5th — is the seventh 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, including the Grandview Database, the annual Heritage Signs, helping to save the Green House next to the Cultch, advocating, … Continue reading Happy Birthday To Us!
Last Thursday we had the first GHG meeting of the year, and we had a very large attendance with several new faces; great to see everyone. As usual the discussions were wide-ranging. We first discussed the demolition of the General Paints building on Venables. This was originally the site of Ayers Paint. Although this is … Continue reading Notes From January Meeting
Today is the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Grandview Woodland Area Council. In the early 1960s, while Commercial Drive was beginning to enjoy a renewed prosperity following the wave of Italian merchants and families into the neighbourhood, there was great concern about the health, welfare and education of children in other areas of … Continue reading GWAC’s 50th Anniversary
We had a lot going on in the booth today -- detailed maps of early Grandview buildings, a very fine display of period interiors along with modern furniture that can be used to match the look, some interesting items from 1917, and access to the Grandview Database. The progress of folks interested in the booth … Continue reading GHG On Car Free Day
The GHG had another fine meeting last night, covering a diverse set of topics. During the 1940s and 1950s, oil heating was marketed across Canada, became a popular alternative, and many people had oil storage tanks buried in their yards. These days, the old tanks are considered a hazard and are generally removed, especially when … Continue reading Meeting Notes: May 2017
We had another great turnout for our first meeting of the year last night, and we managed to cover a great deal of ground. Eric began with his regular What's Happening in the Neighbourhood review The Cultch's Green House on Venables appears to be occupied now after an excellent program of renovation and restoration; The … Continue reading Meeting Notes: January 2017
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
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
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!
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
"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
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
As has become our tradition, GHG had a tent and table at the Commercial Drive Car Free Day festival yesterday (Sunday). It wsas a warm and sunny day, and we attracted a lot of traffic. Folks were interested in ourt displays of books, maps, mechanical articfacts, and bkow-ups of early advertizemements. We also did a … Continue reading GHG At Car Free Day!
Four years ago on Monday we had our first Grandview Heritage Group meeting in Craig’s kitchen in the middle of his rather chaotic home-renovation project! His lovely home is long-since complete, and GHG has accomplished quite a lot! So … CONGRATULATIONS! Good on us! Happy Anniversary!
In the early 1960s there was great concern about the health, welfare and education of children in Grandview, and the apparent slumming down of the neighbourhood in general. In that period, much of the health and welfare delivery system was in the hands of United Community Services (UCS, which eventually morphed into United Way). On … Continue reading GWAC Founded 51 Years Ago Today
There was a full house again for the GHG's monthly meeting, held (as always) in the boardroom at Britannia at 7 pm on the third Thursday. Cynthia Low, the executive director of Britannia, gave a Powerpoint presentation and listened to questions and comments about the ongoing planning process to replace the current Britannia Community Centre … Continue reading August 21st meeting recap
This fascinating structure is what is known as the Black House, on E. 6th by Main. Bruce Macdonald has been researching this property and is sure it is from 1889 and is perhaps the oldest building extant in Vancouver outside of the old downtown core. It is in solid shape and is currently occupied by … Continue reading Mount Pleasant Heritage Group
grandviewheritagegroup.ca 