Vancouver / Names / W / Watson / Main Street

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

The Watsons

In the city directories 1940 · seven people at four addresses

The directories print seven people named Watson at four 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 most under one roof: three Watsons at 2545 Main in 1940. The directories print the name on 145 other streets too, all listed on the Watson 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 Watsons 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

    2545 Main Street

    Mount Pleasant, 1940

    • Mrs M Watson, widow of P 1940
    • Alice C Watson, a saleswoman at Woolworths 1940
    • Marguerite C Watson, an operator at the BC Telephone 1940

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

  2. 2

    3936 Main Street

    Riley Park, 1940

    • G Watson, a painter 1940
    • John F Watson 1940

    Next door in 1940: J E Allison at 3934 and L Acton at 3938. The block, door by door

  3. 3

    4065 Main Street

    Riley Park, 1940

    • G C Watson, a dentist 1940

    Next door in 1940: Printing Main at 4063 and A J Pallot at 4067. The block, door by door

  4. 4

    4120 Main Street

    Riley Park, 1940

    • Mrs M Watson 1940

    Next door in 1940: Hoy's Ice Cream at 4118 and Brayne & Clarke at 4124. The block, door by door

What they did

The name section prints a trade for two of the seven: an operator and a saleswoman. One is a widow, listed under her own name.

Their neighbourhoods

The addresses are in Riley Park (3) and Mount Pleasant. 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 Mrs M Watson at 2545 Main Street. The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Margaret M Watson there as the householder, widow of P, with Alice C Watson, a saleswoman at Woolworths, and Marguerite C Watson, an operator at the BC Telephone. In 1940 the directory lists G Watson, a painter, at 3936 Main Street. The 1940 name section lists John F Watson there.

In 1940 the directory lists G C Watson, a dentist, at 4065 Main Street. Mrs M Watson is listed at 4120 Main Street in 1940.

Today

2545 Main and 4120 Main still have their buildings from before 1946; the City no longer lists 3936 Main and 4065 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 2545 Main: no archive photo of the 2500 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, street section

The book of the Watsons

Every directory, as one book

The family book reads the Watson 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 W. Want a name removed? Tell us.