What's New

Built in 1913, Firehall 15 was saved from demolition by Heritage Vancouver in the early 2000s, and has been restored and incorporated into a new firehall.  It holds the distinction as the last hall in the City to use horses, due to the poor road conditions in the neighbourhood.

Built in 1910, the Walden Building provided low cost housing for the people of Riley Park for many years. On the corner is Helen's Grill, a Main Street fixture since 1961, complete with table top jukeboxes.  (1912 Major Matthews photo from City of Vancouver Archives).

This 1915 image shows the road to UBC on the left, then only a few years old. The other road led to Western Canada's first golf course, the Jericho Country Club. Queen Mary School can be seen in the distance. (1915 Major Matthews image from City of Vancouver Archives.)

There are two iconic landmarks in this photo: the Vancouver Law Courts in the foreground (now the Vancouver Art Gallery), and the towering Hotel Vancouver, in its second incarnation.
The first Hotel Vancouver was located at Granville and Georgia. The one in this photograph was built in 1916 at an astounding cost of over $3 million, the most expensive building the City had ever seen. At the time it was one of the grandest hotels in the British Empire. It closed in 1939 (when the current Hotel Vancouver opened) and was demolished in 1949, its remaining years spent as an army barracks and veteran housing. (1917 photo from City of Vancouver Archives).

The Great Northern Railway Company began operations in White Rock in 1909. At its peak there were 4 trains a day rolling through the small town, carrying construction materials, mail and passengers between Vancouver and Seattle.  Train service ended in 1975, and the station was converted into a museum.  (1925 image courtesy of BC Archives).

The building that housed the Kitsilano General Repair Shop in 1928 is still standing today. But the rest of 4th Avenue is unrecognizable.  (1928 Major Matthews photo from the Vancouver City Archives).

For thousands of years the area now known as White Rock was inhabited by a Coast Salish tribe called the Semiahmoo.  The town of White Rock grew from a Canada Customs mandate that ports of entry be located one mile from the border, which in 1846 was determined to be the 49th parallel. Then came the railway, bringing tourists from Vancouver and New Westminster.  The rock itself, stained white by seagull poop, was bright enough to be used as a beacon by 19th century sailors. Now it's painted white.  (1920-ish photo from BC Archives.)

This West End apartment building looks relatively unchanged after almost 100 years.  It was built by HH Stevens, a grocer from Yale BC who also built the Queen Charlotte on Nicola Street.  You can find a little more history on it here.  (1928 Major Matthews photo from City of Vancouver Archives). 

The Abbott House was built in 1900 on a picturesque bluff that once boasted a view of Coal Harbour. The neighbourhood, known as Blueblood Alley, was full of grand homes, but this is the last one standing.  Wealthy residents left the West end for Shaughnessy in the early 1900s, where a lot could be purchased for the princely sum of 50 bucks. The original owner, Henry Braithewaite Abbott, was a big shot for the CPR, and had a street named after him in Gastown.  (1985 City of Vancouver Planning Department image from the City of Vancouver Archives).

This 1913 building has undergone a few name changes over the years. It was originally called the Hotel Seward, then the Howard Hotel, and the Empire Hotel. Today it is a privately-owned SRO hotel called the Brandiz.  Back in the day this was a bustling corner of the city, with neighbours like the Pantages Theatre and the White Lunch Cafe.  It's original price tag was $60,000 and today is assessed at just over $10 million. (1935 Major Matthews image from the City of Vancouver City Archives).