Vancouver / Names / A / Akiyama

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Akiyamas

In the city directories 1940 · three people at three addresses

The directories print three people named Akiyama at three addresses in 1940 in three of the city's neighbourhoods. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family.

Reserve this family's book, freeThe name in every directory we hold from 1901 to 1945, at every address, each line with its page, to read here or save as a PDF. About $29 when orders open.

Where the Akiyamas lived

Each pin is on its own block, numbered as the households below. Today's land, parks, main roads and local areas: City of Vancouver Open Data (Open Government Licence – Vancouver).
  1. 1

    2308 Granville Street

    Fairview, 1940

    • K Akiyama, proprietor of O K Cleaners 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs F C Bowie at 2306 and A J Jensen at 2310. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    575 Hornby Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Mrs T Akiyama, proprietor of Snappy Cleaners 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs E G Thompson at 581. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    368 Powell Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • T Akiyama, in hardware 1940

    Next door in 1940: Sun Rooms at 366 and Shibuya S & Co at 374. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for two of the three: a proprietor (2).

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown, Fairview and Strathcona. Each neighbourhood's page shows its trades, its people and every street in it, the way the directory printed them.

The story, address by address

In 1940 the directory lists K Akiyama at 2308 Granville Street. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Kametaro Akiyama there as the householder, proprietor of O K Cleaners. The 1940 name section lists Mrs T Akiyama at 575 Hornby Street, proprietor of Snappy Cleaners. T Akiyama is listed at 368 Powell Street in 1940; the 1940 line is marked *: some member of the family owns the property, to the best of our knowledge (the directory's own mark).

Today

The City no longer lists 2308 Granville, 575 Hornby and 368 Powell, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Riders in uniform lead a parade along Granville Street, past crowds on the sidewalk
1917 Riders in uniform lead a parade along Granville Street, past crowds on the sidewalk. Not at the house at 2308 Granville: no archive photo of the 2300 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 99-350. Public domain.

Every line as printed

All 5 lines printed under the name through 1945, each with its page at the Vancouver Public Library.
1940

British Columbia and Yukon Directory, street section

The book of the Akiyamas

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Akiyama name in each Vancouver directory we hold from 1901 to 1945: everyone printed under it at every address, their work from the name sections, who lived next door, and the page behind every line, to read here or save as a PDF to print or give.

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Another name, or a house

Sources

Henderson's and successor city directories for Vancouver, read by us line by line: the street sections for 1905, 1915, 1925, 1935, 1940 and 1945, and the name section for 1930 and 1940 where we've read it (Vancouver Public Library, BC City Directories). Names are shown through 1945, as printed. Close spellings are grouped, as on the house pages, since a family's name was often spelled differently from one year to the next; one name can still be several families, and we join lines only where the first names or initials agree. Many Chinese, Japanese and other residents weren't named by the canvassers, so they can't be listed by name: their houses' pages say where. More family names under A. Want a name removed? Tell us.