The South Granville Centennial
has come and gone but the history lives on. Before a piece
of it disappears, take a walk up the alley on the west side
between 11th Avenue and 12th. You will find one of South Granville's
original structures – hay loft and all. Rumour has it that
illegal immigrants used to hide up in that loft during the
30's.
Did you know that a horse used to be stabled on the rooftop of Douglas Lodge?
These fabulous neighbourhood tidbits emerged during our Centennial fact finding and we decided that the pictures and stories were too good
just to gather dust in an archive. The South Granville Business Improvement Association
(SGBIA) wanted to honour its past and insure that our community
always knew its roots. Much of this information is shown here
on our website but we wanted to do more.
As a centennial project,
the BIA commissioned Vancouver historian, John Atkin to create
large plaques that tell the history of our community. Each
plaque tells a story about a specific item of interest in
our area. Whether it is the bridge, or the importance of the
streetcar or the fire hall, each plaque has a colourful selection
of pictures and text that help us tell our story to visitors
and residents alike. There are 12 plaques in total but we
intend to add more as resources and opportunities present
themselves.
These colourful plaques are on display throughout the South Granville area.
