People who have lived in Vancouver would agree that it rains a lot especially in the fall and winter months. They would also agree that it has a superb natural setting with its beautiful coastal inlet and background of massive mountains. But beyond these basic agreements, residents and visitors alike have a great range of ideas, impressions and images of the real Vancouver. For some it is a young, modern community that has changed drastically in its brief history. Others point out that it has been settled for over a hundred years and that it is still geared primarily to the region's lumbering, fishing, mining and farming activities. While many consider Vancouver a stable, secure, law-abiding city, others emphasize that its crimes, suicides and divorces run well above the national average, and its drug traffic and heroin addiction exceed that of other Canadian cities. Some observers consider it a quiet, comfortable place whose residents are more concerned with fishing, sailing and skiing than working, while others insist that it is hard-driving, competitive and impersonal.
These diverse images and impressions date from Vancouver's first years, for Vancouver acquired many of the characteristics of a big city early in its history. Vancouver has not grown steadily over the years but has seen spurts of intense activity, interrupted by periods of relative stability.
Growth Cycles
The first of these spurts, or growth cycles, coincided with the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway and the arrival of the first train in Vancouver on May 23,1887. Just three years before this, the townsite of Granville was little more than an isolated lumbering village on the shore of Burrard Inlet. It had a few stores, scattered houses and a crude street system with a total population of about three hundred. But once it became known that Granville was to receive a transcontinental railway connection, conditions changed abruptly. The community was renamed Vancouver and more people arrived in single months of 1886, 1887 and 1888 than had arrived in the previous twenty years. By 1892 this bustling new city had mushroomed to a population of some 14,000.
This early boom withered in the depression of the 1890s and only after 1900 did a second major growth cycle begin. These years from 1900 to the eve of World War I were critical to the future form and nature of Vancouver; not only did British, Canadian, American, European and Asian migrants pour into the city and carry the population to 120,000 by 1912, but house construction boomed; residential, industrial and commercial districts developed; new streets and transportation lines were laid out and the shape of the future city was clearly outlined.
By the outbreak of World War I in 1914 the great boom was over and it was not until the 1920s that another expansionary phase began. Development less hectic than in the early years of the century was vigorous, nevertheless. Automobiles became more and more common and helped make it possible for people to live some distance from the city and still have easy contact with it. By 1931 Vancouver had about 250,000 residents, with another 50,000 in nearby suburbs. Also, during the 1920s Vancouver bypassed Winnipeg as the third largest city in Canada, a position it has held to this day.
Like other Canadian cities, Vancouver's growth virtually stopped during the depression and its fourth growth cycle came largely after World War II, especially in the 1950s and 1960s. Migrants still arrived from eastern Canada, the prairies, Britain and the United States, but the great surge of Germans, Italians, Chinese, Greeks and others added a desirable cosmopolitan flavour to the entire community. Times were prosperous and downtown Vancouver changed substantially as hundreds of new high rise apartments, office blocks and business establishments were constructed. Expansion in the suburban districts was even more dramatic. By 1971 when the population of metropolitan Vancouver had passed the million mark, only 40 percent of these lived in the city proper, while 60 percent were in the suburbs.
A detailed examination of each of these growth cycles would provide a fairly complete picture of the highlights of Vancouver's development to the present day. But here we will concentrate only on the period to 1920, and attempt to show that even by that early date an elaborate, complex city had evolved that determined in large part the shape and nature of today's Vancouver. We will focus first on the isolated lumbering community of Granville, then turn to an examination of the city at the time of the C.P.R. boom, and finally consider the growth and changes that occured in the first two decades of the twentieth century.
The Early Years - Granville
The first permanent settlement in what is now Vancouver occurred in 1862. John Morton of New Westminster had visited Burrard Inlet to investigate coal and clay resources in the area and the possibility of developing a pottery there. He found little coal or clay but was impressed by the natural beauty of the region and the well-protected natural harbour. Morton returned to New Westminster and encouraged a cousin Sam Brighouse and a friend, William Hailstone, to join him in obtaining land in that area. All three were immigrants from Britain who had worked the Cariboo gold fields, and although promptly dubbed `Three Greenhorn Englishmen' by cynical locals, who saw little merit in preempting such land, the three men took the necessary steps and in 1862, after a payment of $555.73, obtained a crown grant to 540 acres of land in what is now Vancouver's West End. In theory, such pre-emption privileges were for genuine farm settlement. But since the land in the area was heavily forested, it seems highly likely that the `Three Greenhorns' were thinking less about the farming possibilities than the potential gain on their investment if and when a city developed on their holdings. For a while all three men took turns occupying a cabin on their claim in order to meet residence requirements. But over the years it was John Morton who spent most of the time in the little clearing near the intersection of today's Burrard and Hastings Streets.
A whole series of additional pre-emptions followed as others became aware of the speculative opportunities in the region. But although the occasional investor made substantial profits on land transactions, population growth was very slow and the real focus of activity on Burrard Inlet centred around lumber operations that were begun in the mid l860s. Sewell Moody established a mill on the north side of the inlet in what is now North Vancouver, in 1865. About the same time, Captain Edward Stamp established his Hastings Sawmill on the south side of the inlet and this in turn was followed by the beginning of logging operations at Jerry's Cove (now Jericho Beach) by Jeremiah Rogers.
The development of these lumber operations, rather than the pre-emption of individual plots of land, marks the effective beginnings of settlement on Burrard Inlet, and for the next twenty years, the little villages that evolved relied almost exclusively on the sawmills for their existence. Production and export of lumber rose quickly. Whereas in 1865 only six loaded ships left the inlet, by 1869 the number had risen to forty-five, carrying lumber and timber destined for Latin America, Great Britain, Europe and the Orient.
Until 1867 most of the men who worked at the Hastings Mill lived in bunk houses near the mill or in small shacks that they had thrown together. But after `Gassy Jack' Deighton opened a small hotel and saloon about half a mile to the west of the mill more and more men gravitated to the hotels, boarding houses and homes that accumulated in that area. Whether referred to as Coal Harbour, Granville or Gastown, this settlement was the nucleus of the future Vancouver.
But growth was very, very slow. Even by 1884 the entire settlement was little more than an extended clearing that ran some 400 yards along the shore and about 250 yards inland. With a total population of about 300, Granville was tiny when compared with New Westminster's 4,000, or Victoria's 12,000, and was not substantially larger than Moodyville or the farming municipalities of Delta, Richmond, Surrey and Langley, all of which had about 250 to 300 residents. The British Columbia Directory 1884/85 could summarize most of the important facts about Granville in just afew sentences:
Granville is situated at Coal Harbor on the south side of the Inlet. It is a busy little town containing a number of general stores, three comfortable hotels, churches, telegraph office, etc. Two good stage roads connect the place with Hastings and New Westminster while its water communication to Moodyville and other points on the inlet is supplied by steam ferry. It is the centre of the great lumber district which produces the supply for Hastings Mills and absorbs nearly all the trade of the numerous logging camps situated on English Bay and on the North Arm of the Fraser River. It has a daily line of steamers to Hastings and New Westminster, its distance from the latter place being twelve miles.
The Coming of the C.P.R.
All British Columbians were excited about the expected completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway and most believed that Port Moody, twelve miles to the east of Granville, would be the terminus. After secret discussions with the Government of British Columbia, however, the C.P.R. decided to extend their main line to the Coal Harbor-Granville region. Not only did Granville offer an expansive, deep harbour and a good townsite, but the provincial government also promised the C.P.R. a major land grant in that townsite if it would extend its line there.
Once this information became public knowledge the small lumbering town of Granville changed abruptly. The previous trickle of migrants to the area became a steady stream of excited settlers and investors. During 1885 and 1886 the heavy timber surrounding Granville was steadily cut away; endless stumps were blasted out of the ground and slash burning seemed incessant. These intensive clearing operations led to a devastating fire on June 13, 1886, when some twenty persons perished and the entire community was virtually destroyed. But recovery was rapid as migrants continued to pour in, and by the time the first C.P.R. train arrived on May 23, 1887, the new city of Vancouver which had been incorporated in 1886 had some 5,000 residents.
The completion of the C.P.R. had a profound impact on the infant city, indeed one could say that the C.P.R. literally created Vancouver. For while it had taken some twenty years for the population to creep up to 300 in 1884, with the arrival of the C.P.R. in 1887 it had jumped to 5,000 and by 1892, when the surge of migrants was beginning to slacken, it had reached 14,000. Clearly Vancouver was a much more desirable community now that its isolation from the rest of Canada was over.
The consequences of the C.P.R. went beyond the fact that population increased rapidly. Under the agreement with the provincial government, the C.P.R. received about 6,000 acres of land in the area. Private owners also donated land for they were aware that a railroad would drastically increase the value of their remaining holdings. Altogether the C.P.R. acquired ownership of approximately ten square miles of land in what would become the heart of the city. Their surveyors and planners determined not only the location of the main rail line, but also the street system and general lay-out of the city. The location of the C.P.R. wharf, station and hotel along the Granville Street axis made this one of the main thoroughfares in the city and pulled the centre of the city almost a mile to the west of the original core in Gastown. In time the city's main banks, offices, hotels, theatres and department stores tended to cluster in this new district. Similarly the city's elite residential areas, whether in the West End of the 1880s and 1890s, or in Shaughnessy of the 1900s, were either partly or entirely on C.P.R. land. As Vancouver's largest and most powerful corporation as well as its biggest land owner, the C.P.R. also influenced the city's real estate values, economy, social life and politics.
While the C.P.R. was actively developing its diverse facilities, other groups were also busy. City officials saw that land was cleared, streets graded, sidewalks laid down and school, firehalls, water and sewer systems constructed. Private owners and contractors built hundreds of homes, and dozens of shops, stores and hotels. One of the most impressive projects came between 1889 and 1891 when the privately-owned Vancouver Electric Railway and Light Company constructed a thirteen mile electric street railway system that followed the basic route of Granville, Hastings, Main and Broadway. Electric street railways were not unique to Vancouver, for following the solution of a variety of technical problems by American inventors in 1888, street railways spread throughout American cities and in the 1890s replaced horse-drawn systems in Ottawa, Hamilton, Montreal, Winnipeg, Saint John, Halifax and Quebec City. Vancouver considered itself a progressive city since it had a modern transportation system when it was only five years old.
Most of the people who arrived in Vancouver during these boom years were native Canadians, especially from elsewhere in British Columbia and from Ontario. There were large numbers of immigrants from Great Britain as well as some from the United States. Altogether this English- speaking, predominantly Protestant group made up about 85 percent of the population. No sharp distinctions were drawn between Canadians, British or Americans and all were quickly integrated into the city's economic and social life. The largest and most distinctive minority group were the Chinese who constituted about 10 percent of the city's population. While the English speaking majority could ignore, passively accept or periodically turn on them in the frenzy of an anti-Oriental riot, there was never any doubt among the public at large that Vancouver was a white man's city and should remain so. As in other North American cities, Vancouver kept its Chinese segregated in "Chinatown" - a few dingy, crowded blocks near the east end of False Creek. Most were casual labourers and domestics, or worked in small launderies, shops or restaurants. In addition, Vancouver also had a sprinkling of Scandinavians, Germans, Italians and Russians who with other European nationals made up about 5 percent of the population. Many were single men who worked in logging camps and lumber mills and lived in Vancouver's rooming houses and hotels only during the rainy, winter months. As a group they drew little attention from the general public.
The Nineties Slump
The great surge of immigration, construction and expansion that had followed the completion of the C.P.R. was clearly over by 1893. While it is true that Vancouver continued to grow, the depressed years of the mid 1890s were difficult, disappointing ones. Migration slowed to a trickle, lumber output declined, home construction slumped and, in 1895, the street railway company was declared bankrupt. Real estate investors who had purchased heavily in the buoyant 1880s found to their grief that they could hardly meet city taxes let alone find buyers for their vacant city lots. The gloom was partly dispelled with the flurry of business and excitement associated with the Klondike gold rush of 1897-98, but it was not until the early 1900s that another expansionary phase began.
Although Vancouver was firmly established as British Columbia's largest city by 1897-98, it still lacked the kind of size, range, diversity and complexity that one associates with a major city. By this time it had a population of about 22,000, but it was still concentrated in a relatively small area. Roughly 80 percent of its population lived within a mile of the C.P.R.'s depot, yards and wharf near the foot of Granville Street. Vancouver had a variety of stores, banks and hotels in the downtown core; industrial districts could be distinguished on the waterfront and on the north side of False Creek; and there were sharp contrasts between the eight-room homes of the West End and the modest bungalows in Mount Pleasant. But at the same time the distinctions within the city were still somewhat blurred. Houses, business establishments and open lots were sprinkled throughout the city, a brief tram ride or walk brought most people to work, and the typical employer could still know most of his workers by name.
The Turn of the Century to The Great War
All of this was to undergo sharp modification in the years after 1900. Indeed, the period from the turn of the century to the eve of World War I probably saw more significant development and change than any comparable period in Vancouver's history. Basic to all other changes was a drastic rise in population that dwarfed anything that had happened in the past. Between 1900 and 1912 about 30,000 immigrants arrived from Great Britain. In addition, about 25,000 Canadians, 8,000 Americans, 7,000 Europeans and 3,000 Asians also decided to move to Vancouver. By 1912 this great surge of migrants had carried the city's population to about 120,000 or roughly five times what it had been at the time of the Klondike gold rush. All of these immigrant groups made their distinctive contribution to the city's development, but there is no doubt that the large block from the British Isles was especially significant. By 1912 they accounted for a third of the city's population. Whether one considers the kinds of labour unions or political parties they helped establish, the types of homes and gardens they created, the schools and universities they founded or the general quality and tone that thousands of British clerks, lawyers, merchants and craftsmen gave Vancouver, the British influence became well established in the opening decade of the century and has never disappeared.
A second indication of Vancouver's growth was the expansion of its urban transportation network. Additional street railway lines were laid in the downtown area and tracks were pushed east, south, and west bringing service to Hastings, Collingwood, South Vancouver, Marpole, Kerrisdale, Kitsilano and West Point Grey. By 1914 the 103 mile system of the B.C. Electric Railway Company served virtually the entire city. While this work was proceeding within Vancouver, the construction of some 125 miles of inter-urban railway lines tied Vancouver to New Westminster as well as to the fishing communities of Steveston, and farming centres at Abbotsford and Chilliwack. The net result of all this construction was that Vancouver became the focal point of a diverse, regional transportation network. For all practical purposes anyone living within an eight mile radius of downtown could get there in thirty-five minutes, while a rush order from Chilliwack, forty miles away, could be delivered within a few hours. Although these lines exceeded Vancouver's immediate needs, they enabled many people to buy and build on the cheaper lands on the outskirts of the city. This tended to reduce population concentration in the central regions, and helped make Vancouver primarily a city of single-family dwellings spread out over a broad area.
Along with the development of these urban and inter-urban railway lines went an incredible amount of construction. It spread over the entire city and ranged from small bungalows on 33 foot lots to massive department stores in the central business district. In 1905, buildings valued at $5,000,000 were constructed, by 1910, $8,000,000, and by 1912, $20,000,000 - a sum that would be exceeded only once in the next thirty years. Whereas three and four-storied frame and stone buildings dominated the central business district at the turn of the century, by 1914 a whole new skyline had evolved as steel frame construction made it possible to push buildings up to fourteen stories. This construction consumed vast amounts of lumber, brick, glass, steel and concrete and meant that thousands of Vancouverites were employed as carpenters, plumbers, electricians and labourers. Indeed, the amount of work entailed in this construction was one of the primary factors sustaining the boom of the early twentieth century.
A fourth significant process that occurred during these years was the firm identification of a number of districts as `residential', `commercial' or `industrial'. The city's 120,000 residents were now spread over much of the peninsula from Burrard Inlet to the Fraser River, or some thirty square miles in all. The West End, early recognized as a desirable residential area was heavily settled. Settlement had also followed the B.C. Electric lines into Fairview, Kitsilano and Point Grey. To the south, Kerrisdale was developing while Shaughnessy Heights, in the centre of the C.P.R.'s land grant, was hailed as the city's most elegant area. Throughout these years it became apparent that the prosperous, influential and socially prominent Vancouverite tended to settle in the western sections of the city while skilled workers and labourers gravitated eastward. In the East End where lots were smaller and cheaper and there were limited parks, playgrounds and schools dramatic expansion occurred as well. Both Grandview and Collingwood had grown quickly. Shopping and commercial activities were still centred in the downtown core but had extended into a number of the outlying districts as well. Shipping and industrial facilities on the waterfront had been expanded but most industrial activity now concentrated in the False Creek Basin. The area now contained a whole series of lumber and shingle mills, machinery depots, shipyards, gravel and cement plants as well as the freight yards of three railroads.
There was also a change in the mood or tone of city life. Vancouver gradually lost its intimate, folksy, small-town quality. The chatty, local columns that had been a staple item in the eight-page local papers of the 1890s faded into the background as the 1900s unfolded. By 1912, weekend editions ran from forty to sixty pages. National and international events dominated the news; special sections treated business, sports, society and entertainment; advertisements abounded. One might still recognize a prominent lumberman or real estate broker as he strolled along Hastings or Granville, but this became more and more the exception as the years went by. There were just too many new companies, new offices, new faces and new millionaires. Vancouver remained a trading, transportation and service centre, with most of its work force still employed as clerks, carpenters, school teachers and real estate agents, but the range of the city's activities had broadened. Whether its business leaders promoted mines in the Kootenays, publicized investment opportunities in the Okanagan, sold timber and shingles on the Prairies, or lobbied in Ottawa for elevators to handle Saskatchewan wheat, there is no doubt that Vancouver showed the scope and diversity of activity found in a big city.
Like the boom associated with the construction of the C.P.R., the great prosperity of the early 1900s also fizzled. In 1913, construction dropped off sharply, real estate prices fell and while employment remained high in the service activities, labourers and craftsmen found it harder and harder to get work. The outbreak of war in 1914 brought further dislocations. For the first time in Vancouver's history, city population dropped sharply as thousands of city dwellers enlisted, and other thousands decided to return to Britain either to serve in the forces or work in factories. Vancouver's life for the next four years was dominated by the war. Whether one worried about relatives or friends at the front, continued one's normal occupation, or worked in the city's shipyards or munitions factories, the war was never far out of mind.
Recovery After The War
After a brief post-war slump, recovery came quickly. By 1919 the city had regained its pre-war population and once again started to expand. The most distinctive feature of the early 1920s was the appearance of more and more automobiles on city streets. Although street railways continued to serve thousands, the gradual shift to the privately owned car was unmistakable. The municipalities of South Vancouver and West Point Grey grew rapidly and people began to discuss the need for amalgamation with Vancouver or the development of some type of centralized government to meet the common needs of these diverse communities. Architects and builders turned to the use of reinforced concrete for the construction of offices and warehouses, and businessmen needed more and more typists, clerks and telephone operators to service their accounts.
With the exception of the automobile, the distinctive features of the early 1920s were essentially extensions of existing patterns rather than the development of something new and different. Large numbers of Vancouverites still worked in shingle mills and lumber factories though products might be exported in five thousand ton steel freighters rather than two hundred ton wooden schooners. Manufacturers turned out increasingly complicated winches, boilers, marine engines, and circular saws but the dependence on lumbering and fishing was still clear cut. And the Vancouver worker, whether he worked in a bank, insurance company, warehouse, bakery or department store, spent a good part of his time meeting the needs of local customers.
The Vancouverite of 1922 probably considered his city sharply different from that of 1912, and utterly different from that of 1892. But if he looked closely, he would also see much that was familiar.
