Land and Buildings
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
Useful Websites
Digital Library Resources
Digital Library Resources
Recommended Titles
Remote Media URL
Call Number
971.133 L43h
Publication Year
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.
Remote Media URL
Call Number
971.133 K66v3
Publication Year
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 Dozens of new, contemporary watercolors and a tremendous range of previously unpublished images concentrating on the city and its neighborhoods since the Second World War make Vancouver Remembered an essential record of the city's recent history.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.
Call Number
720.9711 K14e2
Publication Year
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.
Call Number
333.7709711 K52h
Historical catalogue of information known about 5,000 properties in the Grandview area of Vancouver.
Call Number
720.9711 M65v
A study on a limited number of heritage buildings in Vancouver.
Call Number
971.133 W17s
Publication Year
1999
Vancouver Historical Society publication.
By the Vancouver B.C. Engineering Department (1928, 1954, 1962, 1974 and 2000)
A good selection of early street maps for Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.
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.