Neighbourhood Heritage Tours with VHF offered a chance to discover different areas of the city while exploring a selection of private and community spaces. Past tours include the unique, vibrant Grandview neighbourhood in 2019 and the diverse and culturally rich West End in 2018.
The tours were self-guided and ticket holders could choose which stops to visit and in which order. Volunteers and the ticket brochure offered historical information about each site as well as additional neighbourhood insight.
The tours were enjoyed on foot, by bike or by transit, although parking tips were also provided.
2019 - Grandview Heritage Tour
The Grandview and Commercial Drive neighbourhood is one of Vancouver’s earliest suburbs and has been shaped by decades of history. A diverse area and a popular spot to call home for many new immigrants in the past, Grandview today is an energetic, multi-cultural neighbourhood full of historic places, architectural heritage, well-utilized community spaces and legacy businesses. This tour offered a chance to tour a number of heritage spaces in the Grandview area, each telling a unique part of the story. The stops were located between East Hastings Street and East 1st Avenue, and between Clark Drive and Nanaimo Street.
Starting with the opening of the interurban rail line from Vancouver to New Westminster in 1891, there are layers of history to explore here. Now well-known for the vibrancy of Commercial Drive with its array of restaurants, cafes and businesses along with the influences of the Italian community in the post-war years, the neighbourhood that has grown around this walkable district offers a wide variety of residential and commercial development. Once the eastern boundary of the City of Vancouver, the unique vibrant character includes modest cottages, apartments, large mansions, and creative heritage adaptations.
Following on the success of the 2018 West End Heritage Tour, this tour was offered in a similar format with the chance to explore a variety of heritage places including private homes, community buildings and long-established businesses. Included on the tour were ten sites each offering private access to areas not open to the general public. Of the ten sites, five are private homes including a pioneering example of transforming a Vancouver Special and several character homes. Also included are exclusive access to the Dayton Boots Factory, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Templeton Secondary School and the šxʷqʷeləwən ct Carving Centre at the Britannia Community Services Centre.
Mellish Rust and Oxford Ivory
Founded in 1946 by Charlie Wohlford, the Dayton Boots Factory is recognized for its rugged reliable work boots. Credit: Martin Knowles for VHF
From Grandview Heritage Tour: "A long-time beacon for the Catholic and Italian community, the Romanesque-style church with bell tower adjoins a 1909 mansion formerly known as Wilga, built for Australian auctioneer William Miller during St. Francis of Assis is a long-time beacon for the Catholic and Italian community. The Romanesque-style church with bell tower adjoins a 1909 mansion formerly known as Wilga, built for Australian auctioneer William Miller during a time when Grandview was promoted as a rival of Shaughnessy.
At the turn of the 20th century, this neighbourhood saw rapid development driven by its proximity to good industrial jobs along the waterfront. This home is one of four built on this block in 1910 by local builder J.L. McKenzie. Credit: Martin Knowles for VHF
Architect Stephanie Robb is credited as a pioneer in the movement to restore and modernize Vancouver Specials through her dramatic 2001 transformation of this 1974 home. Credit: Martin Knowles for VHF
One of BC’s first junior high schools, Templeton Secondary was designed by local architects Sharp & Thompson with school board architect F.A.A. Barrs. Credit: Martin Knowles for VHF
Originally the Grandview Methodist Church (1909-1968) at the heart of this Anglo-Canadian working-class community, the building became Vancouver Free University from 1968-1973, which offered a wide range of accessible education to the burgeoning counterculture, and was honoured in 2012 with a VHF Places That Matter plaque. In 1973, it became the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, or The Cultch as it's now known. Credit: Martin Knowles for VHF
Mellish Rust and Oxford Ivory
Founded in 1946 by Charlie Wohlford, the Dayton Boots Factory is recognized for its rugged reliable work boots. Credit: Martin Knowles for VHF
From Grandview Heritage Tour: "A long-time beacon for the Catholic and Italian community, the Romanesque-style church with bell tower adjoins a 1909 mansion formerly known as Wilga, built for Australian auctioneer William Miller during St. Francis of Assis is a long-time beacon for the Catholic and Italian community. The Romanesque-style church with bell tower adjoins a 1909 mansion formerly known as Wilga, built for Australian auctioneer William Miller during a time when Grandview was promoted as a rival of Shaughnessy.
At the turn of the 20th century, this neighbourhood saw rapid development driven by its proximity to good industrial jobs along the waterfront. This home is one of four built on this block in 1910 by local builder J.L. McKenzie. Credit: Martin Knowles for VHF
Architect Stephanie Robb is credited as a pioneer in the movement to restore and modernize Vancouver Specials through her dramatic 2001 transformation of this 1974 home. Credit: Martin Knowles for VHF
One of BC’s first junior high schools, Templeton Secondary was designed by local architects Sharp & Thompson with school board architect F.A.A. Barrs. Credit: Martin Knowles for VHF
Originally the Grandview Methodist Church (1909-1968) at the heart of this Anglo-Canadian working-class community, the building became Vancouver Free University from 1968-1973, which offered a wide range of accessible education to the burgeoning counterculture, and was honoured in 2012 with a VHF Places That Matter plaque. In 1973, it became the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, or The Cultch as it's now known. Credit: Martin Knowles for VHF
2018 - West End Heritage Tour
The West End of Vancouver is a diverse and unique neighbourhood. Development of this area has seen many chapters from local First Nations communities, to an enclave for the city’s elite, a beatnik paradise for the hippie generation and now a vibrant, active community with a varied architectural legacy. VHF’s first self-guided neighbourhood tour offered a chance to learn about the built heritage of the area and its unique history. Ticket holders explored the storied area by foot, bike or car and got inside a variety of private and community buildings. They had opportunity to learn the history of each site and discover its part in the rich cultural heritage and community of the area.
Included on the tour were 15 stops all between Robson Street and English Bay, Stanley Park and Burrard Street. With a wide number of private residences and commercial buildings, the tour also included public spaces that help tell the story of the West End.
First owner of this early neighbourhood house, George Campbell, commissioned alterations in 1912 and over the years the house saw many changes including the removal of historic finishes.
In 1898, sisters Jessie and Mary Gordon founded Crofton House School in their family home nearby. The school moved to Kerrisdale in 1942 after the sisters’ retirement and the Gordon home was donated for community use.
Named for Jim Deva, long-time community activist and advocate for Vancouver’s LGBTQ2+ community, the plaza is a community gathering space in the heart of the Davie Street Village, flanked by the rainbow crosswalks.
This picture-perfect cottage started out on Hornby Street, built by George Leslie behind his main residence, now one of the oldest surviving houses in Vancouver dating to 1888.
Maxine MacGilvray commissioned this Mission Revival style building as the home of Maxine’s Beauty School. Many features were retained when the building was redeveloped in 2013.
Mole Hill Community Housing Society comprises 178 units of non-profit rental housing in 28 buildings. It is part of the oldest, most intact and restored square block of heritage homes in Vancouver, saved from demolition through the persistent efforts of West Enders and Vancouver residents in the 1990s.
Designed by Architect Percy Underwood as the new home of the Park Board at the entrance to Stanley Park, the building is a strong example of West Coast Modernism and has retained many of its original interior details.
The Queen Charlotte Apartments - a Spanish Colonial Revival building - is a well-preserved and restored example of early densification in the neighbourhood.
Roedde House Museum and Barclay Manor are two of nine early homes saved from demolition by community efforts led by the late Janet Bingham and restored as part of an innovative “park with houses” in the 1980s, Barclay Heritage Square. Credit: Martin Knowles Photo/Media
St. Andrew's-Wesley is a cathedral-style church designed by architects Twizell & Twizell to accommodate two congregations that came together in 1927 with the formation of the United Church of Canada.
The first St. Paul’s church on this site was hauled from Yaletown in the 1890s. In 1905, this larger Gothic Revival church was built alongside.
A landmark on the bay, the Sylvia, named after the owner’s daughter, began life as an apartment building with 77 rooms. It was converted to a hotel in 1936 and housed merchant marine crews during WWII.
First owner of this early neighbourhood house, George Campbell, commissioned alterations in 1912 and over the years the house saw many changes including the removal of historic finishes.
In 1898, sisters Jessie and Mary Gordon founded Crofton House School in their family home nearby. The school moved to Kerrisdale in 1942 after the sisters’ retirement and the Gordon home was donated for community use.
Named for Jim Deva, long-time community activist and advocate for Vancouver’s LGBTQ2+ community, the plaza is a community gathering space in the heart of the Davie Street Village, flanked by the rainbow crosswalks.
This picture-perfect cottage started out on Hornby Street, built by George Leslie behind his main residence, now one of the oldest surviving houses in Vancouver dating to 1888.
Maxine MacGilvray commissioned this Mission Revival style building as the home of Maxine’s Beauty School. Many features were retained when the building was redeveloped in 2013.
Mole Hill Community Housing Society comprises 178 units of non-profit rental housing in 28 buildings. It is part of the oldest, most intact and restored square block of heritage homes in Vancouver, saved from demolition through the persistent efforts of West Enders and Vancouver residents in the 1990s.
Designed by Architect Percy Underwood as the new home of the Park Board at the entrance to Stanley Park, the building is a strong example of West Coast Modernism and has retained many of its original interior details.
The Queen Charlotte Apartments - a Spanish Colonial Revival building - is a well-preserved and restored example of early densification in the neighbourhood.
Roedde House Museum and Barclay Manor are two of nine early homes saved from demolition by community efforts led by the late Janet Bingham and restored as part of an innovative “park with houses” in the 1980s, Barclay Heritage Square. Credit: Martin Knowles Photo/Media
St. Andrew's-Wesley is a cathedral-style church designed by architects Twizell & Twizell to accommodate two congregations that came together in 1927 with the formation of the United Church of Canada.
The first St. Paul’s church on this site was hauled from Yaletown in the 1890s. In 1905, this larger Gothic Revival church was built alongside.
A landmark on the bay, the Sylvia, named after the owner’s daughter, began life as an apartment building with 77 rooms. It was converted to a hotel in 1936 and housed merchant marine crews during WWII.
