This early gas station sat on the corner of Venables and Commercial Drive. This image was taken in 1955, but the building was pretty much identical from 1922, when it was first opened, (seen below). In both pictures the owners were ‘Commercial Drive Garage’. Before this development there was a business with the same name two blocks to the south, run by A R Higgins. In January 1922 the business ran an ad; “Stop Your Car – At our fireproof Garage and filling station on the corner of Commercial Drive and Venables St. By all odds it’s the largest and most completely equipped garage anywhere east of Main St. And our family of skilled auto mechanics – the men
whose good work pleased so many car owners that our business outgrew its former home – are with us in our
new home, and ready to give you even better service on all auto repairs, mechanical or electrical.”
We think the repair bays (with the three sets of windows, and the Esso sign on the roof) were a second permit from 1925. E. Evans & Son designed both projects – the initial garage cost $10,000 and was built by Blackley & Turner, and the 1925 addition was built for $5,300 by F Davies.
The garage featured in notices for a variety of services; Raybestos brakes, Coyle Batteries, Goodyear Tires, even Westinghouse Super-Heterodyne home radios (which were a sizeable piece of furniture).
In 1936 Danny Hadden received a one year jail sentence for stealing an automobile and tools from the garage. Alfred R Higgins (Al) was running the garage in 1940, and was one of two representatives of the service station division of the Retail Merchants Association who attended the Legislature where they grudgingly agreed to make only 4c a gallon on gasoline sales, after Premier Pattulo ordered the price to be fixed at 25c a gallon. In 1947 Mr Higgins, age 61, was an NPA candidate for Council for the first time, and described as a ‘dark horse’ candidate. He wasn’t elected.
In 1954 “Thieves who broke into Commercial Drive Garage, 16S6 Venables, early today apparently were only interested in one acetylene and one oxygen tank, one cutting torch and a half inch electric drill which they stole. They made no attempt to get into the office, police report.” E Higgins was running the business in 1968 when he sold a 1955 Buick whose owner had failed to pay for $325 of repairs.
By 1978 the canopy had been simplified, although it looks like the windows and the rest of the building were still the same as in the 1920s. It was still a garage in 1980, but in 1985 there was an application to change the zoning to commercial use, and the replacement buildings, with a convenience store, a Thai Restaurant, and another restaurant that was previously vegetarian, but for a number of years has been Down Low Chicken.
When Ed Higgins died in 1989, his obituary said he moved to Vancouver from Lachine, Quebec, and that he and his bother ran the Commercial Drive Garage, taking over from their father, who founded the business.
Image sources: Vancouver Public Library, Jewish Museum L.13173 and City of Vancouver Archives CVA786-68.27
1400
After twelve and a half years, and 1,400 posts, we’re slowing down.
We’ll still be posting, but from now on, instead of Monday and Thursday, we’ll be posting once a week, starting next week, on Tuesday.
Fortunately the Vancouver Archives continue to make more high definition images available free on their website, so we won’t be running short of material.
Changing Vancouver 