YOU SHOULD KNOW: The History Of The City’s Grandview-Woodland Neighbourhood

colour photos by: Martin Knowles

by Stevie Wilson | When we hear the term “Grandview” we typically think of The Drive, cheap pizza joints, and the transit circus known as the Commercial-Broadway Station. With a geographical reach stretching all the way down to Burrard Inlet, however, the Grandview-Woodland area has plenty more to offer those who want to look a little further. One fun way to explore the neighbourhood is to try the Vancouver Heritage Foundation’s 11th Annual Heritage House Tour on June 2nd. They’re kicking off the sunny season with a fantastic walking tour featuring some of the city’s most stunning historic homes, five of which are conveniently located within walking distance of each other in Grandview. Before you head out to examine the sites, here’s a little more info about this expansive and culturally diverse region…

Prior to the 1890s, the Squamish communities in the area referred to the stretch of Inlet shore bordering Clark Drive to Nanaimo as Khupkhahpay’ay, which translates to “cedar tree”. As evidenced by the number of dedicated centers and cultural representations, this area still features a strong First Nations presence (one in ten Grandview-Woodland area residents identifies as Aboriginal or Métis).

This area first saw significant development during the mid to late 1800s, when the original Hastings Mill was operating at the foot of Dunlevy. During the 1890s, this section of the Inlet was booming with industry, and with the completion of the interurban rail line from Vancouver to New Westminster in 1891 the region experienced a wave of residential and commercial settlements. By 1982, the Cedar Cove area – near the intersection of present-day Powell and Wall Street – featured the Columbia Brewery, several mills, a slaughterhouse, and other important resource facilities that attracted labourers. Naturally, this development boosted the demand for local residences and businesses, and soon thereafter several wealthy families began purchasing lots in the area of present-day Broadway. In 1891, Park Drive was completed as a skid road for logging and served as a thoroughfare accompanying the busy streetcar line. It was named after its terminus at Buffalo Park on 15th Avenue, which was situated on land donated to the city by E.J. Clark. By 1911, however, the City had renamed Buffalo Park as Clark Park. Park Drive at 14th also featured a Buffalo Grocery (circa 1908), so there were clearly some bovine fans in the neighbourhood!

As for Park Drive, area merchants rallied in 1911 to change its name to Commercial Drive in an attempt to drive business interests to the area (go figure). It’s said that the name “Grand View” originated from a hand-painted sign located at the interurban stop on First Avenue in 1892, though city officials didn’t officially designate the modern scope of the area until 1969. Noted city archivist Major J.S. Matthews and other contemporary accounts suggest that it was indeed Edward Odlum who coined the term after noting how “grand” the westward views were. Early in the twentieth-century, local investors took advantage of the scenic landscape of the area and built large Queen Anne, Georgian Revival, and other grandiose-style homes.

Today, it’s one of Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhoods, featuring some remarkable architectural statistics: 57 percent of the homes in Grandview were built before 1946, with 44 percent of these built between 1911 and 1921. Landmark sites include the Brookhouse Residence on Parker (built in 1909), the famed Odlum Residence on Grant, the McTaggart’s home on Victoria Drive, and many more. As an area that has own grown enormously in density and popularity over the last decade, the story of Grandview’s rise as a residential and industrial center is weaved through the story of these estate homes as well as their more compact counterparts.

This year’s Heritage House Tour offers attendees the experience to learn about local history, observe the distinct character of this unique neighbourhood, and a special opportunity to hear from the Grandview Heritage Group. In an area boasting 52% of the city’s renter population, it’s an interesting place to see what home owners have done to celebrate their houses’ distinct legacies. The tour is likely to sell out quickly, so don’t miss your chance to sneak a peek at some of the finest homes that East Van has to offer. For more information on the VHF Heritage House Tour and other events, visit http://www.vancouverheritagefoundation.org.

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Stevie Wilson is an historian masquerading as a writer. After serving as an editor for the UBC History Journal, she’s decided to branch out with a cryptic agenda: encouraging the people of Vancouver to take notice of their local history and heritage with You Should Know, a Scout column that aims to reveal to readers the many historial things that they already see but might not undertstand.

YOU SHOULD KNOW: More About Local First Nations Leader & Icon, Joe Capilano

by Stevie Wilson | Just a few minutes from the bustling Park Royal Shopping Centre sits a quiet, isolated patch of hill that serves as the Squamish Nation Burial Ground. Tucked away amongst the residential milieu of private homes and apartments, this sacred site is the final resting place of many who have belonged to this indigenous community. The Squamish Nation Traditional Territory, comprised of 6,732 square kilometers, includes a significant portion of the Lower Mainland, including the North Shore. This unique burial setting features a small number of private graves. Among the burial markers and totem poles sits a large house-like structure made of stone: the Joe Capilano Mausoleum. It stands as a monument not only to a prominent community leader, but also to his activism and the fascinating historical narrative that envelops it.

Originally known as Sa7plek (Sahp-luk), Joe Capilano was born in 1854 (or 1840, depending who you ask) outside Squamish. While not much is known of his early life, he is said to have grown up in a reserve near the Capilano River and trained as a sawmill labourer and carver in North Vancouver (known back then as Moodyville). Prior to the influx of Roman Catholic missionaries to the Lower Mainland in the 1860s, Sa7plek had been raised in traditional Squamish teachings. By the time he married Mary Agnes Líxwelut in May 1872, however, his Catholic beliefs were steadfast and he chose to be baptized. His wife was a celebrated genealogist in her own right, and her grandfather is said to have welcomed George Vancouver to the Burrard Inlet in 1792. Sa7plek was championed by Roman Catholic officials in the area who saw him as a prime candidate for leadership due to his unique mix of Catholic and indigenous education. He was poised, they believed, to influence the spread of Catholicism across other Native communities. In 1895, he succeeded Chief Láwa as leader of the Squamish.

In 1906, after many ineffective attempts to negotiate with the Provincial government, the driven Sa7plek travelled to Ottawa to meet with Sir Wilfred Laurier, and then on to London to petition King Edward VII. Along with him were elders Chief Charley Isipaymilt (Cowichan) and Chief Basil David (Shuswap); all three seeking improved Native-White relations in BC. Specifically, they sought a lift on the potlatch ban, hunting and fishing restrictions, and various imposed regulations that limited self-sufficiency and inhibited their cultural and socio-economic traditions. Land claims were also a major issue. The leaders felt that their autonomy and titles had been severely challenged by white settlers. It was in preparation for this trip that Sa7plek was given his new name, Kiyapalanexw (Capilano) – a hereditary title meant to emphasize his high status to the Crown. In London, the men were awarded 15 minutes of the King’s time, though their petition was not formally presented to the monarch. An excerpt of their letter reads:

To His Most Gracious Majesty King Edward VII,

Perhaps we are amongst the most remote of your majesty’s subjects, yet we give place to none in our loyalty and devotion to your majesty’s person, and to the British crown.

Our home is beyond the great Atlantic ocean, beyond the great inland seas of Canada, beyond the vast wheat-growing prairies of Manitoba, beyond the majestic Rocky mountains, away on shores of the Pacific ocean.

[...] Sir James Douglas told us that large numbers of white people would come to our country, and in order to prevent trouble he designated large tracts of land for our use, and told us that if any white people encroached upon those lands he would remove them, which he did [. . .] But when Sir James Douglas was no longer governor other white people settled upon our lands and titles were issued to them by the British Columbian government. We have appealed to the Dominion government which is made up of men elected by the white people who are living on our lands [...]

We have our families to keep the same as the white man, and we know how to work as well as the white man; then why should we not have the same privileges as the white man?

In the end, no discernable changes were implemented (though they did send him away with some autographed portraits). Chief Capilano subsequently severed ties with the Catholic Church and banned them from his settlement, feeling that they did not support his mission for equality and land rights. In turn, Catholic officials felt Capilano was becoming too radical – he did no longer impress the sort of influence they had originally planned for him. The government’s inaction ultimately led to the creation of province-wide political organizations including the Indian Tribes of the Province of British Columbia, the Nisga’a Land Committee, and the Allied Tribes of British Columbia, among others. Chief Capilano’s initiative, though immediately unsuccessful, inspired new generations of Native people to take charge of their political agency.

Despite being pegged as a “troublemaker” by some non-Native critics for his repeated attempts to organize tribes, upon his death in 1910, Native leaders and communities celebrated Chief Capilano as a powerful leader and icon. Today, the North Shore features many landmarks bearing his name, including Capilano Lake, River, Road, and University.

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Stevie Wilson is an historian masquerading as a writer. After serving as an editor for the UBC History Journal, she’s decided to branch out with a cryptic agenda: encouraging the people of Vancouver to take notice of their local history and heritage with You Should Know, a Scout column that aims to reveal to readers the many historial things that they already see but might not undertstand.

YOU SHOULD KNOW: About The Local Nurse And Archivist Who Saved Vancouver

by Stevie Wilson | While a lot of Vancouverites might be familiar with celebrated local archivist Major James Skitt Matthews (aka “The Man Who Saved Vancouver”), there’s plenty to know about his wife and partner, Emily Matthews. Though not always recognized as such, “Mrs. J.S. Matthews” was James’ right hand in the organisation of the preliminary archives, and played an important role in procuring and cataloging Vancouver’s first recognized collection of reference documents. What’s more, she was a noted medical professional, too!

Emily Eliza Edwardes was born in 1879 and trained as a nurse at Vancouver City Hospital. After graduating in 1905 she moved to New York, where she ran the operating room at the Brooklyn Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital. An ambitious and capable worker, she was quickly promoted to “Lady Superintendent”, but the long hours and stress of hospital planning (and an ambiguous abdominal tumor) caused her to fall very ill indeed. Once recovered, she returned to Canada for rest. Soon thereafter, however, the First World War broke out and she was called upon for service once again. In 1915 Emily joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), joining the 2,411 Canadian nursing sisters enlisted overseas. She served in England, Egypt, and Salonika, and is noted as one of the survivors of the 1916 German torpedo attack on the Braemar Castle ship in the Aegean Sea. Emily was eventually discharged in 1919, recognized for her service and awarded the General Service and Victory Medals, among others.

James and Emily first met at the Vancouver City Hospital in 1902, when she worked as his nurse during a bout with typhoid. It wasn’t until 18 years later that they reconnected. A chance encounter at St. Paul’s Hospital caused him to reveal his admiration for his favourite nurse (she remembered him as a difficult patient). Emily had chosen to focus on her career rather than romance, so had never married. She was busy working as a massage therapist (at her own clinic, naturally), with James reeling from drawn-out divorce proceedings with his previous wife. True love eventually prevailed, and the two were married in September of 1920, three weeks after James’ divorce.

Their marriage came to be defined by their mutual involvement in the collection, organization, and development of historic Vancouver documents. Acting unofficially in his duties until a civic appointment in 1933, James kept the growing number of documents in various spots, including their modest home on Arbutus Street. Following a series of negotiations with City Council pertaining to the ownership and operation of the archives, these documents were ultimately incorporated to the City. Emily wasn’t just a mother (to their two cats, Jack and Jill), she was ultimately James’ partner, and her name features next to his on documents transferring ownership of archive materials. She also bequeathed a vast number of her personal documents, including wartime photographs, to the public archives.

In 1948, at the age of 73, Emily Matthews passed away after a battle with breast cancer. In her memory, Major Matthews designed and commissioned a stained glass window for Christ Church Cathedral, where her funeral took place. The Nurse Window, completed in 1950, stands as a tribute to nursing in Vancouver, and a vibrant memorial to Emily’s passion for caregiving. The City of Vancouver Archives acknowledges Emily as a co-founder and features a large bronze bust in her image, along with her husband. Because you know what they say: the couple that archives together stays together.

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Stevie Wilson is an historian masquerading as a writer. After serving as an editor for the UBC History Journal, she’s decided to branch out with a cryptic agenda: encouraging the people of Vancouver to take notice of their local history and heritage with You Should Know, a Scout column that aims to show you the things that you already see. Just nod your head and pretend you’re paying attention.

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YOU SHOULD KNOW: The Awesome History Of The Long Forgotten North Shore Ferries

by Stevie Wilson | Back in the mid 1860s, if you were looking to cross the Burrard Inlet from North Vancouver to Vancouver proper, you’d likely find yourself stuck in a private rowboat “captained” by “Navvy” Jack Thomas, a deserter from the Royal Navy. Fortunately in 1893, two years after the incorporation of the City of North Vancouver, a deal was inked with the Union Steamship Company to provide six scheduled (and far more accommodating) crossings a day. Until then, Navvy Jack and other small passenger boats – including the Sea Foam, the Chinaman, the Lily, the Elonora, and the Senator – bore the weight of intensifying residential and commercial activity in the area. Following a brief period in 1899 wherein the city reclaimed ownership of the service, the North Vancouver Ferry and Power Company took over. When the steam-powered North Vancouver Ferry No. 1 (aka the Norvan) proved too small to accommodate the growing Lonsdale population, sister ship North Vancouver Ferry No. 2 (aka the St. George) was launched with No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 eventually joining the ranks as well.

Naturally, West Vancouver had a ferry company all its own. In 1905, John Lawson purchased 160 acres of auctioned North Shore land from the provincial government, and along with his brother-in-law William C. Thompson commissioned two boats to transport would-be residents and prospective lot buyers under the name of “West Vancouver Launch Service”. These freight and passenger ferries were an instrumental force in the development of the relatively isolated area, as travel to and from “over town” had previously been a process dependent on the kindness of passing boats (and some well-placed flags) due to its limited number of private properties and settlements. Only a handful of tugboats and pilot ships were available to carry passengers back and forth.

In 1909, West Vancouver authorized the formation of the West Vancouver Ferry Company (a new firm formed by Lawson and Thompson with Robert Macpherson and John Sinclair) to own and operate the service. Three years later, however, Lawson was eager to sell out. By 1912 he had spent over $11,500 on the service and boats, and wasn’t seeing much profit. In 1912, the newly minted municipality bought the company for just $6,000. With the purchase came two boats: the 34 passenger West Vancouver No. 1 (formerly a fishing boat named Eileen), and the 40-passenger Sea Foam (not be confused with the North Van vessel that blew up in 1867), built in 1906. The West Vancouver No. 1 operated from 1909 to 1915, when it was sold to a new operator. In 1928, she sank in Thunder Bay, BC.

In 1913, a proper terminal – housing a ticket office and a tea room - was constructed at the foot of 14th street. From the West Vancouver archives:

The West Vancouver terminus at the foot of 14th Street was the headquarters of the ferry fleet. The standard run was to the foot of Columbia Street on the Vancouver waterfront . The trip took 25 minutes and ran on the hour. It cost 10 cents, and later 15, and one could buy a fare card for 10 or 20 rides. The ferries ran seven-days-a-week and 18-hours-a-day, later increasing in frequency to every half hour and every 20 minutes during rush hour. The crew consisted of a skipper, engineer, and sometimes a mate, who would circulate and punch the tickets and sometimes there was a lookout man too. The larger ferries had divided cabins – the fore-cabin was for smokers and was known as the “glory hole” – non-smokers reeled out of it, choking.

Of course, riding the ferry wasn’t without its hazards.

At 8:47 am on Monday, February 4, 1935, in thick fog, the West Vancouver No. 5 was westbound for the 14th Street terminus, reportedly on course, at a slow speed and approaching Prospect Point, when the sharp steel bow of the much bigger CPR ship “Princess Alice” loomed out of the fog. The “Alice” was inbound from Seattle, 47 minutes late. There was no time to try to dodge and the “Alice’s” bow cut into the ferry at an acute angle on the port side of the after cabin. It was obvious that the ferry would sink immediately. Luckily she carried few passengers on that trip, and only one (the elderly Mrs. William E. Burritt) was trapped, below decks. The bow of the “Alice” pinned her against the side of the cabin. Captain Darius Smith , aided by mate Hayes and lookout Arnold Garthorne, made valiant efforts to free her but the ferry went down so fast that the others had to drag Capt. Smith out before he went down with her.

But the end of the ferries was an eventual consequence of the opening of the Second Narrows Bridge in 1925 and then the Lions Gate Bridge in 1938. The two bridges rendered them impractical. Due to the security restrictions on bridge use, increased gas rationing, and the expense of bus fare, the ferries delayed their closure until after WWII. A referendum held in 1945 revealed that 80% of the population favoured the discontinuation of the service. In 1947, West Vancouver’s boats had their last sailing, followed by North Vancouver’s ferry farewell in 1958.

The Ferry Building in Ambleside, originally used as a ticket office and waiting room, still operates today as an art gallery. In Tofino, the North Vancouver #1 ferry is still intact, albeit tremendously weatherworn, as an above-water installment and accommodations on Strawberry Island. The North Vancouver Ferry No. 5 was repurposed into the Seven Seas Restaurant in Lonsdale until it was decommissioned in 2001, and the last remaining West Vancouver ferry, the Hollyburn, was run under Harbour Ferries as a tour boat before being scrapped in February, 2010.

And then came the Seabus, but…well…that’s another story.

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Stevie Wilson is an historian masquerading as a writer. After serving as an editor for the UBC History Journal, she’s decided to branch out with a cryptic agenda: encouraging the people of Vancouver to take notice of their local history and heritage with You Should Know, a Scout column that aims to show you the things that you already see. Just nod your head and pretend you’re paying attention.

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VANCOUVER DETAIL #279: The Sculpture At The Top Of Century House On Richards

Even in the fog it’s easy to make out the sculpture on the top of the old Beaux-Arts building at 432 Richards Street. From a distance it might look like two beavers spraying clouds of musk on your second to least favourite chess piece (the feeble rook), but the reality of it is far less exciting. It’s really just the emblem of the building’s original owner, the Canada Permanent Mortgage Corporation; two beavers flanking a lighthouse being the early Canadian equivalent of Helvetica in lower case. Not exactly riveting, but a facet of our city’s history nonetheless.

We know it not only as Century House, but also as the Canada Permanent Building, an old pile that has hosted many an unsuitable thing since the suits vacated it in 1951 (everything from a bank to a book store). Its most recent incarnation was as a club/restaurant called Century. If you’ve never heard of it, you didn’t miss much except for a mural-sized portrait of Che Guevara and seven shades of Tuscan regret colouring the splendour of a shell that had been shucked 50 years previous.

The Class “A” heritage building’s glory days may have been on pause for a while, but its granite bones still project a sense of power and permanence, and the interior, with all its gleaming marble and vaulted ceilings, remains one of the most dramatic in the city. Good luck to whoever hopes to resurrect it next.

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Vancouver Detail is an offshoot of Scout’s regular Seen In Vancouver column. With it, we aim to share the less macro scenes of our city’s awesomeness, the things that some of our more hurried readers might miss, from hidden works of art to all manner of unlikely but cool things lying in plain sight.

EVERYTHING SEEN IN VANCOUVER

YOU SHOULD KNOW: The Fishy History Of 611 Alexander On The Downtown Eastside

by Stevie Wilson | Nestled near the end of Railtown’s industrial promenade, the modern steel and glass elevator installation at 611 Alexander suggests the building hasn’t been in place for more than a few decades. Its contemporary facade, however, is deceptive; this wasn’t always a design and commerce center – it used to produce cans of fish. In 1913, the American Can Company acquired independent company Cliff & Sons, and thirteen years later a 363,000 square-foot plant was built at the intersection of Alexander and Princess. Architect and engineer Carl G. Preis designed the building, in additional to several other North American locations including Portland and Montreal. Featuring large windows and typically corporate-style design, it was, for many years, one of the largest reinforced concrete structures in the city. To build the tin can processing plant, rows of homes and popular brothels – indicated sometimes by madams’ names printed on the front tiles – were demolished. The busy Red Light District which encompassed the 500 and 600-block of Alexander would eventually move west into Chinatown and, later, to East Georgia, leaving this area to develop in its proximity to the port.

The site attracted workers from across the city, including newly landed immigrants taking root in the Strathcona North neighbourhood (perhaps because the clatter of punch presses was heard for blocks throughout the nightshift). During the Great Depression, the sprawling industrial landscape featured development nearby of shanties and dilapidated sheds housing out of luck WWI veterans and other poor on the site of the old Hastings Sawmill. These were described as the “’Jungles’ of 1931”, and contemporary reports by city archivist Major James Skitt Matthews indicate that at one point the population rose to two hundred and forty men. A July 1931 edition of the Vancouver Sun features a glimpse into the conditions of these sites.

In wartime, women accounted for half the work force at the ACC, where incredibly loud machinery necessitated the use of signals, lip-reading, and carefully observed routines. Earplugs were eventually deemed mandatory in later years (go figure). At its height, the ACC produced over 350 million cans annually, primarily related to fishing. The company did more than just can BC salmon though: apple sauce tins and beer cans were also part of production. It also built the canning materials for other local industries, including the Gulf of Georgia Cannery in Richmond.

By 1975 the number of labourers had dwindled to just over 300, due to advances in technology and the export of canning production to Ontario and Quebec. In 1988, the building was repurposed. Celebrated BC architect Bruno Freschi (of Expo ’86 fame) transformed the site into office and studios: a “chic design centre” where, according to historian Harold Kalman, the old and new was “mated”, as it were, as a reimagined commercial and artistic space. Currently housing the SFU School for the Contemporary Arts, Anne Star Textile Agency, and Artizia’s head offices (among others), this unique building continues to play a role in the city’s vibrant commercial industries. Legend has it that sometimes at night, when the moon is full, the old punch presses can still be heard, softly clacking away. Just kidding.

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Stevie Wilson is an historian masquerading as a writer. After serving as an editor for the UBC History Journal, she’s decided to branch out with a cryptic agenda: encouraging the people of Vancouver to take notice of their local history and heritage with You Should Know, a Scout column that aims to show you the things that you already see. Just nod your head and pretend you’re paying attention.

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YOU SHOULD KNOW: How The Penthouse Nightclub Became An X-Rated Local Icon

by Stevie Wilson | When you find yourself stuffed in a room elbow-to-elbow with Randy Rampage of D.O.A., Nardwuar, and women in feather headdresses, you know you’re in the right place. I certainly was, when I recently had the pleasure of attending the book launch for Liquor, Lust, and the Law. The work is an informative, passionate history of the Penthouse’s rise to stardom in Vancouver’s nightclub scene. While the launch party boasted a larger-than-life atmosphere with big band music, plenty of drinks, and even a teary-eyed speech from owner Danny Filippone, the star of the show that night was truly the establishment’s history. Rightfully so, for the Penthouse’s status as a historical landmark, complete with its own Heritage Vancouver tours, preceded the night’s celebrations, with the new publication capping off a long list of historical recognitions.

The first book to be published on the Penthouse, penned by local writer and musician Aaron Chapman, provides an additionally detailed account of the Filippone family, whose patriarch Giuseppe purchased the lot at 1019 Seymour Street in the early 1940s.

Initially operated as Eagle Time Delivery Systems and Diamond Cabs, and later Eagle Time Athletics, the space eventually transformed into an after-hours hotspot catering to those disenchanted with the lackluster Vancouver nightlife. Prohibition-era raids, bottle-club shenanigans, and true tales of celebrity encounters (including a curious story of Louis Armstrong cooking spaghetti) are but a few of the topics discussed in this unique retrospective.

Besides the infamous legacy of the Penthouse’s legal woes and Joe Philippone’s 1983 murder, there are plenty other exciting elements of the club’s history worth exploring, and Chapman does an excellent job demonstrating the inextricable relationship between the notorious establishment and the family that poured their heart and soul into it. There’s plenty of stories to tell: how Joe Filippone welcomed African American entertainers in a time where most venues (like the Hotel Vancouver) wouldn’t; how an incredible list of patrons, including Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and even Led Zeppelin cemented the Penthouse as a heavyweight in the cabaret scene of the 1940s through the 1970s; and just how many cabinet ministers enjoyed the exotic dancers and Vegas-style entertainment… Read more

YOU SHOULD KNOW: About The Groovy History Of Kitsilano’s Iconic “Naam” Eatery

by Stevie Wilson | We’re often inclined to forget that the buildings, spaces, and events that impact our lives (or don’t) had tremendous effects on those who experienced them before us -especially if these places are still in use. One example of this divide between our past and present notions of Vancouver are the food choices we face every day. You may take that veggie-dog-wrapped-in-cheesy-bread for granted, but just think of how noteworthy vegetarian meal options would have been in 1969.

As a case study for changing attitudes towards “rabbit food”, the Naam on West 4^th presents a unique cultural keystone that has aided in establishing both a community and a lifestyle for many Vancouverites. Founded in 1970 (or ‘68 depending on who you ask) on the principles of natural, animal-free cuisine influenced by Eastern philosophies and traditions, the Naam Café opened at 2722 West 4th (later 2724) in a space that had previously housed a fish & chips shop, a coffee bar, and a laundromat, among other businesses. Entering this busy district as a small eatery, the Naam would eventually take on many names and forms, including Naam Restaurant in 1980, Naam Store Grocery in 1982, and finally Naam Natural Food Restaurant in 1985. It’s said that the founders and followers of the Naam’s food movement were inspired by the teachings of guru Kirpal Singh, whose eponymous work translates from the Sanskrit for ‘’Name’’. Earlier followers of Singh, and devotees of the associated Surat Shabd Yoga, had previously opened a small Georgia Street café called God’s Little Kitchen.

As our city’s oldest natural food spot (not to be confused with the first vegetarian restaurant, a distinction that belongs to the nearby Golden Lotus Natural Foods in 1967), there’s a rich cultural history entrenched in the walls of this former 1930’s silk shoppe, one that continues to define and be re-defined by new generations. When Golden Lotus, which offered a Buddha’s Feast for 50 cents, shut its doors in the early ‘70s, enlightened flower children were drawn to the new restaurant on Rainbow Road – conveniently opened by a former cook of Golden Lotus – in droves, effectively creating a new mecca for counter-culture enthusiasts who were shunned by other establishments. Situated amongst other spiritually-focused shops such as Banyen Books (born out of a reading corner in Golden Lotus), Lifestream, and Nature’s Path, the community for Vancouver’s young eco-conscious population was vibrant. Anti-war activists, hippies, would-be Greenpeace members and more gathered at the Naam to discuss, eat, and live life in tune with tofu.

In addition to offering what one researcher aptly referred to as “stoner food”, the Naam’s menu has evolved over the years to feature vegan options as well as macrobiotic dishes, and caters to a wide variety of vegetarians, non-vegetarians, and hungry UBC students alike. Being one of the only 24hr spots in the city, it boasts a philosophy and atmosphere that hasn’t changed much over the years save for the influx of younger servers, who may or may not be under the same influences as their predecessors.

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Stevie Wilson is an historian masquerading as a writer. After serving as an editor for the UBC History Journal, she’s decided to branch out with a cryptic agenda: encouraging the people of Vancouver to take notice of their local history and heritage with You Should Know, a Scout column that aims to show you the things that you already see. Just nod your head and pretend you’re paying attention.

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YOU SHOULD KNOW: About The History Of Sunrise Market On The Downtown Eastside

by Stevie Wilson | Situated on the corner of Powell and Gore in Nihonmachi, the Japanese name for the Powell Street area, Sunrise Market and its neighbours offer a complex narrative that blends modern and historical identities to produce one of our city’s most unique palimpsests. Although recognized as a landmark in Vancouver’s Japantown (an area yet to be heritage-designated by the city), founder Leslie Joe and his wife Susan actually immigrated to Vancouver from China. Accounts suggest that the business may have actually been started by Joe’s uncle, prior to him taking ownership in 1956, and had been located elsewhere on Powell (perhaps without an English name) before moving to its current address. Inspired by the local demand for tofu in the Asian communities, the Joes began producing small batches in the back of the shop. Today Sunrise Soya is the top producer of tofu in Canada, with a large manufacturing plant housing 200 employees. Sunrise Market has stayed true to its community roots, and continues to attract a wide variety of shoppers of all cultures and cuisines.

The location of Sunrise at Powell and Gore on the Downtown Eastside is an especially important feature of its decades-long success and contributes heavily to its status as a landmark in the community and beyond. In the grand scheme of Japantown’s incredible history – one that cannot begin to be detailed in a short article – Sunrise is a relative newcomer. The busy market stands along a stretch of buildings and businesses that tell a long and intricate history of the success, oppression, racism, and expansion experienced (not necessarily in that order) by the Japanese community in Vancouver and surrounding areas – including the 7th September 1907 attack and subsequent riots by the Asiatic Exclusion League.

Prior to the establishment of the market, the address was home to Suzuki Fruit & Liquor in 1920, Yamamoto Fruits in 1936, and Kawasaki Confectioner, which boasted a wide assortment of Japanese treats. Sunrise has expanded next door into the Fuji Chop Suey Building at 314 Powell. Fuji Chop Suey was heralded as one of the important locales contributing to the development of the area’s rich multiculturalism from 1931-1942. Like Sunrise’s diverse Asian marketplace, this establishment focused on Japanese-style Chinese cuisine and was one of the only restaurants at the time where Japanese-Canadian women and children could enter. Later, the federal government used the banquet hall to organize the displacement of Japanese-Canadians during the the Second World War.

Founded well after the end of the war, Sunrise has contributed to the cultural revitalization of an area that never fully recovered from the property confiscation and internment that the Japanese community was subjected after Imperial Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour. Despite the Chinese background of the founders, the Joe family has made a significant effort to celebrate Japanese and numerous other cultural influences in their business, not least of which being the fantastic commissioned murals referencing Japanese ornamental motifs, Chinese dragons, and a native moon mask commemorating the murdered women of the Downtown Eastside. Layered with several complex histories, and contrasting associations and memories, the market was built upon and perpetuates a historical and heritage lineage that has changed and developed over time. Plus they offer great deals on fruit, too!

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Stevie Wilson is an historian masquerading as a writer. After serving as an editor for the UBC History Journal, she’s decided to branch out with a cryptic agenda: encouraging the people of Vancouver to take notice of their local history and heritage with You Should Know, a Scout column that aims to show you the things that you already see. Just nod your head and pretend you’re paying attention.

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YOU SHOULD KNOW: About The History Of The Cedar Cottage Neighbourhood

by Stevie Wilson | Before the dollar stores, cheap dosa spots, and abundance of basement suites spanning Fraser to Nanaimo, the Kensington-Cedar Cottage neighbourhood was a unique development area that played an essential role in cultivating the economic and cultural landscape of late nineteenth-century Vancouver. While it’s true that there was an actual Cedar Cottage Brewery in the area, the nomenclature of this diverse and expansive area goes much farther back than that. During the 1870s, pioneers of the Granville Townsite purchased a series of land plots along what would become the Kingsway corridor – it was then known than as Westminster Road (“Kingsway” wasn’t paved and named until 1913).

Following the establishment of an interurban tram system between the newly established Vancouver and New Westminster, the station named “Epworth” (also known as Cedar Cottage) contributed to the development of communities surrounding the area that is now home to the Croatian Cultural Center. Until its amalgamation into Vancouver in 1929, the area south of 15th Avenue was originally deemed South Vancouver, and would serve as a bustling commercial hotspot in the early 1900s, featuring Marfew Hall, “the largest hall in South Vancouver”. Centered around Commercial Street, between 15th and 20th Avenues, the epicentre of Cedar Cottage grew to include a silent movie theatre, a bank, a hardware store, and later, a roller coaster. The roller coaster didn’t last – the Depression of 1913 deemed this sort of thing a luxury – and neither did the growing economic and commercial intensity of this area that was “just like downtown, jammed with shoppers”. The pride and joy of area residents? The city’s only lake: Trout Lake, or as it was known in the 1870s, Blackie’s Lake.

Mr. Arthur Wilson built the actual cottage at the center of this history in 1886, having purchased 35 acres of land spanning the area of Knight and Kingsway. Wilson’s lot featured a grove of cedar trees and, as every old photograph of the area attests, it wasn’t the only one. The area was filled with vast expanses of trees, small homes, and Gibson Creek, one of the many salmon-filled waterways that fed into the China Creek system. Like China Creek, Gibson was eventually turned into a park after receding into a garbage dump.

In 1901 George Raywood built the Cedar Cottage Brewery at 1404 Kingsway, later known as Benson’s. Before becoming a mid-century Safeway, complete with requisite 20-year redevelopment restrictions, the brewery offered bottled beer delivered to your door for 75 cents. The development of Knight Street (formerly Knight Road) beginning in 1893, the Clark-Knight Diversion in 1907, and the Knight Street Bridge in 1974 all led to a denouement of the “cottage” era as KCC grew into a major thoroughfare and commuter route – recent cultural and economic revitalization notwithstanding.

Kensington-Cedar Cottage is a large area, bordering the region of Broadway up to 41st Ave, and features a history to match. Reflecting on the diversification, expansion, and changing character of our city, the neighbourhood offers more than a route to the suburbs. Despite it’s transition into an urban landscape, it’s a unique historical area, with plenty of stories as rich as the more archetypal over-emphasized “heritage” areas (I’m looking at you, Gastown). Check it out on a walking tour. You might just learn to love that basement suite of yours.

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Stevie Wilson is an historian masquerading as a writer. After serving as an editor for the UBC History Journal, she’s decided to branch out with a cryptic agenda: encouraging the people of Vancouver to take notice of their local history and heritage with You Should Know, a Scout column that aims to show you the things that you already see. Just nod your head and pretend you’re paying attention.

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YOU SHOULD KNOW: About The History Of “The Gabriola Mansion” In The West End

by Stevie Wilson | Tucked away in the walls of the majestic Gabriola at 1531 Davie St. are numerous sweet and savory Vancouver histories that have come to define the architectural and economic landscape of our city. Before the doors were shut on Romano’s Macaroni Grill – the West End’s most extravagant spot to dine on cannelloni and doodle on paper tablecloth – the Gabriola was home to Benjamin Tingley Rogers and family, of Rogers Sugar fame. In 1890, at the young age of 24, Rogers relocated from New York and established Western Canada’s first refinery, also the first non-resource-based industry in the city. His west coast home, built in 1900, reflected the local standard of grand Victorian estate homes that decorated the West End in the late 19th and early 20th century. As a settlement for select upper-class families in proximity to the Granville Townsite (Gastown), the area was once known as “Blueblood Alley”, given its population of wealthy CPR executives with a penchant for Queen Anne and Edwardian-builder style homes. Several later stages of development in the West End, including the migration of said wealthy families into the Shaughnessy area, gave rise to the construction of small apartments on Davie, Robson and later along English Bay. Subsequently, this led to the demolition and reconstitution of these large homes into rooming houses for lower-income families and individuals along the new streetcar routes.

The grandiose design of the Gabriola was completed by architect Samuel Maclure, and would house the Rogers family for seventeen years until an English sojourn inspired the Sugar King (not to be outdone by those Brits) to move into a much larger ten-acre property and garden in Shaughnessy (like his contemporaries). Featuring stained glass accents detailed by the Bloomfield Brothers and sandstone exterior quarried from Gabriola Island, his original quarters was known as “probably the most lavish private home ever constructed in B.C.”, and has remained largely unchanged – commercial purposes aside – thanks to generous restoration efforts by tenants, including the aforementioned Macaroni Grill. The exterior, specifically, appears exactly as it did over 100 years ago.

The property comes complete with rumours of hidden tunnels connecting to nightclubs and finishing schools, rum-running anecdotes, and eventually was repurposed into a 50-suite apartment under the name The Angus in 1925. Until the mid 1970’s, when the building began its transition into a series of restaurants, the Gabriola Mansion fell into significant disrepair, and was at one point poised for demolition (naturally). Today, the home stands as the last vestige of the area’s grand mansions, a testament to our city’s selective heritage preservation efforts, and a unique multipurpose lieux de memoire. Rest assured that despite the incessant rises in condos and home prices, Vancouver’s housing history is alive and well, and waiting to one day serve you spaghetti again.

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Stevie Wilson is an historian masquerading as a writer. After serving as an editor for the UBC History Journal, she’s decided to branch out with a cryptic agenda: encouraging the people of Vancouver to take notice of their local history and heritage with You Should Know, a Scout column that aims to show you the things that you already see. Just nod your head and pretend you’re paying attention.

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YOU SHOULD KNOW: About The History Of Vancouver’s Long Love Affair With Bowling

by Stevie Wilson | Long before Vancouver was synonymous with hockey riots, we were civilized, happy people who enjoyed life’s finest sport: bowling. Remnants of the city’s love affair with this sport are still visible and, more importantly, accessible. The Commodore Lanes at 838 Granville is currently the oldest surviving bowling center in Canada, and its history reveals much about Vancouver’s affections for The Big Lebowski’s sport of choice.

Opening its doors on September 7th, 1930, The Commodore Lanes was originally named “Commodore Recreations”. Inspired by the success and excitement surrounding Toronto-based Tommy F. Ryan’s 1909 move from ten-pin to five-pin bowling (Canada’s first), owner Frank Pavin introduced five-pin to Vancouver, and it was an instant hit. With Pavin came Mitz Nozaki, a young Japanese-Canadian who had been in the bowling trade since he was 13, working for Pavin as a pinboy (hand-setting the pins!) at Gastown’s Abbott Lanes, a ten-pin joint. Inspired to create new five-pin lanes to suit the sport’s sensibilities of weak-wristed Canadian players (we didn’t like how heavy the other balls were), Pavin was also one of the first to allow women to play the gentlemen’s sport, with a special promotion that let ladies play for free in the mornings.

The Commodore Lanes quickly became a popular spot among locals, and soon grew to attract the likes of celebrities such as Roy Rogers, Clark Gable, and Buster Crabb, to name just a few. The Commodore was also the first to rent out bowling shoes; a well-liked alternative to the ‘blackies’ typically worn over street shoes. Pavin and Nozaki are remembered by those who knew them as hard-working, dedicated bowlers who transformed the sport into one of Vancouver’s favourite pastimes. In fact, Nozaki is said to have been absent from the lanes for just one occasion: his forced internment in the Japanese camp at Sushwap’s Blind Bay for the course of the Second World War.

When Frank Pavin passed away in 1962, Nozaki purchased the Commodore Lanes and went on to become one of the most influential names in Vancouver’s five-pin bowling scene. With the rise of monthly newsletters and annuals such as Strikes ‘n’ Spares, Vancouver Bowling News, and PNE Bowling, tournaments became increasingly popular, including several held at the Commodore Lanes well into the 1980s. Until 1983, the lanes were home to numerous games and tournaments played by the Vancouver All-Star League, a 3-player, 4-game scratch pinfall league (home to the best of the best of the city’s bowlers). In 2004 at the age of 91, Mitz Nozaki passed away, a legend among Vancouver’s bowling community and the Commodore Lanes.

So the next time you’re feeling wound up about the Canucks losing (again), try your hand at some five-pin over at the Commodore Lanes. It’s cheap, it’s fun, and best of all, it’s historical! And if none of that tickles you, they also serve beer.

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Stevie Wilson is an historian masquerading as a writer. After serving as an editor for the UBC History Journal, she’s decided to branch out with a cryptic agenda: encouraging the people of Vancouver to take notice of their local history and heritage with You Should Know, a Scout column that aims to show you the things that you already see. Just nod your head and pretend you’re paying attention.

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YOU SHOULD KNOW: About The History Of The Oppenheimer Building At 102 Powell St.

by Stevie Wilson | Take a casual stroll past the Oppenheimer Building (better known these days as the Warehouse Studio) at Powell and Columbia and you’ll find its historical significance hardly apparent. Bryan Adams has done a nice job in keeping his multi-million dollar recording studio modest in the eyes of passersby, but this site wasn’t always so innocuous. In fact, it played a significant role in the growth of Vancouver, and that’s long before Slayer used it to recorded God Hates Us All.

Our city’s oldest brick building began construction in 1886. It was one of the only structures to endure the Great Fire, which ravaged the majority of fledgling Vancouver the same year. As one of the first post-fire structures to be completed, the Oppenheimer Brothers Store was built for Vancouver’s pioneer Jewish immigrant merchant family, headed by the industrious David Oppenheimer. With extensive ties to CP Railway (following a series of successful business ventures on the West Coast), the Oppenheimers settled at the Western terminus of the railway system and set up shop. The Oppenheimer’s economic success as Vancouver’s first wholesale grocery enterprise led to careers in politics. This saw David and his brother’s ascension to city council and their creation of the Vancouver Board of Trade in 1886.

Two years later, David Oppenheimer was elected the second mayor of Vancouver, with four one-year service terms culminating in the implementation of many significant civic services, including streetcars, a fire department, hospital development, and more, such as the lighting service we now know as BC Hydro. Eschewing salary in favour of selfless civic duty, one can imagine Oppenheimer as a tremendously well-liked politician (you don’t hear Gregor Robertson being hailed as ‘The Father of Vancouver’), and his business did well, too; the Oppenheimer Group still operates as one of the top wholesalers in North America. More importantly, we have the Oppenheimers to thank for those Mandarin oranges you eat each winter; the family was the first to import the fruits from Japan in 1891.

Despite an interesting shift in purpose and cultural significance after Adams’ 1997 purchase, the Oppenheimer site still attracts worldwide attention for its commercial value and the owner’s commitment to preserving its heritage features. From Nine Inch Nails to Stevie Nicks, the “Warehouse Studio” still imports a great amount of domestic and international commodities. The ‘ripeness’ of Nickelback’s studio recordings are, however, still open to debate.

MORE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

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Stevie Wilson is an historian masquerading as a writer. After serving as an editor for the UBC History Journal, she’s decided to branch out with a cryptic agenda: encouraging the people of Vancouver to take notice of their local history and heritage with You Should Know, a Scout column that aims to show you the things that you already see. Just nod your head and pretend you’re paying attention.

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