Salsbury Sights

North of Hastings Street, there is an industrial area. Hidden among the warehouses and factories, is this treasure at 220 Salsbury Drive.

This house is a common design - a simple rectangular form with a front-gabled roof and an attached porch known as a Gabled Vernacular - however, the construction is unique.It is made from concrete blocks, which were likely made on site using a mold kit that was available at the time.

Concrete blocks with a rusticated face were a poor man's granite at the time. This material is usually found on retaining walls and gateposts on the big wooden houses east of Commercial Drive.

This house is probably from 1908. However, the source I am getting information from hasn't been able to find a building permit as of yet. The building appeared on Goad's map of 1911. Blacksmith Alex J. Ross is listed as living here at that time.

The next building I want to talk about is also on Salsbury. 1010 to be exact. It is an apartment building designed by Arthur Julius Bird for Caledonian Investment Co. Tradesmen, labourers were rapidly coming to the Grandview area and housing was needed for them.

The building permit is dated August 5, 1911 and R. Maclean and Co carried out the work at an estimated cost of $34,000. 

At the time this was built, there was almost no zoning restrictions and people were able to do basically whatever they wanted. This structure is just north of a grand home, 'Kurrajong'. (Here's my entry on that beautiful building)

There is a sort of do-as-you-please attitude to these structures. Here, the architect fancied up a plain Edwardian apartment block with bay windows framing the three entrances.

I want to thank the Grandview Heritage Group for the information on these buildings. 

I also want to tell you that from today until Saturday morning at 8 am PST, my eBook On The Right Side, My Story of Survival and Success, will be on sale for 99 cents in the UK and the US.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Barclay Heritage Square

Today I returned to the Barclay Heritage Square which resides in the square made by Barclay Street, Nicola Street, Haro Street and Broughton Street.

This is the entrance to Barclay Heritage Square. The entrance way as well as the walls in the nearby Fine Lawn Area were made out of granite from a turreted vintage home that was originally at the southeast corner of Broughton and Barclay. Unfortunately the house was demolished in 1984 as the development of the park was starting.

On the right side of the Roedde House Museum - which I wrote on earlier - there is an old Sycamore Maple tree and a row of Cappadocian Maples line Barclay Street. These trees were planted in the 1890s which makes them about as old as Vancouver itself. Or pretty close to it.

To be honest I have no clue what the difference is between a Sycamore Maple and a Cappadocian Maple so I took pictures of the trees in the area. They look impressive.

Perennial beds surround the entrance and are planted with hellebores, rhododendrums, viburnum and spring bulbs. That must be a gorgeous sight in the later spring and summer months.

The Fine lawn Area replaced an 1895 home that was not considered for rehabilitation due to its advanced state of disrepair.

Benches such as this one surround the lawn area. Visitors are welcome to sit and enjoy the majestic views of manmade beauties and nature's wonders.



The Centennial Fountain is in the middle of the park at the far end of the Fine Lawn. It was donated by the Wilkinson-Brighouse Family as a tribute to West End Pioneers. It is also a tribute to a resident who arrived in the West End wilderness in 1862, Sam Brighouse.

At 1459 Barclay Street is The George Weeks House which was built in 1895. It is now the Diamond Centre for Living and is run by the Friends for Life Society.

George Weeks served as a factor in the trading posts of Yale and Hope. He was also the manager of our city's first Hudson Bay Company store on Cordova Street.

In 1911 Weeks built a two storied apartment building on Nicola Street behind his house. The Shaftsbury Apartments consisted of six suites and sadly it didn't survive the revitalization of this square.

Weeks lived in this house until his death in 1948 and the Weeks family retained their residence for another forty years. Something you don't see a lot these days but I can imagine George sitting on the wrap around veranda watching his children and grandchildren and maybe even great granchildren playing on the large expanse of grass.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

TAGS:Vancouver, Karen Magill, Roedde House, West End,George Weeks,Barclay Heritage Square,History,The Shaftsbury Apartments,Maple Tree,Brighouse,