mtvc

Fairview is home to one of Vancouver’s most popular attractions, Granville Island, and also to Gallery Row in the South Granville shopping district. Fairview is in the central section of the city, from Granville Island along scenic False Creek to Science World, and south to Shaughnessy.

Among the city’s lines, which included the Cambie and Granville streetcars and the crosstown route along Broadway, a line known as the Fairview Loop ran in both directions from downtown up Main to Broadway to Granville and back into downtown. With that area’s ease of access to the city core, commercial and residential development quickly filled out the neighbourhood, which north of Broadway enjoys a fine view of the city core and the North Shore Mountains, hence the name.

Neighbourhood history and heritage
Less than 100 years ago the False Creek and Fairview Slopes area were a forest of huge fir trees. Fairview was named in 1886 by CPR Land Commissioner L.A. Hamilton. Hamilton’s survey established the numbered system of east-west avenues and named the cross streets after trees.

Dunbar-Southlands is a mature community of quiet, residential streets lined with grand old trees, serene parks, convenient Dunbar Village shopping area, and the lovely McCleery Golf Course. Dunbar-Southlands is home to the Musqueam First Nation land, as well as the unique urban country neighbourhood of Southlands. This area is in the southwestern section of the city, north of the Fraser River and east of the University of British Columbia and Pacific Spirit Regional Park.

Dunbar–Southlands is bordered on the north by West 16th Avenue and on the south by the Fraser River; it stretches from the University Endowment Lands on the west to Mackenzie, Quesnel and Blenheim Streets in the east. It is centred on Dunbar Street. Southlands lies south of Marine Drive in the floodplain of the Fraser River, and the Musqueam Indian Reserve is also encompassed by the region.

Neighbourhood history and heritage
Archaeological evidence indicates that native Indians inhabited the Southlands area as early as 400 B.C. The mouth of the Fraser provided abundant hunting and fishing grounds for coastal Salish Indians who settled in at least three locations: the Angus Lands, Celtic Island and the Musqueam Reserve area. In 1879, the Musqueam Reserve was formally dedicated and in 1892, Southlands became part of the newly incorporated District of South Vancouver.

Downtown is Vancouver’s primary business district, houses many arts, entertainment, and sports venues, and is close to several vibrant residential communities. A peninsula, Downtown is bounded by Burrard Inlet on the north, False Creek and the popular district of Yaletown to the south. The West End neighbourhood and world-famous Stanley Park are to the west, and the popular historic districts of Gastown, Chinatown, and Strathcona are to the east.

The downtown area includes most of the remaining historic buildings and many of the larger notable buildings in the region. All but one of Vancouver’s tallest buildings are located within Downtown Vancouver, the one being Marine Gateway North located next to Marine Drive station.

Neighbourhood history and heritage
Just over a century ago, Vancouver was a two-block collection of buildings called Granville (now known as Gastown). This location on Burrard Inlet was competing to be the west coast terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway. By 1887, a year after the City of Vancouver was incorporated, the first passenger train arrived at the foot of Howe Street, and future growth was assured. In the next seven years, a building boom began to move the city centre from Water and Cordova Streets up to Georgia and Granville Streets. Streetcar service was initiated in 1890, joining the waterfront to Granville, Pender and Cordova Streets.

Arbutus Ridge is a mature community with tree-lined streets, restored heritage houses, quiet neighbourhood parks, and striking views of the North Shore mountains. Arbutus Ridge is in the middle of Vancouver’s west side, and so has good access to Downtown, the University of British Columbia, Pacific Spirit Regional Park, Kitsilano, and Jericho Beach, as well as to local shopping.

In 1888, the Province granted 2,100 hectares (5,289 acres) of land to the Canadian Pacific Railway, including a large portion of what is now Arbutus Ridge. The land consisted of uplands that surrounded a low-lying marsh area called Asthma Flats. The upland areas were developed first, between 1912 and the 1930s. In the 1940s and 1950s, the marsh was filled in with sand brought in from False Creek to allow the development of houses and shops.

Neighbourhood history and heritage
The history of Arbutus Ridge is short, even by Vancouver standards. While its development was connected to that of the adjacent areas of Shaughnessy, Dunbar and Kerrisdale, the community was to develop differently as a result of the CPR and due to the swampy nature of the area.