Vancouver / Names / B / Bell / West 5th Avenue

A family name on West 5th Avenue, Kitsilano, Mount Pleasant, Fairview and West Point Grey

The Bells

In the city directories 1940 · eight people at three addresses

The directories print eight people named Bell at three addresses in 1940, all on West 5th 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: six Bells at 2860 West 5th 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

    2516 West 5th Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • Mrs Faith Bell 1940

    Next door in 1940: 4 listings at 2506 and F A Brodie at 2526. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    2860 West 5th Avenue

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • H V Bell, a janitor 1940
    • Andrew B Bell, a warehouseman at Consolidated Grocers 1940
    • John Bell, a bookkeeper at Consolidated Grocery 1940
    • Lillian M Bell, a saleswoman at Woodward's 1940
    • Thomas Bell, a serviceman at Tremblay Motors 1940
    • William J Bell, a chauffeur at Commercial Taxi 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs M Davis at 2856 and Mrs L A Jenni at 2866. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    4593 West 5th Avenue

    West Point Grey, 1940

    • Jane E Bell, widow of R T 1940

    Next door in 1940: A L Bromley at 4585. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for six of the eight: a bookkeeper, a chauffeur, a janitor, a saleswoman, a serviceman and a warehouseman. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Kitsilano (2) and West Point Grey. 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 Faith Bell at 2516 West 5th Avenue. H V Bell is listed at 2860 West 5th Avenue in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Harry V Bell there as the householder, a janitor, with Andrew B Bell, a warehouseman at Consolidated Grocers, John Bell, a bookkeeper at Consolidated Grocery, Lillian M Bell, a saleswoman at Woodward's, Thomas Bell, a serviceman at Tremblay Motors, and William J Bell, a chauffeur at Commercial Taxi. The 1940 name section lists Jane E Bell at 4593 West 5th Avenue, widow of R T.

Today

2516 West 5th and 2860 West 5th still have their buildings from before 1946, 2860 West 5th on the Vancouver Heritage Register; 4593 West 5th (2004) has a newer building, by the City's record.

Every line as printed

All 9 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.

We're opening orders soon. Join the list to be first in line; we expect about $29 a family.

One email, when it's ready. We use your email for nothing else and never share it. Privacy

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.