Cedar Cottage- a bit of history

When I first decided to move to Cedar-Cottage Kensington in East Vancouver, I couldn't find any information about what it's like to live here. Up from "The Drive",  I live in Cedar Cottage which is located North of Kingsway to Broadway, between Clark and Knight Streets and Nanaimo Street.(Kensington is located south of Kingsway to 41st Avenue, between Fraser and Nanaimo Streets.) I live on Commercial street which is really neat. Neat how? I think it has to do with the history.

Almost anyone who gets lost because Victoria Drive curves all of a sudden near 18th avenue (curving streets confuse us Vancouver grid drivers) says: "Oh, what a neat street! I didn't know this was here!" It's surprising to see a wide tree-lined street with businesses, even though some seem abandoned and graffitied when you expect rows of houses. Right away you wonder why and what this street was like before.

In 1888 , Arthur Wilson bought 16 acres of land near Knight and Kingsway which became known as the Cedar Cottage nurseries. He also purchased land around Trout Lake for farming. In 1891, the link between New Westminster and Vancouver brought more farmers and business to the area and especially around the tram stop at 18th avenue and Commercial Street. Lord Selkirk School, at 1750 East 22nd Avenue, was designed by W.T. Whiteway and built in 1908.  By 1910, there was a bank, 40 businesses, a school house, and a post office. You can still see the history of Cedar Cottage if you look carefully, although it's slowly disappearing. I was sad to see what seemed like a creepy farm house at 3845 Dumfries being completely gutted and squeezed by 3 new homes. It was the somewhat famed Wayside Inn, a place to rest before cars took over the Vancouver landscape in 1910-20's and slowly drew away business away from the neighborhood and toward False Creek and the city center.

There's always more to discover about the history of the area. The longer I live here, the more I hear things through the grapevine. I'll post more "insider" information as I come to learn it, but if you need general information, the City of Vancouver website posts good information about our neighborhood. Keep on reading!