June 18 - SOLD OUT | Lower Mount Pleasant: Immigrants, Industry and Institutions with Christine Hagemoen
Though it is hard to tell today, this area of Mount Pleasant–north of Broadway, west of Main St., east of Cambie–was once primarily residential and home for a multi-cultural community of families and individuals. Small pockets of the original dwellings, buildings, and businesses still exist and serve as a tangible reminder of the varied history of this part of the community. On this walk, we’ll explore the surprisingly rich history of this area and learn some of the stories of the families, workers, legacy businesses, and social groups who once called this unique part of Mount Pleasant home.
June 25 - SOLD OUT| Where Have I Been Walking: Glen Park with John Atkin
Between Fraser and Knight Street north of King Edward Avenue the area around Glen Park is an interesting mix of Craftsman bungalows, Vancouver Specials and some interesting infill projects situated in an area once known for its Chinese market gardens and Scandinavian community.
July 9 - SOLD OUT| Secrets of Southeast Mount Pleasant with Christine Hagemoen
The history of this area is informed by the streets that divide it. This walk will explore how these thoroughfares shaped the businesses, industries, and residential development of this part of Mount Pleasant. Explore quirky streets and alleys, discover “fossils” in the neighbourhood’s hardscape, learn about the area’s built and natural history, and meet some of the interesting people who once made their homes and livelihoods in this neighbourhood.
July 16 - SOLD OUT | Where Have I Been Walking: Knight Street and 49th Avenue with John Atkin
An eclectic mix of housing types can be found on both sides of Knight Street from 1940s bungalows, Vancouver Specials our modern heritage of 1970s homes as well as more recent construction.
July 23 - SOLD OUT | Fraserview: The Real Story of the War Vets' Pleasantville with Rob Howatson
Soldiers returning to Vancouver after WWII were shocked to discover that there was nowhere for them and their young families to live. They occupied the second Hotel Vancouver at Georgia and Granville Streets while Ottawa scrambled to provide affordable housing. One such effort was the CMHC’s Fraserview sub-division: 1,100 “apple box houses” hastily assembled across the city’s south slope on elegantly curving streets. Visit the remnants of this 1950s suburb and see what went wrong and what went right in Canada’s largest, detached-home, social housing project.
August 6 - SOLD OUT| Life's a Ditch: Grappling with the Fraser's North Arm with Rob Howatson
One of South Vancouver’s most prominent features is a narrow branch of the Fraser River that mariners lovingly call The Ditch. Long a source of seafood for local Indigenous communities, the waterway irrigated the city’s first farms in the 1800s, fed logs to mills in the 1900s and is today prime waterfront property for an increasing number of residential developments. Join lifelong “South Sloper” Rob Howatson for a gentle stroll along the foreshore and sluice its history for glittering story nuggets.
August 13 - SOLD OUT | Where Have I Been Walking: Below 45th Avenue with John Atkin
Long blocks of houses exhibiting a number of popular revival styles from the late 1920s with the more exuberant recent construction projects provide a feast for the eyes. Of note are the surviving Tudor revival homes designed by R.T. Perry for the Kerrisdale Home Building Company.
August 20 - RESCHEDULED FROM JULY 30 | Where Have I Been Walking: Above the Grandview Cut with John Atkin
Above the Grandview Cut Packed into the area between the Grandview Cut, Broadway and Nanaimo is a delightful and quirky collection of early houses mixed in with old and new renovations along with more recent construction projects.
August 27 - SOLD OUT | Where Have I Been Walking: Revival Styles, Bogs and Post Modernism with John Atkin Explore the streets west of Dunbar Street to the edge of Pacific Spirit Park with its revival house styles, interesting new construction and the city’s only remaining bog.
September 10 - 10 AM & 1 PM AVAILABLE | Fraserview's Shifting Shores with Rob Howatson
Vancouver’s southern edge was once far from city hall’s prying eyes and thus a loosely-run frontier for farmers, mill owners, and squatters. The Fraserview neighbourhood was tolerant of eccentrics who wished to build giant boats in their backyards or convert chicken coops to dance halls. Life by the river was easy, tough, fun and dangerous – sometimes all on the same day. Join lifelong “South Sloper” Rob Howatson to hear South Vancouver stories and explore a shoreline that still offers glimpses of a noisy, smoky, wild past, even as it transitions to a master-planned future.
*Please email mail@vancouverheritagefoundation.org to be added to the waiting list for sold out tours*
Christine Hagemoen, a 4th generation Vancouverite, is a Mount Pleasant based historical researcher, writer, and photographer. She is the You Should Know columnist at Scout Magazine and has written for Photo Life and Geist magazine. Christine recently published the first book in a series of guides titled Mount Pleasant Stories: Historical Walking Tours.
John Atkin is a civic historian, author and heritage consultant. He offers an interesting and offbeat insight into the city’s architecture, history and neighbourhoods through a series of unique and popular walking tours. These combine his interests in urban planning and development, a love of architecture and a fascination for the curious.
Rob Howatson is a writer and local historian specializing in South Vancouver’s past. He currently works for the City of Richmond at the Steveston Heritage Sites.
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