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Westside Vancouver Neighbourhoods

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

Main Street has long been considered the rough dividing line between the eastern and western part of Vancouver. Westside Vancouver neighbourhoods include Fairview, Marpole, Kitsilano, West Point Grey, Dunbar, Kerrisdale, and Shaughnessy. The University of British Columbia, the Musqueam Reserve, and Pacific Spirit Park are not administratively part of the City of Vancouver, but occupy the same peninsula adjacent to the westside of Vancouver.

Useful Websites

Home of Canadian author Joy Kogawa and her family until 1942, when they were sent to an internment camp along with thousands of other Canadians of Japanese descent.

Preserves and displays the history of Eburne / Marpole buildings and houses

Original people of Vancouver. Reserve borders southwest Vancouver.

Historical walking tour also includes two Fairview sites.

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.

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Everywhere for everyone
Newspapers and Magazines Subject Icon

Digitized newspaper archives covering The Province (1898 - present), The Vancouver Sun (1912 - present) and The Times Colonist (1884 - present).

Issues from most recent 3 months not available in this collection. See Canadian Newsstream for current issues.

Access:
Everywhere for Vancouver residents
Newspapers and Magazines Subject Icon

Search and view community newspapers from around BC published between 1865 and 1994. This collection makes many of BC's earliest newspapers freely available in digital format

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Everywhere for everyone
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Finding tool for historical information about BC in books, magazines and newspapers in the Vancouver Public Library collection.

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

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Everywhere for everyone
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The Vancouver Public Library created This Vancouver to share the stories of Vancouverites and the history of Vancouver communities through images, audio clips, and videos. 

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Everywhere for everyone

Recommended Titles

Conversations With Khahtsahlano 1932-1954

J. S. Matthews

970.1 K45m

1955

August Jack Khatsahlano was born at Sen̓áḵw, a Squamish First Nation settlement located on False Creek near the Kitsilano neighbourhood.

C̓əsnaʔəm: The City Before the City

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Musqueam First Nation and Museum of Anthropology (UBC)

970.3 C65T1c

2017

This DVD focuses on the Musqueam settlement in the Marpole area.

Cover Image for Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Boat Stations

Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Boat Stations

Christopher Weicht

358.400971 W41j

1997

History of the RCAF Station Jericho Beach, opened in 1920. Most of the base became Jericho Park after 1969.

Shaughnessy: A Walking Tour Through History

Vancouver (B.C.) Planning Department, British Columbia Heritage Trust, Heritage Vancouver Society and Vancouver Museum

720.9711 V224s

2000

Guide to important houses in this neighbourhood.

Cover Image for The Story of Dunbar: Voices of a Vancouver Neighbourhood

The Story of Dunbar: Voices of a Vancouver Neighbourhood

Schofield, Peggy Schofield

971.133 S88s

2007

Combines interviews with residents with historical research to present a portrait of the neighbourhood through time.

Cover Image for These Mysterious People: Shaping History and Archaeology in a Northwest Coast Community

These Mysterious People: Shaping History and Archaeology in a Northwest Coast Community

Susan Roy

970.3 C65R8t

2010

Examines the interaction between members of the Musqueam Nation, researchers and the legal system around an important archeological site in the Marpole area.

Cover Image for Wreck Beach

Wreck Beach

Carellin Brooks

971.133 B87w

2007

A history of Vancouver's famous clothing optional beach located on the western tip of the peninsula.

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.