Vancouver / Names / F / Foster / Granville Street

A family name on Granville Street, Downtown, Fairview, Shaughnessy, Kerrisdale, Oakridge and Marpole

The Fosters

In the city directories 1940 · five people at four addresses

The directories print five people named Foster at four addresses in 1940, all on Granville Street. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family. The directories print the name on 104 other streets too, all listed on the Foster 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 Fosters lived

Each pin is on its own block, numbered as the households below. One address isn't on today's map, so it has no pin. Today's land, parks, main roads and local areas: City of Vancouver Open Data (Open Government Licence – Vancouver).
  1. 1

    825 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • W A Foster, a dental laborer 1940

    Next door in 1940: R G Hunter at 823 and Green Parrot Coffee Shop at 827. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    1261 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Ruth Foster 1940

    Next door in 1940: Wosk's Ltd at 1259 and Crescent Furn at 1267. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1390 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Alice Foster 1940
    • Mrs Annie Foster 1940

    Next door in 1940: Laidler G F Co at 1378 and Curtis Mtrs at 1396. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    4287 Granville Street

    Shaughnessy, 1940

    • Jean Foster, a maid for J C Munro 1940

    Next door in 1940: A Westerberg at 4261. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for one of the five: a maid.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown (3) and Shaughnessy. 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 W A Foster, a dental laborer, at 825 Granville Street. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Ruth Foster at 1261 Granville Street. The 1940 name section lists Alice Foster at 1390 Granville Street, with Mrs Annie Foster. The 1940 name section lists Jean Foster at 4287 Granville Street, a maid for J C Munro.

Today

825 Granville and 1261 Granville still have their buildings from before 1946; the City no longer lists 1390 Granville and 4287 Granville, 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 1390 Granville: no archive photo of the 1300 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 Fosters

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Foster 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.

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 F. Want a name removed? Tell us.