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001C97BA July 26, 1929. THE WEST VAN NEWS ~ g g I Development of West Vancouver By James Duncan Municipal Engineer The IVest Vancouver Incorpor- ation Act was passed by the Leg- islature at Victoria on March Jth, 1912. The men who took part in the arrangements which )ed up to its creation as a separ- ate Municipality had visions of a IVest Vancouver which would be thickly populated and fully developed in the future; but it must have been apparent to them that before the great slope west of the Capilano could become a district of fine homes, gardens and streets, there was a great deal of work to be done and the transformatio» must occupy a considerable period. The District was not destined to make particularly rapid pro- h a series of small streams flow- ing into English Bay, pleases visitors and home-seekers so well that few inspections are neces- sary b. fore a suitable home loca- tion is found. Streets and Roads Before incorporation a consid- erable stretch of arterial road, sometimes named "Keith Road" and sometimes called "Marine Drive," was projected and part- ly cleared and improved by the District of North Vancouver. Tlie care which had been taken at that early date to locate and plan for a highway 80 feet wide out through the first six miles of EVest Vancouver indicates that the officials of that period were conscious that AVest Van- As Others See Us. By JAMES OLLASON/ ilIunicipal Clerk. Some twenty odd years ago there was a man in the City of Naples who having duly seen the pinnacle of loveliness was st,ill looking for some place tn go. How, at that juncture, his eye fell on a postcard of the of the mountain a young couple joined the party. He had very little English and she apparent- ly none at all. The book of nat- ure, however, is sealed to none of her devotees; these two took their places with the others on what might be called the peak of the peak, to forget with them for the moment all else but that absorbing view. They too, had quite recently come to Vancou- ver and had discovered Holly- burn Ridge all by themselves. It was unaccountable, he went on, that we at that instant should be sitting in the midst of such scenery, while in the metropolis only a few miles away no one seemed to know of its existence. They come from the four quarters of the earth. these ap- preciative people. One of them, THE IVEST VANCOUVER IIUNICII'AL HALL excursions far in the shade. He took his stand right under the Pilot House window where he cnuld see all there was to be seen, from the tree tops of Stan- ley Park on one hand to the North Shore skyline on the other. Coming back he spoke tn the Captain, who admitted that IVest Vancouver was not too bad place to live in. It reminded some people, said the Captain, of the Berkeley Hills in California. Vow this particular visitor. curi- ously enough was a Berkeley Hills man and his view of the comparison was that those who wnuld put put the Berkeley Hills or. a par with the Hollyburn Flopes were mighty poor judges ot homesites. These high opin- ions could be multiplied indefin- itely. Every resident of AVest Vancouver has heard them over and over again. AVhat our admir- .L ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ COUNCILLOR D. IIORGAN Finance Chairman COUNCILLOR iV. ~I.JACKMAN Transportation Chairman gress in the first few years. It was a raw young district in 1912, with no utilities such as water cr electric light. The first sett- lers were largely of the camper class who were attracted in con- siderable numbers both before and during the war. But since 1919 permanent development and the influx of new residents have been fairly rapid. Extent and Topography The District, within its pres- ent boundaries, has an area of about 33 square miles, or 21,000 acres; and it contains within those boundaries sufficient nat- ural charm to satisfy any reason- able mortal. The southern boun- dary is English Bay, and the western boundary Howe Sound, o» the north is a steep continu- ous mountain barrier, dominated by Mount Strahan, a mile high, while the eastern boundary fol- lows the course of the Capilano River in a general way. This torrential mountain river has set many men a task to curb and cnritrol its wanderings. It is resow about to be spanned under the direction of the Engineers of the Provincial Public IVorks Department. The area of 33 square miles will not be all available as a townsite. It is unlikely that the lands above the 2000 foot con- tour will be developed, which re- duces the available area to some- what less than 20 square miles. This extensive southern slope lias many natural advantages. It is sheltered from chilly north winds by the mountains and its southern exposure leads to plant growth weeks earlier in the spring than other districts with « flat or north exposure. This steadily rising slope gives each street and homesite an outlook over sea and land which is at ence pleasing and inspiring. This great southern slope, drained by COUNCILLOR R. FIDDES 9'ater 0 Light Chairman couver would be an attractive and important place in the fut- ure. But with the creation of a separate Municipal District the i~larine Drive became the objec- tive of the Municipal Council, (Continued on Page 4) I JUDGE GORDON ROBSON Judge of Juvenile Court, Pioneer Resident of IVest Vancouver and Native Son of B. C. V. V. VINSON Reeve of IVest Vancouver Mr. Vinson has been Reeve of )Vest Vancouver for seven differ- ent terms. His term of public of- fice has not been exceeded by any other man in the district. Mr. Vinson has been an indefat- igable worker in the interests of EVest Vancouver and much of the progress and development of the district is due to his energetic and enthusiastic ivork. Capilano Canyon, and how through geopraphy books, atlas- es, and what not, he mapped out his route across the waste of seas, mountains, plains and other obstacles which divide him from his goal may be found by any- one who patiently searches the files of the Province newspaper. No picture, he is reported to have said, could adequately portray the magnificence and beauty of the reality, and he grudged neither the time nor the money it had cost him to witness it. It is always the stranger it seems who is most deeply stirred by tne attractions of our city and its surroundings, and--let us be becomingly modest when we mention it--it is the North Shore that particularly appeals to him. Another instance comes to mind: A small group had scram- bled to the top of Hollyburn Peak o»e fine Sunday in July and were gazing silently across the distant unfathomable reach to where in panoramic splendor the Lions. the Cathedral and their companion eminences lay bathed in the sunlight, when, clamber- ing up the steep eastward face COUNCILLOR iV. BLAIR Public )Vorks Chairman he was from California where they capitalize the gifts of nat- ure, found his way one day to where the Number Five was a- bout to pull out on the four mile trip which, for pure pleasure on a sunny summer afternoon, leaves the most of other water G. D. ELGAR Chairman School Trustees ing visitors quite naturally do »ot visualize is the effect upon kVest Vancouver of the develop- ments iihich in the course of time must follow the inevitable expansion of Vancouver. The Burrard peninsula is rap- idly building up into one great community all the way to New 9'estminster. Its business core, however, does not move. It re- mains exactly where it stood when the first train rattled west along the Inlet forty odd years ago. AVill the tremendous pull of big business maintain so lopsid- ed an arrangement for all time? Surely not! New capital, con- trolled by men of vision, is now «rriving. Its volume must in- crease as the years pass, and the threat of a shift of the commerc- ia! district from this old location to a more central one can be best met in one way, and that is by the development of the North Shore. EVhen this condition is recog- nized by the interests most con- cerned, their powerful influence may be counted upon to forward some feasible scheme to draw this neglected area more closely tn the parent city. )Vhat, when that happens, will be the result? St;c i an eventuality opens up many interesting prospects. Leaving aside at present that region on the North Shore lying east of the Capilano River, al- though it, too, would be trans- formed by such a scheme, how, we may ask, would this closer connection affect our own Dis- trict. IVe have only to picture such perfect connnecting links from shore to shore of the Inlet ns exists between cities and their suburbs in many other parts of the world. to see a building ac- tivity from the Capilano to Howe Sound such as few, if any, city' boom days ever witnessed. There uould follow then, in its pro- (Continued on Page 4)