Vancouver / Names / S / Smith / West 20th Avenue

A family name on West 20th Avenue, Dunbar-Southlands, Riley Park, South Cambie, Shaughnessy and Arbutus Ridge

The Smiths

In the city directories 1940 · five people at four addresses

The directories print five people named Smith at four addresses in 1940, all on West 20th Avenue. 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. One address isn't on today's map, so it has no pin. Today's land, parks, main roads and local areas: City of Vancouver Open Data (Open Government Licence – Vancouver).
  1. 1

    166 West 20th Avenue

    Riley Park, 1940

    • G H Smith, a tinsmith at the Smith Sheet Metal Works 1940

    Next door in 1940: L K Frith-Smith at 154 and H A McLean at 174. The block, door by door

  2. 2

    420 West 20th Avenue

    Riley Park, 1940

    • Beatrice F Smith, a bookkeeper at M-W Ltd 1940
    • Kirby C Smith 1940

    Next door in 1940: W Dennis at 412 and W T Dolphin at 426. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    946 West 20th Avenue

    South Cambie, 1940

    • H D Smith 1940

    Next door in 1940: Mrs E L Knight at 948. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    3493 West 20th Avenue

    Dunbar-Southlands, 1940

    • A T Smith, a clerk at the CPR 1940

    Next door in 1940: W E Little at 3483. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for three of the five: a bookkeeper, a clerk and a tinsmith.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Riley Park (2), Dunbar-Southlands and South Cambie. 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 G H Smith at 166 West 20th Avenue; 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, where each person's work is printed, lists Gerald H Smith there as the householder, a tinsmith at the Smith Sheet Metal Works. The 1940 name section lists Beatrice F Smith at 420 West 20th Avenue, a bookkeeper at M-W Ltd, with Kirby C Smith. H D Smith is listed at 946 West 20th Avenue in 1940.

In 1940 the directory lists A T Smith at 3493 West 20th Avenue; the 1940 line is marked * too. The 1940 name section lists Andrew T Smith there as the householder, a clerk at the CPR.

Today

166 West 20th, 420 West 20th and 946 West 20th still have their buildings from before 1946; 3493 West 20th (2011) has a newer building, by the City's record.

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 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.