. William T. Oates ran the Grandview Stationery store at 1150 Commercial Drive from 1921-1924. He and his wife, Elizabeth, lived with their son Cresswell in three rooms above paying $50 a month. Not only was he a stationer but he also ran a kennel for cocker spaniels. On this day in 1923, he ran … Continue reading 100 Years Ago Today in Grandview, #17
. At a meeting on Friday 28th September 1923, the members and supporters of the Little Theatre approved "with much enthusiasm" the purchase of the Palace Theatre, 637 Commercial Drive. Built in 1913 as the Alcazar, it is now the York Theatre. For the previous two years, the Little Theatre -- described as "a true … Continue reading 100 Years Ago Today in Grandview, #15
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
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
. 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
. 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!
. 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 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 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
In the most recent Changes On The Drive, I reported that the building at 1301 Commercial, which most of us these days know as the Wonderbucks Building, is now for sale after lying empty for more than a year. The building has a fascinating history which I thought I might relate here. The Fraser family … Continue reading The Wonderbucks Building
Tomorrow is Remembrance Day when we celebrate our veterans. It seems an apt time therefore to look at how our newly-painted Legion Hall at 6th & Commercial came to be. The story is told through the pages of our local newspaper, "The Highland Echo". ***** Branch 179 of the Royal Canadian Legion was founded in … Continue reading Building The Legion Hall
Anyone who knows Commercial Drive knows Joe's Cafe on the corner of William Street. It is an unprepossessing single-storey flat-roofed structure, not unlike many other similar buildings along the Drive. This one has been that way since Harry Evans had it built in 1910: Building Permit issued 9th November 1910 Owner: Harry Evans Architect: Townshend … Continue reading What Might Have Been
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
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
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
A full house of about 25 for our November meeting... • Our Geography 429 student, Kevin Shackles, introduced himself to the group. He will be working on a project in the Spring to map the old grocery stores and other commercial storefronts of "back-street" Grandview (that is, not The Drive, not Hastings Street) and investigate … Continue reading Meeting Notes from November 20th
We had another fine turn-out for our October meeting, with some new and welcome faces. We began by discussing the Coalition of Vancouver Neighbourhood's all-candidates meeting. The candidates' responses re: the Heritage Action Plan were discussed. It was also noted that all parties other than Vision had stated their opposition to the current Grandview Community … Continue reading Notes From Our October Meeting
As reported in the previous post, Scott's Grocery is having a close-out sale; Steve and Esther, who have run it for more than 20 years, are retiring to Burnaby, the building has been sold, and the new owner reportedly wants to build "apartments" on the RM4-zoned site. Here's Scott's in Google Street View: ... and … Continue reading Scott’s and other grocery stores
We had another excellent meeting last night, with some new people joining us for the first time. I think they had a good tme. Our discussions included: the Green House next to the Cultch. Michael reviewed the history of our involvement and our desire to see the building renovated rather than demolished. It was noted … Continue reading Meeting Notes: February
I was recently asked about the growth of the number of restaurants on the Drive and I happen to have a graph I made in 2010 that shows that growth. The graph below shows the number of eating places on the Drive between Venables and the Cut annually from 1935 to 1956. In addition, the … Continue reading The Growth of Restaurants on The Drive
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