Vancouver / Names / M / McKay / Granville Street

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

The McKays

In the city directories 1940 · six people at six addresses

The directories print six people named McKay at six addresses in 1940, all on Granville Street, with the close spellings MacKay and Mackay. 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 148 other streets too, all listed on the McKay 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 McKays 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

    543 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • J J MacKay, a manufacturers agent 1940

    Next door in 1940: Leather Gds Burns at 541 and L C Fraser at 545. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    679 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • G McKay, a tailor 1940

    Next door in 1940: R C Chocolates Purdy at 675 and Eng Chow Co at 681. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    718 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • A W MacKay, a dentist 1940

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

  4. 4

    1006 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Alex McKay 1940

    Next door in 1940: Belmont Grill at 1012. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    1025 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Ray W McKay, a police officer at the BC Government 1940

    Next door in 1940: W C Stearman at 1023 and Plaza Hotel at 1029. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    1227 Granville Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • P McKay, a logman at Overseas Wood Products 1940

    Next door in 1940: Austin Hotel at 1221 and Maple Conf at 1229. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for three of the six: a logman, a police officer and a tailor.

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 J J MacKay, a manufacturers agent, at 543 Granville Street. G McKay is listed at 679 Granville Street in 1940. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists George McKay there as the householder, a tailor. A W MacKay, a dentist, is listed at 718 Granville Street in 1940.

The 1940 name section lists Alex McKay at 1006 Granville Street. The 1940 name section lists Ray W McKay at 1025 Granville Street, a police officer at the BC Government. The 1940 name section lists P McKay at 1227 Granville Street, a logman at Overseas Wood Products.

Today

1025 Granville still has its building from before 1946, dated 1910 by the City's record and on the Vancouver Heritage Register; 543 Granville (1995) has a newer building, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 679 Granville, 718 Granville, 1006 Granville and 1227 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 679 Granville: no archive photo of the 600 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 99-350. Public domain.

Every line as printed

All 7 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 McKays

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the McKay 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 M. Want a name removed? Tell us.