South Granville Back Stories
Where is this?
The construction of the Granville Street bridge in the 1950s dramatically altered the north end of the street because it was much higher than the old bridge and its approaches had to start further up the Granville Street slope. This obliterated the intersection and businesses which used to stand at more
Welcoming Royalty
In 1939, South Granville was decorated with flags and streamers hung on the light standards from the bridge to 15th Avenue to welcome the King and Queen to the neighbourhood. A special banner was hung across the street at 12th Avenue to greet the royal couple as they passed through more
Under the Asphalt
"The City Council have decided to use fir and cedar blocks for most of their street paving, and have adopted the policy of having them creosoted with a proper plant which forces the treatment through and through the wood. It is also claimed that the life of treated fir is more
The Stanley Theatre
The Stanley Theatre was popular with audiences from the day it opened in 1930 until it closed in 1991. With the threat of demolition hanging in the air, the theatre gained a new lease on life when the Arts Club Theatre Company announced it would take over the building and more
The Granville Street Bridge
In 1888 Canadian Pacific Railway work crews cut a new road, “a slit through the forest”, to the North Arm of the Fraser River. It crossed False Creek on a timber bridge erected by the City that same year. This would be the first of three bridges at this location. The more
The Big Land Owner
The Canadian Pacific Railway controlled over 6000 acres ( 2400 hectares) of land outside of the downtown peninsula and South Granville Street was right in the centre. In fact one of its early names was Centre Street which lasted until 1907 when the street officially became South Granville. 1907 was also more
Surrey, Selman, and Evans and others
As soon as the streetcar line was extended south from Broadway, a number of modest apartment buildings began to appear along South Granville. Some like the Edwards Block near Broadway continue to be popular places to rent while many others have been lost as the street developed. Evans Court at more
South Granville Street Cars
South Granville was on the tourist map in the 1940s as part of the city tour provided by the BC Electric Railway’s popular observation car. Well known conductor Teddy Lyon kept visitors and locals alike entertained. Here it has stopped outside Harry Bullen’s photograph studio at 2608 Granville Street. (City more
Second Granville Bridge was a feat of engineering
Second Granville Bridge was a feat of engineering: The 1910 edition of the Engineer and Contractor extolled the virtues of the new bridge across False Creek. The new bridge at Granville street is a very handsome structure, consisting of 25 plate girder spans and a draw span, the latter being more
Second Avenue, Third Avenue and Early Businesses
Second Ave In 1907 city council officially changed the name of the street from False Creek to the top of the hill at 9th Avenue to South Granville Street. Here's who was living or doing business on this block. 1800Fairview Cedar Lumber Company Rat Portage Lumber Company 1829J.L Smith, real estate Matsugo Hashimoto, merchant (1907/08) 1831Arthur Beamer, more
Sawdust and Doors
It's hard to imagine today, but just west of Granville Street between 10th and 11th Avenues at the lane was the BC Hardwood Floor Co. Ltd. Their three-storey factory announced in painted signs across the building that they turned out millwork, such as interior trim, sash and doors, stairs, mantles more
Safeway & The Piggly Wiggly
Safeway Stores started in Los Angeles a few years before World War One as the Sam Seelig Company. The modern Safeway was created when Seelig merged with Skaggs’ Cash Stores in 1926. In 1928 the company acquired the west coast Piggly Wiggly stores and the following year the first Safeway store more
Ravines, Creeks and Camping?
In 1885 Lachlan Hamilton made his way up the slope from False Creek to a spot next to a small ravine and creek where he set up a camp. Hamilton had chosen a spot pretty much at today's 10th and Granville. And this is where he set to surveying the more
Rat Portage
A strange name for a business, but the Rat Portage sawmill on False Creek was one of the largest operations in the city and took its name from the prairie town of Rat Portage. The False Creek mill opened in 1902 under the supervision of William Lamont Tait, probably better more
Piggly Wiggly? What’s a Piggly Wiggly?
The grocery store was founded in Memphis, Tennessee in 1916 by George Saunders as the first true self service grocery store in North America - previously customers stood at a counter and a clerk fetched the grocery items from the shelves. Saunders actually patented the idea of "self service" in more
Movie Theatres
Before the Stanley, movies could be seen at the Fairview Theatre, later the Roxy, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. The Fairview was demolished when Pacific Newspapers built their new printing plant and editorial offices for the Vancouver Sun and Province newspapers in the 1960's The Pacific Press plant was more
Lighting our world
In between the shopping and the eating take a close look at South Granville's street lights. Along with more modern poles there are a number of surviving older poles that feature a classical base and ornate covers for the bolts holding the pole to the sidewalk. Look closer and more
I’ve seen you before somewhere
The splendid apartment building on the south west corner of 14th and Granville might seem just a little bit familiar to some as it has a twin on east side of the city. It was J.C. Marshall who commissioned the firm of Leibert and Braughton to design the Crescent Apartments more
Hycroft, apartments and pottery
When the McRae family built their extraordinary house at the top of the hill at 16th and Granville, no expense was spared. And that extended to the garden where McRae hired a New York based landscape firm to design the ornamental gardens and terraced lawns that surrounded the house. To more
Good food and company—Remembering the Normandy Restaurant
For over 70 years, the Normandy was the popular spot at 2675 Granville Street to meet friends and grab a bite to eat. Simple, affordable fare, and good coffee were the main ingredients of this neighbourhood institution known to generations of Vancouverites. As popular as the food was, the more
Fourth Avenue
In 1907 city council officially changed the name of the street from False Creek to the top of the hill at 9th Avenue to South Granville Street. Here's who was living or doing business on this block. 2001M. M. Lemon, grocer 2003E. Marriott, cigar store: Walter Burke, barber (1907/08) 2014Percy Morley, laborer (house) 2021George more
Firehall No. 4
It wasn’t long before the street car service from downtown up to Broadway and over to Main Street in 1891 prompted construction on the south side of the creek. The earliest homes were built near the southern end of the bridge at 3rd. Avenue but with the opening of the more
Fifth Avenue
In 1907 the city council officially changed the street from False Creek to the top of the hill at 9th Avenue to South Granville Street. Here's who was living or doing business on this block. 2101C. A. Ingram, grocer 2103William Murphy, stationery 2109Wood and Son, shoe store (1907/08) 2111Sylvester Richards, carpenter (1907/08) 2113Fairview Electric Co. 2115R more
Emily Carr’s studio
For many years a modest two storey building on the north west corner of Broadway and Granville was home to Broadway Shoes. But few people knew that the artist Emily Carr had set up her studio on the second floor in 1912 after returning to Vancouver from her two years more
Dance the night away
South Granville wasn't short of fun. You could spend an evening with E. Earl Ellis at his Peter Pan Ballroom in the 1600 block of W. Broadway. The Spanish style building was a popular night spot with generations of Vancouverites. Harmony Hall across the street was an early home for more
Batter Up!
A who's who of baseball once played at Athletic Park at 5th Avenue just east of South Granville Street. Opened in April, 1913 with a huge parade from downtown, over 5000 fans enjoyed the opening game between the Tacoma Tigers and the Vancouver Beavers, who won easily 8 to 4. Athletic more
At the end of the city
Did you know 16th Ave was once the edge of Vancouver? When in April 1886 the City of Vancouver was formally established by an act of the legislature in Victoria the new city's boundaries were set with Nanaimo in the east and Alma to the west while 16th Avenue became more
A Slit in the Forest
It's been known as a "mud wallow", occasionally the North Arm Road and then Centre Street, before being officially named South Granville in December of 1907. Originally cut through the forest in 1888 by the Canadian Pacific Railway’s work crews, this “slit in the forest” became an important road link to more
15th & Granville
By 1916 automobiles had become a common sight on the city’s streets and South Granville started to see the construction of the first of several gas stations but there was only one automobile dealer. BC Motors had their showroom at 15th. Avenue just west of Granville Street and sold popular more
