Vancouver / Names / B / Bell / West 17th Avenue

A family name on West 17th Avenue, South Cambie, Riley Park, Shaughnessy, Arbutus Ridge and Dunbar-Southlands

The Bells

In the city directories 1940 · seven people at three addresses

The directories print seven people named Bell at three addresses in 1940, all on West 17th Avenue. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family. The most under one roof: three Bells at 668 West 17th in 1940. The directories print the name on 137 other streets too, all listed on the Bell name's own page.

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 Bells 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

    296 West 17th Avenue

    Riley Park, 1940

    • Mrs B Bell, a maid at the Grosvenor Hotel 1940
    • William Bell, a millworker at BC Fir 1940

    Next door in 1940: J Sinclair at 286. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    668 West 17th Avenue

    South Cambie, 1940

    • A Bell, a salesman at Associated Dairies 1940
    • Norman D Bell, a student 1940
    • Stan D Bell, who ran a service station 1940

    Next door in 1940: R C Hatch at 666 and J H Holroyd at 670. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1950 West 17th Avenue

    Shaughnessy, 1940

    • G Bell, a manager at Bell & Mitchell 1940
    • Roderick M Bell, a clerk at Bell & Mitchell 1940

    Next door in 1940: D J Costello at 1926. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for six of the seven: a clerk, a maid, a manager, a millworker, a salesman and a service station. Two of them worked for Bell & Mitchell.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Riley Park, Shaughnessy and South Cambie. 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

The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Mrs B Bell at 296 West 17th Avenue, a maid at the Grosvenor Hotel, with William Bell, a millworker at BC Fir. A Bell is listed at 668 West 17th Avenue 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). The 1940 name section lists Alex Bell there as the householder, a salesman at Associated Dairies, with Norman D Bell, a student, and Stan D Bell, who ran a service station.

G Bell is listed at 1950 West 17th Avenue in 1940; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Gordon Bell there as the householder, a manager at Bell & Mitchell, with G Doug Bell, a student, and Roderick M Bell, a clerk at Bell & Mitchell.

Today

296 West 17th, 668 West 17th and 1950 West 17th still have their buildings from before 1946, 296 West 17th on the Vancouver Heritage Register.

Every line as printed

All 10 lines printed under the name through 1945, each with its page at the Vancouver Public Library.
1940

British Columbia and Yukon Directory, name section, where each person's work is printed

The book of the Bells

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Bell 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 B. Want a name removed? Tell us.