First and Last

This house is located at 121 West 11th. It was home to Mount Pleasant's first blacksmith and 1924 mayor, William R. Owen.

James William Armstrong was a man of firsts. He was born in Peterborough, Ontario on October 31, 1826 and came to B.C. in 1858. He was the first white settler in New Westminster. Armstrong was the first merchant - he ran a general store from 1859 to 1873. He built the first house on the Fraser and the first flour mill (1861-71). 

This flour and sawmill owner was also a politician. Armstrong was elected one of the first town councillors and served from 1860 to 1873. He left that office to take the position of B.C. Minister of finance and agriculture under Amor DeCosmos, a position he held from 1873-76. In 1881, James was named provincial secretary and two years later became sheriff of Westminster County. He died on December 18, 195 in New Westminster.

William Henry Armstrong was a bridge builder who came from Stratford, ON where he was born on September 18, 1857. He started as a railway switchman at the age of 16 before getting involved with bridge construction. He was a master mechanic in Winnipeg from 1877-1883. Armstrong came even further west in 1883 and settled in Victoria. He worked then for CPR until. 1887.

After 1902, Armstrong's firm- Armstrong, Morrison and Balfour - built the Fraser River Bridge at New Westminster, Great Northern Railway Bridge across False Creek as well as Granville and Main Street bridges. In August of 1912, the firm started seven bridges and all were completed by May of 1913. Armstrong and his team paved many of Vancouver streets too.

William Armstrong is known as well for being B.C.'s first automotive owner. He bought B.C.'s first gasoline powered car in Boston in 1899.

This house is next door, 123 West 11th. During the 1920's it was home to Bruce McKelvie who was editor of the Province Newspaper and eventually moved on to the Victoria Colonist.

Balwant Singh Atwal was a Sikh priest who was well respected in his community. He was the first priest of the 2nd Ave. gurdwara (temple). His son, Hardail Singh Atwal was born August 28, 1912 - the first Canadian born Sikh. 

After Balwant's wife, Kartar Kaur, become ill, the family moved back to India. En route, Balwant was mistaken for a revolutionary and jailed in Singapore. His temple sent a letter telling authorities who Balwant was but it was never received.

Balwant Atwal was hanged on charges of sedition and political agitation against the British government in Lahore, India in March of 1917.

140 and 142 West 11th is a fine example of the way many homes were built at one time. A modest bungalow would be constructed at the back of the property. Then, when finances allowed, a more impressive structure was built at the front. The rear property was either torn down or converted to a workshop or perhaps a guest cottage.

Jack (John Henry Patrick) Avison was born on April 25, 1914 in Vancouver. This future orchestra conductor played his first piano at the age of 6 at Grandview Elementary. At 11, he broke in as pianist- announcer at a local radio station.

Avison earned a BA from UBC in 1935, a B.Mus from the University of Washington in 1936 and studied with Paul Hindemith at Julliard. He was a pianist for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Nicknamed 'Big John', Avison founded and conducted the 35-piece CBC Vancouver Chamber Orchestra. In 1971, he conducted the Canadian Arctic's first orchestral concert.

Jack Avison produced more than 40 recordings and is noted for his support for Canadian composers. He was part of 'the last generation of the pioneers of music in Canada.' He received the Order of Canada twice and died November 30, 1983.

All these people have helped to make Vancouver what it is. Once again, I have to express my appreciation for the website The History of Metropolitan Vancouver for the information. I got the information on the homes from a pamphlet produced by the Mount Business Improvement Area.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill, Vancouver, Jack Avison, history, Balwant Singh Atwal, William Henry Armstrong British Columbia, Canada, the Province, william R.Owen,UBC

Arts, Academics and Annacis Island

I am showing you some homes on Ontario Street in the Mount Pleasant District. 2205,2213 and 2221. These houses were built in 1908, 1909 at a cost of $2,000 each and the owner is listed as T.J. Whiteside.

Margaret Grant Andrew was an arts activist. She was born on March 19, 1912 in Kingston, ON. Her father was William L. Grant, a history professor and principal of Upper Canada College. Margaret graduated from McGill University in 1933 with a BA in economics and political science.

She worked in a bank then joined CBC when it started in 1933. In 1975 and 1976, Andrew was a school board trustee and the chairperson from 1977 to 1979. She was active in the BC Arts in Education Council, Vanier Institute of Family, Vancouver Art Gallery, Family Service Association and University Women's Club. As you can see, Margaret was a popular figure in the arts and academic field.

Margaret's husband, Geoffrey, was vice president of UBC and director of Association of Universities and Colleges in Canada. Margaret died July 30, 1982 and Geoffrey followed five years later.

Another academic history maker is Henry Forbes Angus, born in April 19, 1891 in Victoria. Angus got a BA from McGill University in 1911 and a MA from Oxford in 1919. In 1919, he joined UBC as an assistant professor of economics. He was head of political science, economics and sociology from 1930 through 1956. He was the first dean of graduate studies - 1949-1956 and Dean Emeritus 1956.

Angus was one of the few to publicly voice his opposition to the internment of the Japanese-Canadians. Angus received an LL.D from UBC in 1956. He died September 17, 1991 in Vancouver.

Henry's wife was an accomplished woman of her own right. Anne Margaret was born in Anatolia, Turkey, the daughter of a diplomat. She graduated from UBC in 1923 and was president of the University Women's club and a child welfare activist. Margaret wrote the first UBC student play entitled The High Priest in 1922 which was performed by the University Players' Club. She received an LL.D in 1933.

Francis (Francois Noel) Annance was an Abenaki explorer born in 1789 in St. Francis, Richelieu Valley in Quebec. He died in his birthplace in 1851.

Annance was a Abenaki interpretor's son. Francis was educated at Moor's Indian Charity School in New Hampshire. He joined the North West Co. in 1810 and supported the British in the War of 1812. He was chosen for a difficult expedition from Fort George to the Fraser in 1824 and was one of those men responsible for setting up Fort Langley in 1927.

Francis had many conflicts with Hudson Bay Co. chief factor John McLoughlin over a lack of promotion. (It is believed that this was due to Annance's native heritage) He resigned but was forced to work out the end of his contract. In 1845, Francis Annance returned to his hometown of St. Francis and took up work as a Protestant teacher. Annacis Island is named for him.

This house on West 6th was built in 1901. Mrs. Sarah Carlile is listed as the owner who applied for permits to build an addition to the home that year. It cost her $100. 


Thanks to The History of Metropolitan Vancouver for the information on our history makers. And thanks to Bob_2006's Photostream on Flickr for the information on the houses.

I hope you find the beauty around you.


Karen Magill, Vancouver, Margaret Grant Andrew, history, Geoffrey Andrew, Francis Annance British Columbia, Canada, Henry Angus, Anne Margaret,UBC

Hy and Alexander

On October 6, 1901, Harry Adaskin was born in Riga, Latvia. Harry was a musician, a child prodigy who played the violin from the age of 7. He was a founding member of the Hart House Quartet (1924). In 1946, Adaskin moved to Vancouver. He established the musical facility at UBC (University of British Columbia) and was well known for his efforts to popularize classical music. He received the Order of Canada in 1975, two days after he retired. Harry Adaskin died in Vancouver on April 7, 1994.

Hy Aisenstat was born in Calgary on April 28, 1926 in Calgary. He was the son of a Russian emigre wholesale grocer. Hy started in sales then owned a small oil company. In 1955, Hy and his wife Barbara opened Hy's Steak House after getting a $3,000 loan. Five years later, Aisenstat came to Vancouver and opened Hy's at the Sands, then the Mansion (1979) and Hy's Encore.

Hy's of Canada united 12 companies with restaurants across Canada, Chicago, Honolulu, Palm Springs and Beverly Hills. Hy smoke ten Havan cigars daily and liked to call his restaurants 'saloons'. He played host to such celebrities as Marlene Dietrich, Louis Armstrong, Bob Hope and others. On August 11, 1988, Hy Aisenstat died in Vancouver.

The first white male born on Burrard Inlet would go on to become a judge. On December 13, 1873, Henry Osborne Alexander was born at Hastings Mill. His father was Richard Alexander. Henry was educated at St. Paul's college in Esquimalt. He practised law in Vancouver after being called to the bar in 1896.

Alexander had a unique way about him. In 1908, two South Vancouver residents came before Magistrate Alexander arguing about who owned a specific rooster.  The Magistrate's solution was to set the rooster loose in the street and see which man he went to. He was an early, active member of the Royal Yacht Club. He died April 18, 1920.

Next up is Richard Henry Alexander who happened to be a storekeeper at Hastings Mill. And I suspect the father of Henry Alexander. Richard was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on March 26, 1844. He came with his parents to Toronto in 1855 and in 1862; Richard joined an expedition that journeyed from Minneapolis to the Fraser Gold fields. During this journey, Alexander kept a journal, which is now in the Vancouver City Archives.

Once the man got to New Westminster, he did odd jobs until 1870 when he went to work at the Hastings Mill Store. He rose quickly to the position of mill accountant then manager upon the death of Captain James Raymur. Alexander also served as justice of the peace, member of the Granville School Board and other various public positions before his death in Seattle on January 29, 1915.

Although I don't write on people that often - more on buildings and events - it is the people that have made this city the great place it is today.

I hope you find the beauty around you.


Karen Magill, Vancouver, Henry Alexander, history, Richard Alexander, Hy Aisentat British Columbia, Canada, Hy's Steak House, The Mansion,judge