
Vancouver’s “West Side” is a catch-all term that describes the large area west of Ontario St south of False Creek and the Cambie, Granville, and Burrard St. bridges. It includes many neighbourhoods and micro-hoods, among them Marpole, Oakridge, Southlands, UBC, West Point Grey, Shaughnessy, Arbutus Ridge, Dunbar, Fairview, South Granville, Cambie Village, Kerrisdale, and Kitsilano. It is largely affluent and almost entirely residential, save for the vast Endowment Lands/Pacific Spirit Regional Park, UBC Campus, and high streets/villages such as Cornwall, West 4th, Broadway, West 41st, Granville, Oak, Cambie, Alma, and lower Yew. It is home to some of Vancouver’s most beloved beaches (Kits, Jericho, Spanish, Wreck), institutions (Jericho Sailing Club, Zulu Records), and restaurants (La Quercia, Bishop’s).
Much like East Van, the West Side’s entirety doesn’t have a personality of its own. It’s only in its pockets and strips that its real characters emerge. Some are a little sleepy, archly conservative, and decidedly NIMBYesque, while others more relaxed and inclusive. One – Kitsilano – can claim a counter-culture past, and still – somewhat amusingly – holds on to its hippiedom despite almost impossibly high commercial and residential rents and the dwarfing ratio of BMWs to bikes, strollers to dreadlocks, boutiques to head shops, and Kenny G. to Jimi Hendrix. On the whole, the West Side often feels like it’s very (voluntarily) separate from Vancouver, but no matter – with the right breeze and length of shadow, it’s sometime the best place on earth.



On the West Side at the moment (our HOOD palettes are ever-changing), we’re seeing the tri-colour of the Red-winged Blackbirds that hang around the ponds of Jericho Beach Park; the snot green signage at The Fringe Cafe; a shard of broken orange beach frisbee; the decrepit Hollywood Theatre facade; the “sponge-treatment Mediterranean” orange walls inside the Parthenon Supermarket; the shock of red on the top of Pileated Woodpecker’s head; a whole lot of Wreck Beach noob flesh; some rain-soaked concrete of the Museum of Anthropology; the first tee marshal’s shack at the University Golf Club; Kerrisdale Arena frontage tri-colour; the rust-coloured giant letters of the old “RIDGE” sign; the fine gravel baseball diamond at Trimble Park; the massive whale skeleton at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum.

THE ONLY WORKING FARM (UBC) WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS
QUALITY CLOTHES AT HILLS OF KERRISDALE
WHOLE WEEKENDS LOST IN THE SANDS OF KITS BEACH
SALVATION ARMY & SPCA THIRFT STORES
TEENAGERS SKIM BOARDING AT SPANISH BANKS
THE UNDER-UTILIZED ASSET THAT IS THE ARBUTUS CORRIDOR
P.D.’S HOT SHOP, SCARING LOWER MAINLAND MOMS OF SKATEBOARDERS SINCE THE 80s
FERAL RABBITS FORNICATING IN THE BRAMBLES AT JERICHO BEACH
NIMBYS AGAINST EVERYTHING THAT DOESN”T INCREASE THE VALUE OF THEIR PROPERTY
MORE ULTIMATE FRISBEE PLAYERS THAN PEOPLE LIVING IN POVERTY
RELICS FROM THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN WEST POINT GREY
– Kerrisdale is named after the former Scottish home of the McKinnon family, Kerry’s Dale, in 1897.
– During World War II there were several defenses built at UBC to ward off a feared Japanese invasion, including trios of strategically placed artillery guns.
– The Kerrisdale Arena was home to Vancouver’s first rock ‘n’ roll concert. Bill Haley and the Comets played there in 1957.
– Glenbrea Mansion in Shaughnessy was home to the Vancouver chapter of the Ku Klux Klan for just under a year from 1927-1928.
– Margaret Atwood got her start as a lecturer at UBC in the English Department.
-
Moderne Burger Chocolate Malted Milkshake
-
A quiet moment looking across the water from Kits
-
ferv
-
A pileated woodpecker in Pacific Spirit Park
-
-
Beaty Biodiversity Museum
-
49th Parallel Coffee
-
Peaceful Restaurant
-
Beaty Biodiversity Museum
-
Burrard Street Bridge, West Side
-
Leah's feet at UBC Farm
-
Topanga Cafe
-
Kits Point
-
-
-
Big fat otter sighting, Jericho park
-
-
UBC Farm
-
-
Beaty Biodiversity Museum
-
-
Kits Beach at Sunset
-
sdfb
-
Beaty Biodiversity Museum
-
asdf
-
-
Stormy day over a wintery Kits Pool
-
Najib's Special at Nuba on Broadway
-
49th Parallel Coffee on 4th
-
Wokkin' it
-
familia-style dishing
-
Leaches | Beaty Biodiversity Museum | UBC
-
UBC Farm | Outstanding in the Field
-
Outstanding in the Field Dinner At UBC Farm
-
Epic Wig Sale, Just imagine | West Side
-
Save the UBC Farm ©Scout
-
Jericho boats
-
Choppy seas | Kits
-
Jericho Sailing Club gardening solutions
-
Lumiere & db Bistro Moderne Opening
-
Kits Pool in full swing
-
laying down a blanket at Kits beach
-
Table aftermath
-
Radishes - Growing Chefs at MOV November 2010 MCS @ 654
-
-
Granville Island Public Market
-
-
Fairview Slopes view
-
Vancouver Lawn Bowling Club
-
-
Zulu Records
-
-
-
-
The Hollywood Theatre
-
Chef Andrea Carlson and John Bishop in the kitchen
-
Pacific salmon (perfect) with wheatberry, potato and smoked pork hash on parsley broth
-
Alignment
-
Zulu Records, West Fourth
-
Jericho Beach
-
Ben, worker bee
-
UBC FarmADE
-
Lumiere & db Bistro Moderne Opening
-
End of the day | West side beach
-
UBC Farm
-
Vancouver Lawn Bowling Club
-
Jumping from logs
-
Lumiere & db Bistro Moderne Opening
-
Museum of Vancouver
-
Feeding Redwing Blackbirds at Jericho
-
Adam Pegg in the kitchen at La Quercia
-
Poplar grove setting at UBC Farm
-
Emily Carr Grad Show
-
Nuba
-
Emily Carr Grad Show
-
John Bishop and Andrea Carlson
-
Beaucoup bakery construction, South Ganville
-
-
Perfect corn at UBC FarmADE
-
Lighting at Nuba
-
-
Dessert on North Arm Farm | Outstanding in the Field
-
Angus and Kate
-
In the poplar grove at UBC Farm
-
Suzanne Fulbrook | Emily Carr Grad Show
-
Lumiere & db Bistro Moderne Opening
-
Kits houses along Cornwall
-
kitchen laughs
-
Emily Carr Grad Show
-
Poplar grove setting at UBC Farm
-
Bakers Market Vanilla cupcake with cherry
-
UBC, West side
-
Standing on Jericho Beach looking East
-
Jonathan at UBC Farm | Outstanding in the Field
-
Baker Market Sandwhich cookies
-
-
Burrard Bridge - Twilight
-
Beaty Biodiversity Museum
-
Inside the renovated Museum of Anthropology
-
tony = awesome
-
Inside the renovated Museum of Anthropology
-
Lumiere & db Bistro Moderne Opening
-
Step Back Antiques
-
Chef Andrea Carlson at UBC Farm | Outstanding in the Field
-
Farmer's Apprentice Brunch
-
-
The Museum of Anthropology
-
Outstanding in the Field on North Arm Farm
-
Hanging out at Feast of Fields UBC ©Scout
-
Lumiere & db Bistro Moderne Opening
-
The Museum of Anthropology
-
Floating boat installation at The Museum of Anthropology
-
The Museum of Anthropology Bill Reid Rotunda
-
Poplar grove setting at UBC Farm
-
Halloween at Edible Canada
-
Pour of Nichol vineyards at UBC Farm
-
UBC Farm Chickens, West Van
-
West Side design crush
-
UBC Farm | Outstanding in the Field
-
Beaty Biodiversity Museum exhibition
-
Meanam noms
-
Bishops
-
-
-
Jericho
-
-
-
Outstanding in the Field | UBC Farm
-
Poplar grove setting at UBC Farm
-
Jericho boats
-
Poplar grove setting at UBC Farm
-
UBC Endowment Lands
-
Black Stone Press | blackstonepress.ca
-
Cleaning up at Kits Beach
-
Jericho sailing club window
-
View from Jericho Sailing Club
-
Wreck Beach, West side
-
The last fried chicken day at Refuel
-
Reader SS mid-air over the West Side Vancouver BC 1118am
-
Feast of Fields UBC Farm Tomato
-
South Seas, Granville Island, West Side
-
Zulu records
-
City Hall
-
-
Plating on the the last fried chicken day at Refuel
-
Fable chef and co-owner Trevor Bird during the restaurant's construction back in 2012
-
West side beach shot
-
Wreck Beach, UBC, Westside
-
-
Jane running fried chicken traffic at Refuel
-
Tiny daisies scattered across the grass at Jericho Park
-
Beaty Biodiversity Museum, UBC
-
Fable (light fixture shrapnel from Refuel - they're trying to sell - good score)
-
Vancouver Lawn Bowling Club
-
Outstanding in the Field
-
Oakwood
-
Early morning on Jericho Beach, West Side
-
Burrard Bridge
-
Jim Denevan Outstanding in the Fields
-
Kits, Jericho Park
-
-
UBC Farm
-
La Quercia, West Side
-
Kits brick apartment buildings
-
Burrard Street Bridge
-
Late afternoon at Jericho Sailing Club
-
Blossoms in Point Grey
-
Always take the Scenic Drive
-
Nuba on Broadway
-
Sun sinking behind the mountains as seen from Kits Beach
-
-
Peach and prosciutto at Nook
-
Under the Granville Street Bridge
-
Beaty Biodiversity Museum
———————————————–