Vancouver / Names / P / Patterson / Main Street

A family name on Main Street, Riley Park, Strathcona, Downtown, Mount Pleasant and Sunset

The Pattersons

In the city directories 1940 · five people at four addresses

The directories print five people named Patterson at four addresses in 1940, all on Main Street, with the close spellings Peterson, Paterson and Petterson. 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 160 other streets too, all listed on the Patterson 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 Pattersons 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

    645 Main Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Henry Patterson, retired 1940

    Next door in 1940: Miss F Fujino at 641. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    2804 Main Street

    Mount Pleasant, 1940

    • Mrs E Patterson, who ran a gas station 1940

    Next door in 1940: L F Gourley at 2810. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    4128 Main Street

    Riley Park, 1940

    • A G Peterson, a longshoreman 1940

    Next door in 1940: Brayne & Clarke at 4124 and Quality Shoe Store at 4132. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    4607 Main Street

    Riley Park, 1940

    • J R Paterson, a longshoreman 1940
    • Hugh Paterson, retired 1940

    Next door in 1940: Concord Furn Store at 4605. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for three of the five: a longshoreman (2) and a gas station.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Riley Park (2), Mount Pleasant and Strathcona. 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 Henry Patterson at 645 Main Street, retired. Mrs E Patterson, in service station and fuel, is listed at 2804 Main Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Mrs Ella Patterson there, who ran a gas station.

A G Peterson is listed at 4128 Main Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Allan G Peterson there as the householder, a longshoreman. J R Paterson is listed at 4607 Main Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists John R Paterson there as the householder, a longshoreman, with Hugh Paterson, retired.

Today

4128 Main and 4607 Main still have their buildings from before 1946; the City no longer lists 645 Main and 2804 Main, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).

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 4607 Main: no archive photo of the 4600 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 136-513. 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, name section, where each person's work is printed

The book of the Pattersons

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Patterson 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 P. Want a name removed? Tell us.