Mission Murder

On January 28, 1973, a 14-year-old boy, David Watson, and his two younger sisters were searching for bottles beside the Cade Barr Road in Mission, BC. What they found was the body of a dead girl. The youngsters ran as fast as they could to the General Store - which was owned by their father - and told him about their find. The elder Watson called the R.C.M.P.

Corporal Bomba of the Mission Detachment of the R.C.M.P. went to where the children had found the body. There he found the corpse of a young woman, approximately 20 years old. She was fully clothed and didn't not appear to have been sexually molested. The only signs of injury were bruises on her face and neck. There was no identification on the body - only a business card  for a Vancouver Cab Company. Her face and hands were covered with a white, paste-like substance later found to be garden lime. Was this an attempt to destroy the young woman's identity?

Photographs were taken of the body and then it was removed to the morgue. An autopsy was performed by Dr. Sturrock the next day and it was determined the cause of death was suffocation.  A wad of tissue was in the girl's mouth and another, heavily bloodstained, was in her blouse.

The lime caused third-degree burns on the face and the decomposition suggested death  had occurred days prior to the body being found.

The murder had taken place elsewhere and the children found a body, which had been dumped from a vehicle than rolled into the gully. The R.C.M.P. supplied the media with a description of the victim. Following the news broadcast, four young boys turned in a flight bag containing women's clothing. The boys had found the bag in the bushes beside a railroad track. That location was two miles from where the body was found.

On January 31, the victim was identified as Kathleen Mary McKenzie. Her parents identified the body and the police later confirmed the identity through fingerprint comparison.

Kathleen was in fact 20-years-old and she was living in a basement suite with a young couple Ivan Horvat and Dorothy Irish at 2679 Adanac Street.

February 1, 1973, R.C.M.P. officers went to the Adanac address and spoke with the landlord, Mr. Gobler. Gobler told the officers the suite was rented to Kathy McKenzie on December 30, 1972. Just after the first of the year, a couple - Horvat and Irish - moved in with McKenzie. The landlord had last seen McKenzie in mid-January and the other two had moved out on January 31. They left no forwarding address.

The suite was little more than a cupboard below the front steps of the house and was used as a wine cellar by a previous tenant. When the R.C.M.P. examined it, they found a few personal belongings of Kathleen McKenzie and furniture.

The above information is from the book Policebeat: 24 Vancouver Murders by Joe Swan. Thank you.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

George William Grant

When I "discovered" the Heather Pavilion, the first thing that caught my attention was this - a statue of one of my heroes, Rick Hansen. For 17 years, it resided on the grounds of Rogers Arena but was displaced due to condo developments. Now, this sculptor by Willliam (Bill) Koochin has a new home.

I was looking for information on the architect, George William Grant, who helped design the Heather Pavilion. The biography seems to be under construction but I did find a list of places he designed. So I will list those.

The first list is places designed under the name of George William Grant alone and I am only including those in Vancouver.

CORDOVA STREET, at Abbott Street, commercial block for W.B. Wilson, 1887
EDMONDS BLOCK, Abbott Street at Water Street, for Henry V. Edmonds, 1888-89
BROWNING BLOCK, Granville Street at Dunsmuir Street, for J.M. Browning, 1894
WATER STREET, a 3 storey block for Major Twigge and E. Cook, 1895
STEVESTON, B.C., Phoenix Cannery Co., 1896-97
WEST END PUBLIC SCHOOL, Hornby Street, additions, 1897
DONALD SMITH BLOCK, Georgia Street at Granville Street, conversion and renovation of the existing building for residential flats on three floors, 1898
LORD STRATHCONA BLOCK, Granville Street at Georgia Street, remodelling and interior alterations, 1898
W.H. LECKIE CO, Granville Street, commercial block with Imperial Bank, 1898
B.C. SUGAR REFINERY CO. LTD., on the waterfront at Raymur Avenue, warehouse, 1898; with addition of a two storey office block by Grant and Henderson, 1904
HASTINGS STREET, near Carrall Street, four-storey block for B.B. Johnston and Co., 1899
HASTINGS STREET, between Cambie Street and Abbott Street, block for Johnston and Kerfoot, 1899 HASTINGS STREET, three storey block for F. Rathgeber "adjoining the Henderson Bros. Block", 1899 WALKER BUILDING, Hastings Street, "...next to the Free Library building", for Sam Walker, 1899 McLENNAN, McFEELY and CO., Pender Street, warehouse, 1900
McKAY BLOCK, Pender Street, stores and dwellings, 1900
ORMIDALE BLOCK, West Hastings Street, 1900
CARNEGIE LIBRARY, Main Street at Hastings Street, 1901-03
PENDER STREET, warehouse for J. Lewerke, located "...beside the warehouse of McLennan, McFeely and Co.", 1902
TUNSTALL BLOCK, Granville Street at Dunsmuir Street, for Dr. Simon J. Tunstall, 1902
GRANVILLE STREET, commercial block for B. Davidson "...immediately south of Ms. R. Leigh Spencer Real Estate and Mining Co.", 1902
HENDERSON BROTHERS, Pender Street, warehouse, 1902
CORDOVA STREET, near Columbia Avenue, a three storey brick stable for Atkins and Johnson, 1902-03

Carnegie Centre

BC Sugar Refinery

Here is a list of buildings designed under the name of Grant and Henderson

CORDOVA STREET, commercial block for S. Willams of San Francisco, 1903
HASTINGS STREET, commercial block for John Lewerke, 1903
MINT BUILDING, Carrall Street at Hastings Street, for Mrs. Templeton, 1903
NELSON STREET, residence for Dr. W.E. Emmons, 1903; demol. 1976
VANCOUVER GENERAL HOSPITAL, Heather Street at West 10th Avenue, 1904-05; Isolation Hospital, 1905; addition 1908; Southwest Wing, 1911
ROAF BLOCK, Richards Street, 1905
TEMPLE BUILDING, Pender Street, for Richard V. Winch, 1905
PENDRILL STREET, near Bute Street, residence for Walter H. Ker, 1905
BURNABY STREET, near Cardero Street, residence for Edgar S. Lee, 1906
NELSON STREET, residence for Almeron S. Cross, 1906
WALSH BLOCK, Pender Street at Richards Street, for William Walsh, 1906
NEW WESTMINSTER, residence for Dr. E.J. Rothwell, 6th Street, 1906
EVANS, COLEMAN & EVANS, Cordova Street, warehouse, 1906
CLARK and STUART CO., Seymour Street at Cordova Street, warehouse, 1906
GEORGIA STREET, at Burrard Street, hotel for Benjamin T. Rogers, 1906
PENDER STREET, at Bute Street, block for A.R. Stevenson, 1906
PENDER STREET, block for Dr. E. Newton Drier, 1906
ST. ANDREW'S PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, Georgia Street at Richards Street, additions and alterations, 1906
LIGHTHOUSE HOTEL, Cordova Street at Homer Street, additions, 1906
GAVIN BROTHERS LTD., Hamilton Street, 'near the Oddfellows Hall', warehouse, 1907
FIRE HALL, for West Fairview, 1907
FIRE HALL, for Cedar Cove, 1907
PIONEER STEAM LAUNDRY, West Hastings Street, 1907
EMPRESS MANUFACTURING CO., Homer Street at Helmcken Street, warehouse, 1908-09
FORTIN HOTEL, West Cordova Street, for C.S. Douglas and Co., 1909
ECHO APARTMENTS, Davie Street, 1909
NELSON COURT APARTMENTS, Nelson Street, 1909
1st AVENUE WEST, near Trafalgar Street, residence for Robert P. McLennan, 1909
FALSE CREEK GRAIN ELEVATOR, Front Street at Scotia Street, for A.E. Burnett, 1909
ST. PAUL'S ANGLICAN CHURCH, Jervis Street at Pendrill Street, rectory and Parish Hall, 1910-11
SILVER LEAF ROOMS, West Pender Street, 1910-11
WATER STREET, warehouse for W. and E.C. Taylor, 1911
HAMPTON COURT APARTMENTS, Thurlow Street at Burnaby Street, for Dr. E.N. Drier, 1912
MATTHEWS AVENUE, residence for Miles P. Cotton, 1912
NIAGARA HOTEL, West Pender Street at Homer Street, 1912

Finally, places designed by Grant, Henderson and Cook.


GRANVILLE STREET, near 17th Avenue, mansion for John West, 1912
WOLFE AVENUE, at Douglas Street, residence for Frank C. Taylor, 1912
KING EDWARD AVENUE, near Pine Crescent, residence for David McNair, 1912
CARTIER STREET, residence for Arthur B. Pottenger, 1912
HUDSON STREET, at Balfour Avenue, mansion for Hugh McLean, 1913; demol. 1977

As you can see, Grant was responsible for many buildings in the Vancouver area. From iconic buildings such as the Carnegie Centre and the Heather Pavilion to industrial structures like the BC Sugar Refinery to homes and apartment buildings, George William Grant left his mark on Vancouver.

The information above was supplied by the Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada website.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Heather Pavilion

Recently, I went for blood tests at a lab on Broadway. I had a two hour wait before I had to go back and get the second part done so I walked behind the building with the lab, where it was quieter and I could talk on the phone. That's when I found this.

This building I am showing you was originally built from 1903 to 1906 and designed by architects by Grant and Henderson. 

Originally, this was known as the Fairview building, it was the first building located on Vancouver General Hospital's new location on Fairview Ridge. Later, the structure was renamed the Heather Pavilion and it was a landmark and the hospital's most celebrated building until the construction of the Centennial Pavilion in 1958.

Heather Pavilion features four granite towers, topped with a cupola and is a Romanesque style structure.

An interesting note concerns one of the architects. The architect, George William Grant also designed the Carnegie Library at the corner of Main and Hastings Street in 1903 as well as many of the buildings in New Westminster. He was also Vancouver's first resident architect.

You may have noticed that I missed Monday's entry. I am starting a mentor/life coaching business and it is taking a lot of my time. There are times when, unfortunately, I won't have the time or energy to write the blog.

However, I am not giving up on the Vancouver Vagabond. Sometimes I may not be able to write on a regular basis but I still have lots more Vancouver history to tell you!

I hope you find the beauty around you.