Vancouver / Names / J / Johnston / Granville Street

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

The Johnstons

In the city directories 1940 · eight people at six addresses

The directories print eight people named Johnston at six addresses in 1940, all on Granville Street, with the close spelling Johnstone. 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 166 other streets too, all listed on the Johnston 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 Johnstons 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

    718 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • G C Johnston, a physician 1940

    Next door in 1940: Birks H & Sons (BC) Ltd at 710 and scott's cafe at 722. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    871 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • J Johnston 1940

    Next door in 1940: Jerome's at 869 and Weston Fur Co at 873. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    1018 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • R Johnston, a holder on at the Burrard Dry Dock 1940
    • Mrs Tessie Johnston, a laundry worker at Pioneer Laundry 1940

    Next door in 1940: Oil Burner Dominion at 1016 and Alberta Furn at 1020. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1161 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Harold Johnston, a janitor 1940

    Next door in 1940: St Helen's Cigar Stand at 1159 and French Way Clnrs at 1167. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    1221 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Thomas Johnston, a salesman at Spencer's 1940

    Next door in 1940: Snap-On Tools of Can at 1211 and T Ishida at 1227. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    1336 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Percy Johnston 1940
    • Mrs Margaret Johnstone 1940

    Next door in 1940: Cecil Cafe at 1326 and Independent Motors at 1344. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for four of the eight: a holder on, a janitor, a laundry worker and a salesman.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown (6). 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 G C Johnston, a physician, at 718 Granville Street. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists J Johnston at 871 Granville Street. The 1940 name section lists R Johnston at 1018 Granville Street, a holder on at the Burrard Dry Dock, with Mrs Tessie Johnston, a laundry worker at Pioneer Laundry. The 1940 name section lists Harold Johnston at 1161 Granville Street, a janitor.

The 1940 name section lists Thomas Johnston at 1221 Granville Street, a salesman at Spencer's. The 1940 name section lists Percy Johnston at 1336 Granville Street, with Mrs Margaret Johnstone.

Today

1018 Granville, 1161 Granville and 1221 Granville still have their buildings from before 1946, 1161 Granville on the Vancouver Heritage Register; the City no longer lists 718 Granville, 871 Granville and 1336 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 1018 Granville: no archive photo of the 1000 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 99-350. Public domain.

Every line as printed

All 8 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 Johnstons

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Johnston 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 J. Want a name removed? Tell us.