Belvedere

This is Belvedere Court, built in 1911. According to a 1927 fire insurance plan, the building's name was Harris Block so it was changed after that.

A few final notes on Mount Pleasant today. There is a street allure to the district, kept alive by the numerous amount of artists in the area. As well, the formation of the Fringe Festival, the Public Dreams Society and Video In Media Arts, the establishment of Mount Pleasant’s artist in residence program, and the conversion of the Western Front into a nationally-acclaimed art space are all events that have happened within Mount Pleasant and aid in the artistic, street culture atmosphere.

Artists have helped promote 'cultural ecology' in the area in addition to affecting the residential flavour by industrial spaces into live/work lofts. They have also added a vibrancy to Mount Pleasant by establishing numerous artist-led cafes, restaurant/bars, boutiques and galleries.

 Mount Pleasant is unique in another way. The composition of buildings. In the north-west sector, there are industrial buildings; in the northeast, there are apartments; in the south-west, a person will see the higher value homes on larger lots while in the southeast, there are more affordable, smaller homes. However, those affordable homes are rapidly becoming pricier. That, however, is commonplace for most of Vancouver. This is an expensive city to live in.

This variety in composition makes Mount Pleasant a diverse, culturally infused, desirable and unique. Since there are so many older places - places that have had the mortgages paid long ago - a person can rent a unit at a reasonable price. There is no need to increase rents beyond basic renovations. The mixed -use residential/industrial areas lower land values and house jobs.

However, the evil glass towers with large (ie expensive) square footage commercial space would take away from Mount Pleasant's look and atmosphere. Gone would be the independent business model, historic look, pedestrian friendly experience and the core of the Mount Pleasant Community Plan.

Other cities in North America, such as Portland and San Francisco, have embraced their heritage and older buildings. That gives those places a special look and feel. Why can't Vancouver do that?

This building is a 1910 structure.

This concludes much of my writings on Mount Pleasant. At least those that I will be getting from Ramp Vancouver since I have relayed all that information. However, there is a lot more photos to get!

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill, Vancouver, Belveder, Mount Pleasant Community Plan, Mount Pleasant, British Columbia