Vancouver / Names / S / Smith / Main Street

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

The Smiths

In the city directories 1940 · nine people at eight addresses

The directories print nine people named Smith at eight addresses in 1940, all on Main 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 305 other streets too, all listed on the Smith 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 Smiths 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

    117 Main Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • C Smith 1940

    Next door in 1940: T Fujibayashi at 119. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    501 Main Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • R Smith, a janitor at the Canadian Bank of Commerce Building 1940

    Next door in 1940: Wo Kung at 507. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    917 Main Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Arthur H Smith, a seaman 1940
    • Hugh Smith 1940

    Next door in 1940: Better 'Ole (The) at 915 and Machinery Jobbing & Junk Co at 925. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    1022 Main Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • William C Smith, a caretaker at Cabins 1940

    Next door in 1940: Van Bottle Co at 1020 and Main Sheet Metal Works at 1024. The block, door by door

  5. 5

    1038 Main Street

    Strathcona, 1940

    • Angus M Smith, a carpenter 1940

    Next door in 1940: Main Sheet Metal Works at 1024. The block, door by door

  6. 6

    2237 Main Street

    Mount Pleasant, 1940

    • Frederick C Smith, a caretaker at Maccabees Hall 1940

    Next door in 1940: H B Bragg at 2235 and Pleasant Bky at 2241. The block, door by door

  7. 7

    2545 Main Street

    Mount Pleasant, 1940

    • J S Smith, an engineer 1940

    Next door in 1940: Belvedere Delctsn at 2543 and W E Turnbull at 2549. The block, door by door

  8. 8

    4429 Main Street

    Riley Park, 1940

    • Dorothy Smith, a saleswoman at A & N Department Store 1940

    Next door in 1940: J Muir at 4419 and F G Lycett at 4431. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for seven of the nine: a caretaker (2), a carpenter, an engineer, a janitor, a saleswoman and a seaman.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Strathcona (5), Mount Pleasant (2) and Riley Park. 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 C Smith at 117 Main Street. R Smith is listed at 501 Main Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists Robert Smith there as the householder, a janitor at the Canadian Bank of Commerce Building. The 1940 name section lists Arthur H Smith at 917 Main Street, a seaman, with Hugh Smith.

The 1940 name section lists William C Smith at 1022 Main Street, a caretaker at Cabins. The 1940 name section lists Angus M Smith at 1038 Main Street, a carpenter. The 1940 name section lists Frederick C Smith at 2237 Main Street, a caretaker at Maccabees Hall.

J S Smith is listed at 2545 Main Street in 1940. The 1940 name section lists John S Smith there as the householder, an engineer. The 1940 name section lists Dorothy Smith at 4429 Main Street, a saleswoman at A & N Department Store.

Today

117 Main, 501 Main, 917 Main, 1038 Main and 2545 Main still have their buildings from before 1946, 501 Main and 1038 Main on the Vancouver Heritage Register; 1022 Main (1960) has a newer building, by the City's record; the City no longer lists 2237 Main and 4429 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 501 Main: no archive photo of the 500 block is known that we can show. City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 136-513. Public domain.

Every line as printed

All 11 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 Smiths

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Smith 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 S. Want a name removed? Tell us.