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Heritage: Kerrisdale

A retrospective on the Kerrisdale neighbourhood in Vancouver, BC.

Comfortable, historic westside neighborhood stretching from Blenheim to Granville Street and Angus Drive, and from 41st Avenue to the North Arm of the Fraser River, Kerrisdale is among the most stable communities in Canada. At most social events, chances are you'll meet several residents who were born, educated and married in Kerrisdale and who until a few years ago might reasonably have planned to retire there. Families scattered when soaring real estate prices spurred the sale and demolition of older houses once passed from generation to generation. Gone were the days when parents knew the name of every child on the street, and children might expect to be students in the same schools their grandparents had attended. Growing up in Kerrisdale had a magical, storybook quality about it, said a district businessman. "I've lived here all my life and my wife and I were childhood sweethearts. All our friends seemed to expect we'd get married when we finished school and that's exactly what we did."

While talk of redevelopment is standard at social gatherings, the continuous change seems to have had little impact on Kerrisdale's affluence or stability. Statistics Canada ranks the neighborhood as one of the most affluent in North America. In 1986, average household income was $59,474, almost twice as high as the $32,403 average for Vancouver city. Of the slightly more than 5,000 dwelling units, more than 60 per cent are owner occupied. Among the 12,000- plus community inhabitants, there are fewer low-income households (10 per cent compared to 26 per cent city wide) and single parent families (10.5 per cent compared to 15.6 per cent).

However, Kerrisdale has changed considerably through extensive redevelopment. In 1988-89, amid considerable controversy, approximately 500 permanent residents were dispersed when a number of low-rise rental apartments were demolished to make way for intended condominium developments. Today, some of the sites still remain vacant.

Kerrisdale can be seen as a village with almost every service, supply outlet and recreational facility a community needs: a broad range of restaurants and shops; equipment rental; recreational and cultural facilities; elementary secondary and private schools; daycare centres; health and fitness centres. There is a major public library; a seniors' centre; two swimming pools; two major golf courses; a skating rink, an arena and a bowling club. Various service organizations and services promote social welfare and business opportunities. A society devoted to historical research and preservation of historic buildings has attracted more than 150 members.

There are more than 20 financial institutions on West 41st Avenue, the main business strip which, in some residents' view, has a tad more banks than the community actually needs. On the same street is a unique green grocer, J.B. Hoy Produce, a family-operated store where operators wear white smocks to set out the veggies. The Koo family first set up the shop in 1925, and eventually assured themselves a permanent spot by buying the building. On the same street, among cafes ranging from fast to fancy, is a burger-and-miIkshake joint, The Red Onion, that belongs in an old-fashioned village.

Kerrisdale began taking shape more than 130 years ago, five years before Confederation and more than nine years before British Columbia became a Canadian province. In the 1860s the Magees, Moles, Shannons and McCleerys were neighbors whose names are interwoven with Kerrisdale's history. Hugh Magee, known as "the pig-headed Irishman," started a farm just below Marine Drive at Balaclava. Henry Mole, known for his forthright nature, homesteaded on land where the Point Grey Golf Club now is located; William Shannon, a former Cariboo freight hauler, farmed on land adjacent to West 57th Avenue, close to the present Shannon Park. Irish immigrant brothers Sam and Fitzgerald McCleery made their way here via the Fraser after failing to hit pay dirt in Cariboo gold fields. On September 26, 1862 Sam and Fitz preempted a meadow and built a homesteader cabin at 49th and Marine Crescent, now McCleery Park, where their descendants farmed until 1956. In 1985 the Kerrisdale Historical Society erected a memorial cairn at the site.

Kerrisdale originally was the name of a tram station at Wilson Road (now 41st Avenue) and West Boulevard; the community was part of Point Grey municipality which merged with Vancouver in 1929. In 1905 B.C. Electric Railway manager R.H. Sterling asked area resident Mrs. William MacKinnon to name the tram station. She adapted the name Kerrisdale from her old family home, Kerrydale, in Gairloch, Scotland.

Tracks were laid to connect Kerrisdale to Dunbar and, by 1912, to downtown Vancouver. By the 1920s Kerrisdale had become an integral part of Vancouver city. At the same time, because of the central focus of shops, transportation and community facilities, it retained its sense as a separate--and charming--village.

January 22, 2005 in Location, Location | Permalink