Vancouver / Names / R / Robertson / East Hastings Street

A family name on East Hastings Street, Strathcona, Downtown, Grandview-Woodland and Hastings-Sunrise

The Robertsons

In the city directories 1940 · six people at six addresses

The directories print six people named Robertson at six addresses in 1940, all on East Hastings Street. 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 150 other streets too, all listed on the Robertson 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 Robertsons 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

    23 East Hastings Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • Robert Robertson, proprietor of the Dodson Rooms 1940

    Next door in 1940: W J Heads at 21 and dodson hotel at 25. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    52 East Hastings Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • James Robertson 1940

    Next door in 1940: La Velve Cafe at 50 and Common Gold Cafe at 54. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    159 East Hastings Street

    Downtown, 1940

    • David Robertson, an engineer at the Balmoral Hotel 1940

    Next door in 1940: Common Gold Cafe at 151 and Balmoral Hotel Cigar Stand at 161. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    344 East Hastings Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • James Robertson, retired 1940

    Next door in 1940: Goodwill Activities Assn at 346. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    2210 East Hastings Street

    Grandview-Woodland, 1940

    • D Robertson, a conductor at the BC Electric Railway 1940

    Next door in 1940: F Dyki at 2214. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    3478 East Hastings Street

    Hastings-Sunrise, 1940

    • John Robertson 1940

    Next door in 1940: L B Foley at 3434. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for three of the six: a conductor, an engineer and a proprietor.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Downtown (3), Grandview-Woodland, Hastings-Sunrise 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 Robert Robertson at 23 East Hastings Street, proprietor of the Dodson Rooms. The 1940 name section lists James Robertson at 52 East Hastings Street. The 1940 name section lists David Robertson at 159 East Hastings Street, an engineer at the Balmoral Hotel. The 1940 name section lists James Robertson at 344 East Hastings Street, retired.

In 1940 the directory lists D Robertson at 2210 East Hastings 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 Duncan Robertson there as the householder, a conductor at the BC Electric Railway. The 1940 name section lists John Robertson at 3478 East Hastings Street.

Today

344 East Hastings still has its building from before 1946, dated 1912 by the City's record; the City no longer lists 23 East Hastings, 52 East Hastings, 2210 East Hastings and 3478 East Hastings, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred); for 159 East Hastings, its page says what we could and couldn't match to today's buildings.

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, name section, where each person's work is printed

The book of the Robertsons

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Robertson 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.

We're opening orders soon. Join the list to be first in line; we expect about $29 a family.

One email, when it's ready. We use your email for nothing else and never share it. Privacy

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 R. Want a name removed? Tell us.