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Land and Buildings

First Vancouver City Council Meeting after the fire - photograph by H. T. Devine
First Vancouver City Council Meeting after the fire - photograph by H. T. Devine (VPL # 508)

Related Guides

This research guide will help you find historical information on houses, buildings, streets, and land/property in Vancouver using resources found primarily in Special Collections on Level 7 at the Central Library.

Useful Websites

The Archives photograph holdings are comprised of more than one million images from private-sector and public-sector records. These photographs depict a wide range of subjects relating to Vancouver 's history and culture from the 1860s to the 1980s.

Guide from the Vancouver Archives.

Local historians and other interested people in the Grandview community of Vancouver working to identify, preserve and celebrate the built, natural, and cultural heritage of Grandview and Commercial Drive.

Search and view transcriptions of building permits from the early 1900s to the 1920s.

The LTSA registers ownership of land in BC and is responsible for the accuracy and security of title for all privately held land parcels.

LAC provide online access to a good selection of historic fire insurance plans in British Columbia.

This register is a list of buildings, streetscapes, landscape resources (parks and landscapes, trees, monuments, public works) and archaeological sites which have architectural or historical heritage value.

City app that allows you to view, search, create and print maps of Vancouver. Includes heritage and property information, aerial photos, and the 1912 fire insurance map.

Includes information on streets and buildings in the West End from the late 1800s to around 1920.

Digital Library Resources
Culture and History Subject Icon

British Columbia city directories from 1860 to 1955. Directories include detailed historical information about British Columbian communities.

Access:
Everywhere for everyone
Culture and History Subject Icon

A selection of historical images of Vancouver and British Columbia from the 1880s to the 1980s.

Access:
Everywhere for everyone
Culture and History Subject Icon

Find information about notable buildings in Vancouver. Includes listings of heritage buildings.

Access:
Everywhere for everyone

Recommended Titles

Cover Image for At Home with History: The Untold Secrets of Greater Vancouver's Heritage Homes

At Home with History: The Untold Secrets of Greater Vancouver's Heritage Homes

Eve Lazarus

971.133 L43h

2007

At Home with History is a collection of real life stories that bring to life the glamorous and not-so-glamorous social histories of selected heritage homes in Greater Vancouver-stories of brothels and bootleggers, secret rooms and Shakespearean-style murders. An Italian family survives the depression by selling booze and sandwiches from their eastside home. A Shaughnessy mansion headquarters the Ku Klux Klan and then a children's hospice. A secret radio room is uncovered during renovations. Every home has a social history and a genealogy that tells a tremendous amount about the history of the times and offers up a sense of place.

Cover Image for Vancouver Remembered

Vancouver Remembered

Michael Kluckner

971.133 K66v3

2006

In Vancouver Remembered, Kluckner continues his exploration of the city and its multi-layered past. Dozens of new, contemporary watercolors and a tremendous range of previously unpublished images concentrating on the city and its neighborhoods since the Second World War make Vancouver Remembered an essential record of the city's recent history. Also included is an introductory essay on the city, a section on day trips, an extensive bibliography and bird's-eye maps of areas that have drastically changed.

Exploring Vancouver: The Essential Architectural Guide

Harold Kalman

720.9711 K14e2

1993

Intended as a walking/driving guide, but also useful as a reference for architects, historians and preservationists. Contains 534 entries, each illustrated with a photo and accompanied by a short description which combines architectural, historical and social commentary. Includes a glossary and a guide to architectural styles.

An Historical Database of Grandview Properties

Jak R. King

333.7709711 K52h

Historical catalogue of information known about 5,000 properties in the Grandview area of Vancouver.

Vancouver Architecture, 1886-1914

720.9711 M65v

A study on a limited number of heritage buildings in Vancouver.

Cover Image for Street Names of Vancouver

Street Names of Vancouver

Elizabeth Walker

971.133 W17s

1999

Vancouver Historical Society publication.

Sectional Maps of Vancouver

By the Vancouver B.C. Engineering Department (1928, 1954, 1962, 1974 and 2000)

Street Maps of Vancouver

A good selection of early street maps for Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.

Contact Us

Northwest History Index

This card index in Special Collection provides access to the Northwest History Collection, a heritage collection covering the early history and exploration of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest.

The collection includes:

  • magazine and newspaper articles
  • pamphlets
  • books
  • chapters in books
  • many other resources

As of August 1998, no new material has been added to the Northwest History Index. It is continued by the British Columbia Index.