Vancouver / Names / L / Lim

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Lims

In the city directories 1940 · nine people at nine addresses

The directories print nine people named Lim at nine 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 Lims 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

    103 East Hastings Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Hing Lim, proprietor of White House Chop Suey 1940

    Next door in 1940: Broadway Hotel Cigar Stand at 101. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    151 East Hastings Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • George Lim, a manager at Common Gold Cafe 1940

    Next door in 1940: H Bookman at 141 and Balmoral Hotel at 159. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    41 East Pender Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Sammy Lim, proprietor of Lucky Star Drug Store 1940

    Next door in 1940: Kwong Chin Ho Co at 39 and Duck Chow at 43. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    75 East Pender Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • James Y Lim, a manager at Gim Lee Yuen 1940

    Next door in 1940: Wo Fong Fuey at 73 and “Orientals” at 77. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    87 East Pender Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Hen Suie Lim, a manager at Wat Sang Sun Kee 1940

    Next door in 1940: Sang Lung Kee Hop at 79 and Chop Suey Shanghai at 91. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    92 East Pender Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Butt Lim, proprietor of Kwong Chai Tong 1940

    Next door in 1940: Young Low Bok at 90 and House Chop Suey White at 94. The block, door by door

  7. 7

    1761 Grant Street

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • J Lim, a director at Gim Lee Yuen Ltd 1940

    Next door in 1940: A Foster at 1749. The block, door by door

  8. 8

    347 Keefer Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Chew Lim 1940

    Next door in 1940: Lin Sow Lum at 343 and Creamery Hazelwood at 355. The block, door by door

  9. 9

    407 Keefer Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Yin Ming Lim 1940

    Next door in 1940: “Orientals” at 403 and Gim Mah at 415. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for seven of the nine: a manager (3), a proprietor (3) and a director.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown (6), Strathcona (2) and Grandview-Woodland. 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 Hing Lim at 103 East Hastings Street, proprietor of White House Chop Suey. The 1940 name section lists George Lim at 151 East Hastings Street, a manager at Common Gold Cafe. The 1940 name section lists Sammy Lim at 41 East Pender Street, proprietor of Lucky Star Drug Store. The 1940 name section lists James Y Lim at 75 East Pender Street, a manager at Gim Lee Yuen.

The 1940 name section lists Hen Suie Lim at 87 East Pender Street, a manager at Wat Sang Sun Kee. The 1940 name section lists Butt Lim at 92 East Pender Street, proprietor of Kwong Chai Tong. In 1940 the directory lists J Lim at 1761 Grant Street. The 1940 name section lists John Lim there as the householder, a director at Gim Lee Yuen Ltd.

In 1940 the directory lists Chew Lim at 347 Keefer Street. The 1940 name section lists Chew Lim there as the householder. In 1940 the directory lists Yin Ming Lim at 407 Keefer Street; 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 Yin Ming Lim there as the householder.

Today

103 East Hastings, 151 East Hastings, 87 East Pender and 1761 Grant still have their buildings from before 1946; the City no longer lists 41 East Pender, 75 East Pender, 92 East Pender, 347 Keefer and 407 Keefer, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

Every line as printed

All 12 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 Lims

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Lim 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 L. Want a name removed? Tell us.