Fabulous Pre Fab

When I think of the people who originally came to this area and homesteaded I tend to think of them slaving for hours as they cleared the land, planted crops and built homes. Those pioneers of yesteryear had to have been so handy; natural born carpenters the whole lot of them. I think of my own aptitude with a hammer and realize if it were up to me to build a home I would have frozen to death!

A little research has shown me that perhaps not everyone was as handy with a hammer and nails as I would have thought. For those who didn't have the time or were perhaps building challenged BC Mills Timber and Trading Co. in Vancouver would ship you a prefabricated kit house.

This kit house is on Grant Street and was constructed for Vancouver City Councillor Edward Faraday Odlum. A professor and realtor, Odlum is reputed to have named the neighbourhood Grandview.

This house on East 1st Avenue is Vancouver's only remaining example of BC Mills Design O-O-O. It is one of the larger and more elaborate examples of the Town House series.

Vancouver's last example of a BC Mills Church. Built in 1908 this was the Robertson Presbyterian Church until 1977. Then it became a Fijian Hindu temple and cultural centre.

The Shiv Mandir Shree Sanatan Dharm Ramayan Mandali of Fiji had a congregation of 600 and many of the parishioners could trace their roots back to Fiji.

The church is now deserted and plans are to incorporate the heritage building into a multiple conversion dwelling.

This last home I am showing you is on Adanac and is listed on the Heritage Register. It is an example of BC Mills Design L-L-L.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill, Vancouver, BC Mills Timber and Trading Co., kit homes, Edward Faraday Odlum, Grandview, British Columbia