Welcome

Featured ~ rkmoen ~ 2 Comments
House for Dr. D.H. Wilson, corner Chilco Street and Haro Street; Vancouver City Archives; Reference code: AM1015-F16; Maclure and Fox, Architects, 1910; Elevation to Chilco Street; https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/house-for-dr-d-h-wilson-cor-chilco-and-haro-streets;rad.
House for Dr. D.H. Wilson, corner Chilco Street and Haro Street; Vancouver City Archives; Reference code: AM1015-F16; Maclure and Fox, Architects, 1910; Elevation to Chilco Street; https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/house-for-dr-d-h-wilson-cor-chilco-and-haro-streets;rad.
West of Denman area (outlined in red); detail from Canadian Pacific map of Vancouver (west half), May 1890; Vancouver City Archives, MAP 10; https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/sectional-map-of-west-end-and-kitsilano.
Children On The Beach, English Bay, Vancouver, B.C.

This site is about the history of the West End in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, especially from Denman Street on the east to Stanley Park on the west. I have also included items on houses and other buildings in the area east of Denman Street.

You’ll find information about early houses and other buildings in this area, along with biographies of many people who lived here, mostly from about 1890 to 1920, along with selected biographies for later residents.

The links below lead to the various sections on this site.

About this Site
Historical Background
Streets – A to H
Streets – I to Z
Named Buildings
Biographies A-M
Biographies N-Z
Business Names
Elsewhere in the West End
Selected Annotated Bibliography

From time to time I will add new pages or I will add updates to existing pages. When that happens I will add a short post explaining what is new, along with a link to the relevant page.

Navigating this site. You can find information in several ways.

  • Click on an item in the index list above.
  • Use the dropdown lists at the top of the page. The main categories refer to business names, named buildings, street addresses and biographies.
  • Use the search box near the top of the screen. This search applies to everything on the site, including the blog posts and the other pages on this site.

Please let me know what you think. If you have any questions, comments, or additional information, I would be pleased to hear from you.

Note: if you are interested in Vancouver history, check out Eve Lazarus’s “Top 10 Vancouver History Blogs of 2019,” December 29, 2019; http://evelazarus.com/my-favourite-vancouver-history-blogs-of-2019/.

Robert Moen

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Property Development Regulations and Zoning

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City of Vancouver: History of Political Growth; Vancouver City Archives; COV-S445-3: LEG1201.1; possibly about 1961; https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/city-of-vancouver-history-of-political-growth

I updated the page on Property Development Regulations and Zoning; https://westendvancouver.wordpress.com/historical-background/property-development-regulations-and-zoning/.

I added a reference to “Legislating City Boundaries: Vancouver’s Evolution,” by Ludmila B. Herbst, K.C.; The Advocate (Vancouver Bar Association), volume 84, part 1, January 2026; pages 129-138; https://farris.com/content/uploads/2026/01/Legal-Anecdotes-and-Miscellanea-January-2026.pdf. This article includes a detailed and well-annotated review of Vancouver’s modern geographical history and the legislation associated with the city’s boundaries.

Cyril Aitken Tweedale (1881-1938)

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Captain Cyril Tweedale, Corps of Guides, about 1913, City of Vancouver Archives - Port P19; http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/index.php/captain-cyril-tweedale-corps-of-guides
Captain Cyril Tweedale, Corps of Guides, about 1913, City of Vancouver Archives – Port P19; http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/index.php/captain-cyril-tweedale-corps-of-guides.

I updated the page on Cyril Aitken Tweedale: https://westendvancouver.wordpress.com/biographies-n-z/biographies-t/tweedale-cyril-aitken-1881-1938/.

I added historical information and illustrations relating to the Tweedale Block, which appeared on East Hastings Street in 1910.

Tweedale Block, British Columbia Archives; Item D-09150; https://search-bcarchives.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/tweedale-block-vancouver.
Tweedale Block, British Columbia Archives; Item D-09150; https://search-bcarchives.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/tweedale-block-vancouver.

Eric Werge Hamber (1879-1960)

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E.W. Hamber, Manager Dominion Bank, Vancouver; British Columbians as we see ’em: 1910 and 1911; [Vancouver, B.C.]: Newspaper Cartoonists Association of British Columbia; unpaged, image 187 of 232; https://archive.org/details/britishcolumbian00newsrich/page/n186/mode/1up.

I updated the page on Eric Werge Hamber, who was a bank manager and financier. He later became the lieutenant governor of British Columbia.

He lived at 1999 Beach Avenue in 1909.

I added information on his house at 3838 Cypress Street, which the Hambers called Greencroft.

Buscombe, Charles Melville (1880-1947)

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Charles Buscombe, detail from Kitsilano Ratepayers Association, March 28, 1944; Vancouver City Archives, P886; https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/kitsilano-ratepayers-association-4.

I updated the page on Charles Melville Buscombe (1880-1947); https://westendvancouver.wordpress.com/biographies-a-m/biographies-b/buscombe-charles-melville-1880-1947/. He was a merchant who worked mostly in the wholesale china and glassware business.

He was one of several Buscombe family members who lived in Vancouver, including Frederick Buscombe, Henry Arthur Buscombe, and George Buscombe.

I added biographical information. I also updated details of a legal case in which three union workers boycotted a construction project. The boycott had occurred because Edwin Buscombe, the father of Charles Melville Buscombe, was not a union member.

Griffin, James Young (1857-1939)

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Vancouver Province, October 27, 1939, page 10, column 2.

I updated the page on James Young Griffin (1857-1939); https://westendvancouver.wordpress.com/biographies-a-m/biographies-g/griffin-james-young-1857-1939/.

He was a meat packer and financier who was sometimes called “J. Y. Griffin.”

He lived at 1520 Harwood Street from 1909 to 1920.

I added details on the death of his brother, Joseph Griffin. Joseph died in an elevator accident at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco in 1910.

Cao, Ada (1847-1924)

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Ada Christie Cao and sons Angelo, Clifford and Rico (Ada Christie(1848-1924) (ancestry.ca).

I updated the page on Ada Cao; https://westendvancouver.wordpress.com/biographies-a-m/biographies-c/cao-ada-1847-1924/.

She was the widow of Angelo Cao. She lived at 1900 Haro Street from 1904 to 1907 and at 1812 Nelson Street from 1908 to 1917. Her son, Rico Christie Cao, was at 1808 Nelson Street in 1908.

I added burial information for Toxteth Cemetery in Liverpool.

Thanks to Colin Gardner for this information.

Jonathan Rogers (1865-1945)

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Jonathan Rogers, 1916, Vancouver City Archives, Port P1442, http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/jonathan-rogers.
Jonathan Rogers, 1916, Vancouver City Archives, Port P1442, http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/jonathan-rogers.

I updated the page on Jonathan Rogers.

He was a real estate developer, contractor, park board commissioner, city councillor and supporter of civic institutions.

His wife, Elisabeth, was a generous philanthropist and supporter of many organizations in Vancouver.

I added illustrations and biographical information.

Johnston, Arthur William (1867-1934)

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Henderson’s City of Vancouver and North Vancouver Directory, 1910, Part 2, page 943.
Henderson’s City of Vancouver and North Vancouver Directory, 1910, Part 2, page 943.
Henderson’s City of Vancouver and North Vancouver Directory, 1910, Part 2, page 943.
Henderson’s City of Vancouver and North Vancouver Directory, 1910, Part 2, page 943.
Henderson’s City of Vancouver and North Vancouver Directory, 1910, Part 2, page 943.
Henderson’s City of Vancouver and North Vancouver Directory, 1910, Part 2, page 943.

I updated the page on Arthur William Johnston. He was a managing director of Johnston Brothers Limited, which was a wholesale dry goods business. He lived at 2001 Nelson Street from 1910 to 1914.

Arthur’s brother, Albert Mortimer Johnston, was also a managing director of Johnston Brothers Limited.

I added illustrations and biographical information.