Shaughnessy

Shaughnessy is largely residential, with a higher-than-average proportion of heritage houses from the first half of the last century. Several major arteries serve this otherwise serene area.

Local residents enjoy shopping areas in Arbutus to the west and Cambie Village to the northeast.

The eastern side of this area has two hospitals and the gorgeous VanDusen Botanical Garden. Shaughnessy is the city’s geographic heart, between Queen Elizabeth Park and Arbutus.

Shaughnessy is home to Little Flower Academy, Vancouver College, and York House School. The public elementary schools are Shaughnessy Elementary and Quilchena Elementary. There is one public high school in Shaughnessy, Point Grey Secondary. The neighbourhood is in the catchment area of each of Eric Hamber Secondary School, in Oakridge, or Prince of Wales Secondary School, in Arbutus Ridge.

Shaughnessy has five parks, including Shaughnessy Park, formally known as Crescent Park, and Angus Park in First Shaughnessy. The other three parks in Shaughnessy are Devonshire Park, Kerrisdale Park, and VanDusen Botanical Garden, located between 33rd and 41st Avenues. The Arbutus Greenway, purchased by the City of Vancouver from Canadian Pacific Railway, stretches along the western border of Shaughnessy from 41st Avenue to 16th Avenue.

Neighbourhood history and heritage
In 1885, the provincial government gave the CPR 6,000 acres of prime land in the heart of Vancouver. Of that, the company selected Shaughnessy Heights as the best location for its premier residential subdivision.