What's New

It looks like Cambie Street turned into a dirt road at 49th when this photo was taken in 1952.  Things look a little different now.

Before it was a Safeway, it was Duke's Grocery. Since 2002 it's home to Dolce Amore, purveyors of grass-fed gelato. 

Built in 1902 and named after Sir Edward Hobart Seymour, commander of the British Navy during the Boxer Rebellion.  I'm not sure why he had a Vancouver elementary school named after him - we could probably find a few more candidates worthy of that honour. In the early 1970s the 'militant mothers of Raymur' successfully staged a protest to have a pedestrian overpass built so that their children could cross the train tracks to get to this school.  At some point the fancy cupolas were removed, but other than that it appears to be unchanged after 120 years.  

This building first appeared in the Vancouver records in 1896. At that time, the rest of the block appeared to be occupied by single females.  The ground floor has been occupied by numerous retailers over the years, and the upper floors appear to be housing. The building is currently owned by the Chinese Freemasons. 

This 1907 building was the home of the Universal Knitting Company, who shared it with the Morning Star Newspaper. In 1928 Universal moved its operation to Kingsway and 10th Avenue, making swimwear for Jantzen until 1997. It is currently occupied by Avenue Road, a high end design and furniture business.

The small houses shown here were built prior to 1889, and survived until 2006. The building on either side were completed in 1911 and 1912, and are still standing today.

The 1908 building on the corner originally housed a bank, a drug store and a dance academy. It burned down in the 1960s. In 1909 the Grand Palace Hotel was built next door, renamed the Austin Hotel until the 1980s. It's currently a Ramada Inn, and the corner building is home to yet another coffee shop.
   

Vancouver Motors was a Ford dealership that operated from 1926 until the 1960s, when it was renamed Dominion Motors. Ford, Mercury and Monarch models were sold here.  In the 1990s it became a Staples. It was designed by Townley and Matheson, whose art deco preferences can also be seen in the Dick Building at Broadway and Granville, as well as City Hall. 

Built in 1911 at a cost of $150,000, Caroline Court continues to provide rental housing to this day. Once a dominant presence on this quiet residential street, it is now surrounded by massive towers.   

This 1930 image shows the old Vancouver Club, on the right, for sale. The current home of the club looks pretty much the same as it did when it was built in 1914, although its membership has changed significantly (the once 'men only' club is now presided over by a woman). The old property is now a small urban park with city-owned parking underground.