We’re looking southeast from Pacific Street on March 13 1931. These houses aren’t that old, but they’re about to be demolished for the new Burrard Bridge. Further north, Burrard was a wide boulevard, lined with big houses, but here it narrowed and dropped down a steep grade to False Creek. That all changed when the Burrard Bridge was built.

The houses on Pacific (on the left of the image) were built during the lost permit period, but we’ve traced several of them. Edward Hunt developed one of the homes in 1907, as a permit reference in the Daily World mentions the lot number. That house cost $2,000, and five months earlier Edward built another house on Pacific for $1,800. The 1908 street directory confirms there were four houses here (where there were none in 1906), and Edward Hunt was living in 934, the third in the row from Burrard. William Rickson, a merchant was at 928, Daniel MacLaren, a tailor at 940 and John Allen, a real estate agent was in the corner house, 946 Pacific.

We initially couldn’t find Edward in the 1911 census, (although there was another Edward Hunt who was a developer in the city at the time). Fortunately our contractor had been in the city in 1901, when he was a carpenter, living on Howe Street. That year’s census showed him from England, aged 44, having arrived in 1888. His wife, Mary was a year older, and they had three daughters. The eldest who was 18 was born in the US, her 14 year old sister Ethel, in England, and 11 year old Nellie in BC.

Edward built several other houses on Pacific and elsewhere in the West End, sometimes in partnership with George Calder. Down the hill H C and L Elliott built at least three of the houses in 1906 and 1907, each costing $2,500 each to construct. We think house-building was a side gig for the Elliott brothers: Harold (Clinton) Elliott was a shipwright born in Pugwash, Nova Scotia in 1870, while Lloyd was a ship’s carpenter, born four years later. They were from a family with ten children, and we thought their older brother, Frederick, had come to Vancouver around 1902 with Harold, and Lloyd arriving a little later. However, although he doesn’t appear in the street directory, we found a reference in 1889, apparently to Harold. “Work on the strong stern-wheel river steamer being built for Messrs. Holiuan and Armstrong is progressing well. H. C. Elliot, the ship-builder, who is carrying out her construction, is doing very thorough work”. He seems to have headed south, as he married in Seattle in 1900. Their father was a farmer, born in New Brunswick.

While some of those lasted decades, these houses didn’t last much longer than this picture – barely 25 years. All the houses here were cleared away as part of the construction of Burrard Bridge, which had started in 1930, with the new bridge opening in July 1932. In January 1931 The Province reported “Houses on Right-of-way of Burrard Bridge Doomed – Tenders will be called by the city for removal or demolition of several houses on property acquired by civic authorities for the northern right-of-way for Burrard bridge. This was decided by the civic bridges and railways committee Monday afternoon. It was reported the buildings are In need of repair and decorating.”

There’s still potential for development to the south, but a recent reconfiguration of the offramp from the bridge to incorporate a bike lane has altered the developable space.

Image source: City of Vancouver Archives CVA Br N38.1

1107

We looked at a different view of the Richmond Apartments in a post a few years ago. The building was developed by Edward Hunt in 1910, and designed by W T Whiteway. C P Shindler built the $70,000 building, seen here in 1945. There were three Edward Hunts living in Vancouver in 1911, one a fireman for the CPR, one a building contactor, and one a retired 57 year old, living in an apartment on Robson – in this building. He first arrived in the city in 1910, when he stayed in the newly built Homer Apartments on Smithe Street. He was English, (born in Gloucestershire in 1855) and married to Florence, who was American, and thirty years younger than her husband. Edward had arrived in Canada in 1876 (seven years before his wife was born), and to British Columbia in 1888, while Florence had arrived in 1903.

In 1901 Edward Hunt was living in Richmond, shown as aged 47, and a merchant, living with his English wife Louisa, who was also 47, and their son, Edward S Hunt. The street directory tells us he was the Postmaster, and a General Merchant in Steveston. Edward Hunt was living in Vancouver in 1891, with his wife, son and mother, and they each had a store. Edward’s was a grocer’s store at the corner of Nelson and Hornby, while his mother, Emily (who was then aged 69) ran a grocers on the Westminster Road (Main Street today).

He moved to Richmond in the early 1890s. He was elected to Steveston Council in 1893, was working for the Steveston Cannery Co in 1894 and set up a general store there in 1895. He split with his former business partner, J A Fraser in the same year, expanded it in 1896 and was one of three owners of the Steveston Cannery, capitalised at $50,000 in that same year. His store later became the Walker Emporium and was on the corner of Moncton Street and 2nd Avenue. He was a magistrate in Richmond in 1900, and the first to sign a requisition to call out the militia to prevent violence during a strike by Fraser River fishermen. He was on the Council again in 1898 and from 1900 to 1902. In 1907 he became Reeve of Steveston, when this picture was published.

The census shows he was still living in his Robson apartment in 1921, but on his own, and the street directory shows him in the same apartment in 1941. He died in 1943, aged 88, recorded as a widower.

Today there’s an office building addressed as 777 Hornby, completed in 1969, and designed by Frank Roy. The architectural practice who supervised construction of the building was Thompson, Berwick, Pratt and Partners.

Image source: City of Vancouver Archives CVA 586-4162

0741

This is the corner of Robson and Hornby in 1945. The Richmond Apartments, developed by Edward Hunt in 1910 are on the corner. A Spencer and Company were selling real estate from the store on the corner. The O’Neil Company (selling glass and tiles to builders) were next door in a building later used by Williams Bros, photographers.

Next door was the Famous Kitchen Cafe, which somewhat confusingly advertised ‘Famous Steaks’ with a huge neon chicken. (The Hotel Vancouver is in the background). 785 Hornby opened as The Devonshire Cafe, and in 1928 it was recorded in the street directory as the Richmond Arts Building. Richmond Arts Co obtained the permit in 1927 for a $15,000 building built by Dominion Construction. Before this there were houses here, similar to the houses further down the street next to the hotel. They were built before 1901. By 1938 the cafe was Helen’s Tea Room, and one of the houses was being used as a government health laboratory.

Today there’s an office building addressed as 777 Hornby. It’s been there for a while – having been completed in 1969. It’s divided into many small offices, with several lawyers and medical offices. According to a brochure in the Archives the architect was Frank Roy. He’s an architect with an extraordinarily low profile for such a large building. We can find for him as the designer of the glu-lam curved Safeway supermarket recently replaced on Granville in Marpole.He also designed St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Steveston.

The architectural practice who supervised construction of the Hornby office building was Thompson, Berwick, Pratt and partners.

Image source: City of Vancouver Archives CVA 586-4162

0328

On the immediate left are the Richmond Apartments. On the right is the Court House, and beyond is the Devonshire Hotel. The Richmond was a substantial building, with a steel frame costing $70,000 in 1910. It was designed by W T Whiteway for Edward Hunt.

There were four people called Edward Hunt in the city in 1911, but only one lived at this address (915 Robson Street). He was aged 57, a retired merchant born in England and it looks like he had arrived in Canada in 1876 (although the handwriting on the census form leaves something to be desired). His wife in 1911, Florence, was born in the US and only arrived in Canada in 1903. While Mr Hunt was aged 57, his wife was 30 years younger.

Ten years earlier Mr Hunt was living in Richmond (perhaps the source of the apartment’s name). We assume it’s the same Edward Hunt as the year and month of birth match, both were born in England, and in 1901 he’s described as a merchant. In 1901 there was an earlier family; his wife Louisa, born in England was also aged 47, their son, also called Edward and born in Ontario was 17 and there were four lodgers; David Davidson, Charles Edwards, Arthur Parker and William Quinn. The family – but without any lodgers – were living in the city of Vancouver in 1891.

It’s a reasonable bet that this Edward Hunt is the same Edward Hunt who was with working for the Steveston Cannery Co in 1894, set up a general store there in 1895, expanded it in 1896 and was one of three owners of the Steveston Cannery, capitalised at $50,000 in that same year. He was a magistrate in Richmond in 1900, and the first to sign a requisition to call out the militia to prevent violence during a strike by Fraser fishermen. (The decision to call out the militia was the subject of a government inquiry).

In 1912 W T Whiteway designed a $9,000 single storey store for Edward Hunt at the corner of Pacific and Howe. We think that’s likely to be the same owner as the apartments, as it shared the same builder and architect.

Image source: City of Vancouver Archives CVA 2008-022.057, photographed by Leslie F Sheraton in the 1950s

0327