Vancouver, from the city directories, 1905–1955

Who lived in your house?

Every year a canvasser walked each street and wrote down who lived at every door. We're reading those directories house by house, so you can meet the people who lived in yours, with the page behind every line.

Covers ten blocks on three streets. Try 620 Keefer, the Frontenac or 2339 Yew.

Strathcona

620 Keefer Street

Clandenningforeman1905–1935 · 4 directories
Bezzasso1945
A household1955

One family for thirty years, then the Bezzassos: the heritage register still calls it the Bezzasso House. →

Three houses, read in full

From the directories' street and name sections and the 1912 fire insurance map.

Strathcona

620 Keefer Street

A wood-frame house with one family for thirty years, on a block the directories describe unevenly.

Mount Pleasant

2649 Quebec Street

A 24-suite brick apartment house: a crowd of tenants, and a few who stayed for decades.

Kitsilano

2339 Yew Street

An ordinary Kitsilano house with a new household every decade.

One block, fifty years

The 600 block of Keefer Street, Strathcona. Pick a year: each lot shows who the directory listed there, and its colour shows what stands there today.

Keefer Street NORTH SIDE · ODD SOUTH SIDE · EVEN 600699 601 Keefer Street · Still standing (built 1901, City's figure)601Creech, Georgenot listednot listednot listednot listednot listed611 Keefer Street · Gone611Fulthrop, Alfredvacant“Japanese”*Ikeno KSplett M*a household615 Keefer Street · Gone615Parsons, R.Brown Geo“Chinese”“Orientals”Dong W Ha household625 Keefer Street · Gone625Adams, George R.McClelland John EKirkup S J*Evenuk PTriska H*a household627 Keefer Street · Gone627Marsh FrankCrosetti JPalamow ASywulych W*a household631 Keefer Street · Gone631Hay, RobertHay RobtHay R“Orientals”*Anaka J*a household635 Keefer Street · Gone635Bradley, JohnVanstone WmBrecknell JBrecknell Joccupied, no name givena household643 Keefer Street · Gone643Monks, Edgar“Foreigners”not listednot listednot listednot listed647 Keefer Street · Gone647“Foreigners”McDowell SFranceschini CCavasin R*a household653 Keefer Street · Gone653Tapella JosephTosey JTosi J*Chow Mrs J M*a household659 Keefer Street · Gone659Hancock, Albert J.Gini C“Chinese”Jackson Mrs Eoccupied, no name given*a household661 Keefer Street · Gone661Hancock Albt Joccupied, no name givenOiye JBrubon M*a household673 Keefer Street · Gone673Cates, WilliamCates Wm EMookini HWakaluk J*Wakaluk J*a household677 Keefer Street · Gone677Smith, PeterBarker WmRabinnovitz OKosovic SSoon Fnot listed602 Keefer Street · Still standing (built 1901, City's figure)602Tom Gregory H.McLean James DCarlson C“Orientals”Chomyshak J*a household612 Keefer Street · Still standing (built 1905, City's figure)612Vicars, Joseph G.Vicars Joseph GJohnson Mrs A*Ellefsen AHing Mrs M*a household620 Keefer Street · Still standing (built 1905, City's figure)620Clandenning, John A.Fraser Alex +1Clandening J A*Clendenning M A*Bezzasso Mrs P*a household626 Keefer Street · Rebuilt (built 1976, City's figure)626Armstrong, JohnRichardson Thos“Chinese”Vollstrom D*Wong J*a household +1630 Keefer Street · Still standing (built 1905, City's figure)630McDougall Mrs Jessie“Chinese”“Orientals”Lee W H*a household636 Keefer Street · Rebuilt (built 1946, City's figure)636Good Shepherd MissionGood Shepherd Mission642 Keefer Street · Gone642Eaton, JessEaton JesseEaton Jnot listednot listednot listed652 Keefer Street · Rebuilt (built 1975, City's figure)652Howie Miss J LWomen's Miss SocWomen's Miss Soc*Wong Mrs J S*a household658 Keefer Street · Still standing (built 1904, City's figure)658Inches DavidMorris M*Morris J*Minichiello J*a household666 Keefer Street · Gone666McMeekin, John WalterLewis Mrs —Isaac S“Orientals”Parker Sa household674 Keefer Street · Gone674Luxton RReliable Mt MktHeikkila Ma household676 Keefer Street · Gone676Harkness JamesSmith Miss G DFarber Mrs E +1Morrison Da household
The 600 block of Keefer Street, Strathcona. Lots are placed by house number.Scroll sideways on a small screen
Pre-1946 building still standsRebuilt after 1945Address gone todayNot matched*: some member of the family owns the property, to the best of our knowledge (the directory's own mark, printed from 1935)
5 of 131905→15
3 of 141915→25
3 of 111925→35
1 of 131935→45
Who stayed: of the addresses with a named household in both directories, how many still had the same surname ten years on. The block's turnover is its history: Strathcona was a first stop for newcomers.
Every fact has its page

Each listing links to the directory page it came from, at the Vancouver Public Library. Anything we worked out ourselves, like a renumbered address, is marked inferred.

Names through 1945

After 1945 we show that a household was there, never who. Anyone can ask for a name to be removed.

What the directories left out

For many Chinese, Japanese and other residents, the canvassers printed a group label instead of names. We show the label as printed and say so.

The streets

Your street isn't here yet?

The whole city is next

About 26,000 Vancouver houses were built before 1946. We're reading every street, one directory at a time. Leave your email and we'll write once, when we add more streets.

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