Grandview's Threat

The Dominion Photo Company took this 1939 photo. This Safeway is at the corner of Graveley and Commercial.

Philip Timms is responsible for this photo of the 1600 block of Commercial Drive during the 1920s.

This 1922 photo by Philip Timms is of the 1000 block of Commercial Drive.

The photographer who took this 1922 photo in the 1800 block of Commercial Drive is unknown.

On Wednesday, I promised to tell you why Grandview and Commercial Drive are in danger and in one word I can say it - people.

Not only because some people don't care about the historic value to many buildings but also due to the fact that so many people are moving here and the city is running out of places to house them.

Leonard Frank took this 1937 photo of the Reliable Drugstore at 1810 Commercial Drive.

Godley's Home Bakery in 1922 on Commercial Drive.

Leonard Frank also snapped this 1932 photo of a Chinese market named Victoria Produce at 1743 Commercial Drive. 81 years later, there are still a large number of Asian run markets on the Drive.

Stuart Thomson is credited with this 1910 photo of Commercial Drive. 

The land values in Vancouver are rising and there are increasing pressures to develop the east end of the city. Presently, people are saying that the Hastings/Sunrise district - where I live - is the up and coming area. In other words, the area is being densified and cleansed and will soon be more expensive.

Individual owners are working to upgrade their houses within broad heritage principles: others are building front-back duplexes in a generic "heritage" style that can erode overall neighbourhood character. As I stated Wednesday, the Grandview area has many older houses and commercial buildings, but the danger lies in the fact that many of these buildings are not on the City of Vancouver's Heritage Register and therefore do not have protection.

Leonard Frank also took this photo at Commercial and 12th  Avenue in 1929.

In 1939, Leonard Frank took this photo of Clapp's Shoe store at 1800 Commercial Drive.

This is the 1700 block of Commercial Drive in 1941 as seen through the lens of a photographer with the Dominion Photo Co.

1414 Commercial Drive looked like this in 1943. Photo taken by the Dominion Photo Co.

Some of these older homes are on double lots, which makes them highly attractive to developers. If these homes were on the heritage register, they would have protection in place so that they would not be demolished. Our city has a disconnect between community planning process and the desire to conserve our heritage. Consistently, promised funds for the updating of the heritage register have failed to materialize.  

Another historic commercial area in Vancouver is Gastown. In the 1960s, this area was being threatened.  A major freeway was proposed to go through that area and all the buildings would have been demolished. A group of citizens got together to declare the area a historic site. In 2009, the federal government designated Gastown a National Historic Site of Canada.

Hopefully, the City of Vancouver will wake up and realize that once these heritage buildings are destroyed, nothing can bring them back.

Here is 1414 Commercial Drive today. (The Blue awning)

Thanks goes to the Vancouver Public Library for the older photos and to the Heritage Vancouver Society for the information.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill, Commercial Drive, history, Grandview, Interurban eclectic, vibrant, Royal Bank,Vancouver Heritage Society,

Commercial Drive and Grandview

This is the Grandview School near 1st and Commercial. The photo was taken in 1914 by Philip Timms. The school is no longer there and that corner looks like this now.

This photo is off the opposite corner of 1st and Commercial in 1922.

I want to tell you a little about a neighbourhood close to me, Grandview and Commercial Drive. Vancouver is bursting at the seams right now and is looking in all corners for new areas to build housing for the incoming residents. I told you about Brookhouse last week but that isn't where it ends. Apparently, plans are being made to change the buildings in the Grandview area.

Thanks to the Vancouver Public Library collection of photos, I downloaded a few of the Commercial Drive area and I got some of what the area looks like now.

Settlement began in this area in the 1890s with the establishment of the Vancouver-New Westminster Interurban service. Growth picked up early in the 20th century when property owners subdivided their large properties and built blocks of houses.

Here's a photo of the Interurban railway taken by Philip Timms. 

Leonard Frank took this 1929 photo at the corner of East 5 and Commercial.

The last two photos are of the corners at 5th and Commercial and there is still a gas station there.

The streetcars running on Commercial Drive - called Park Drive until 1911 - helped support the community based shops and services. Newly rich citizens built large homes on "Grandview Hill" and looked at the burgeoning city from their front windows.

Grandview is a good example of a neighbourhood that has adapted well to the 21st century. We have a wide mix of housing ranging from cottages to mansions to co-ops to apartment buildings. Retail buildings on "The Drive" have apartments upstairs and townhouses as well as condos are popping up all over the district.

Corner of Venables and Commercial, 1955. Photo by Vic Spooner

The corners today.

If a person wanders around Grandview, they will find excellent heritage buildings, mature landscaping and a historic commercial core. They can look in awe at homes where some of our city's elite built homes -which look like they belong on the city's west side - and lived lives that helped create Vancouver.

Unfortunately, this vibrant, eclectic, distinctive and desirable neighbourhood is in danger and on Friday I will explain more.

You would think that these two are of the same building wouldn't you? Apparently, they aren't though. The lower one was taken in 1922 and is listed as being at Napier and Commercial. The top photo was taken further south than that. Hmm. Wonder if a mistake was made on the listing of the old photo.

This is 1575 Commercial Drive in 1929 as seen through the lens of Leonard Frank.

And here is 1575 today - the hardware store.

I want to thank the Vancouver Heritage Society website for the information on Grandview and the Vancouver Public Library for the old photos.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Leonard Frank took this photo of the Grandview Theatre at 1730 Commercial Drive in 1930.

Here is the address in 2013.

I talked above about the building at the corner of Napier and Commercial and this is it.

Karen Magill, Commercial Drive, history, Grandview, Interurban eclectic, vibrant, Royal Bank,Vancouver Heritage Society,

Death of a Celebrity

Errol Flynn

Born in Australia in June of 1909, Errol Flynn got into movies at the age of 24. He acted in 61 of them; his seventh movie made him a superstar.

Good looking, charming and always with a lady on his arm - Flynn married three times - Errol seemed to have it all. Unfortunately, he drank heavily and smoked and by the early fifties, his popularity waned along with his movie star looks. Add to that, the fact that Errol began to experiment with drugs and his downfall seemed definite.

One day in 1959, Flynn picked up the phone and called stock promoter, George Caldough in Vancouver. He and Caldough were old friends and Flynn called, hoping his old friend could get him out of the financial difficulties the actor had. Unfortunately, Caldough was also in a financial bind. Flynn had the answer though.

Flynn offered to sell Caldough his boat, the Zaca, which Caldough had admired. Caldough thought of an American company raising money through public subscription for a deep-sea treasure hunt off the coast of Spain. Caldough had visions of Flynn at the helm, searching for Spanish Gold. So he flew to California to see his old friend.

He was shocked by actor's appearance. Although it had only been two years since the two had last seen each other, Flynn appeared to have aged closer to 20 and appeared to need help just getting around. Yet he still had the legendary charm.

Flynn and his companion - 17-year-old Beverly Aadland - followed Caldough back to Vancouver. They stayed with Caldough and his family in Eyremount in the British Properties during that October 1959 visit.  Errol Flynn's glory days may have been over but Vancouverites were quite excited to have him visit our fair city. The manager of the Orpheum Theatre, Ivan Ackery, managed to get a short film to show in the theatre in honour of Flynn's visit. Thankful, Errol telephoned Ackery to thank him.

In case you didn't know, Errol Flynn had a general disregard for time. The Caldoughs half-heartedly tried for three days to get him on a flight to New York but they kept missing the plane. After all, there were more people to party with and lots more stories to tell. Finally, Flynn said he had to leave and the party headed to the airport three hours before the departure time. It was October 14, 1959.

On the way there, Flynn started to complain about pain in his legs and back. Caldough was driving and he immediately changed route and went to 1310 Burnaby Street in the West End. Here, in the penthouse apartment, a friend, Dr. Grant Gould, lived. Amazingly, a few people showed up not long after their arrival and another party started.

Flynn was standing against a wall to relieve his back pain while regaling the people with Hollywood stories. Suddenly, he stopped and said he was going to go lay down for an hour then he would take everyone out for dinner. The actor went into the doctor's bedroom and lay on the floor.

Beverly went into check on him a little later and found him trembling and his face blue. She began to scream and the doctor rushed in but it was too late.

According to the death certificate dated October 23, Flynn's death was caused by myocardial infarction, coronary thrombosis, liver degeneration, liver sclerosis, and diverticulitis of the colon. Apparently, the man was a walking skeleton. His lifestyle finally caught up with him.

Thanks to the History of Metropolitan Vancouver website for the information on Errol Flynn's stay in Vancouver and for the photos.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill, Errol Flynn, history, Zaca, George Caldough West End, alcoholic, Hollywood,Beverly Aadland,