Vancouver / Names / M / Murata

A family name in Vancouver's city directories

The Muratas

In the city directories 1940 · ten people at seven addresses

The directories print ten people named Murata at seven addresses in 1940 in four 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 Muratas 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

    2379 Burrard Street

    Kitsilano, 1940

    • S Murata, proprietor of Home Cleaners 1940

    Next door in 1940: Cedar Centre Mkt at 2365. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    304 Heatley Avenue

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Murata 1940
    • Murata 1940

    Next door in 1940: H Miyagawa at 302 and I Ikebuchi at 306. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    185 Main Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Mrs T Murata, a cleaner 1940
    • M Murata 1940

    Next door in 1940: A1 Welding Shop at 145 and Kintoki Restr at 187. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1720 West 2nd Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • Y Murata, a millworker 1940

    Next door in 1940: “Orientals” at 1718 and H Singh at 1722. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    1726 West 2nd Avenue

    Fairview, 1940

    • T Murata, a gardener 1940

    Next door in 1940: H Singh at 1722. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    130 West 4th Avenue

    Mount Pleasant, 1940

    • S Murata, a confectioner 1940
    • Mrs Irene S Murata, proprietor of New Togo Cleaners 1940

    Next door in 1940: D Tanabe at 128 and Spicer's Asbestos (whse) at 140. The block, door by door

  7. 7

    138 West 6th Avenue

    Mount Pleasant, 1940

    • K Murata, proprietor of Japan Cleaners & Dyers 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs H Holtzkaner at 134 and J Ormandy at 142. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for seven of the ten: a proprietor (3), a cleaner, a confectioner, a gardener and a millworker.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Fairview (2), Mount Pleasant (2), Strathcona (2) and Kitsilano. 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 S Murata at 2379 Burrard Street. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Shinichiro Murata there as the householder, proprietor of Home Cleaners. In 1940 the directory lists Murata at 304 Heatley Avenue. The 1940 name section lists Murata there as the householder.

In 1940 the directory lists Mrs T Murata, a cleaner, at 185 Main Street. The 1940 name section lists Mrs Tmo Murata there, a cleaner, with M Murata. In 1940 the directory lists Y Murata at 1720 West 2nd Avenue. The 1940 name section lists Yoshiyuki Murata there as the householder, a millworker.

In 1940 the directory lists T Murata at 1726 West 2nd Avenue. The 1940 name section lists Tadao Murata there as the householder, a gardener. In 1940 the directory lists S Murata, a confectioner, at 130 West 4th Avenue. The 1940 name section lists Sadakichi Murata there, a confectioner, with Mrs Irene S Murata, proprietor of New Togo Cleaners.

In 1940 the directory lists K Murata at 138 West 6th Avenue. The 1940 name section lists Kiyoshi Murata there as the householder, proprietor of Japan Cleaners & Dyers.

Today

138 West 6th (1996) has a newer building, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 2379 Burrard, 304 Heatley, 185 Main, 1726 West 2nd and 130 West 4th, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred); for 1720 West 2nd, its page says what we could and couldn't match to today's buildings.

Streetcars on Main Street, past a row of billboards
March 1940 Streetcars on Main Street, past a row of billboards. Not at the house at 185 Main: no archive photo of the 100 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 136-513. Public domain.

Every line as printed

All 16 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 Muratas

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Murata 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.