The Heights Neighbourhood Association hosted Jane’s Walk, this past Saturday in Burnaby Heights. NOW reporter Jennifer Moreau tagged along to learn more about pioneering history in north Burnaby’s neighbourhood. Here’s what she discovered.
Saturday morning, 10:30 a.m., roughly 50 people of all ages gather at the corner of North Boundary and Trinity Street for a tour highlighting homes from the Burnaby’s pioneer era.
The Heights Neighbourhood Association is hosting Jane’s Walk, part of a worldwide movement, where people explore their neighbourhoods and connect with one another from May 2 to 4.
The walk starts on the corner, in front of the home of Terry Trotic, the present day owner of the “Strathmore.” This Craftsman style home, built in the early 1900s, was one of the first houses in what was then called Vancouver Heights.
Our guide Debbie Reid, armed with a collection of historical photos, paints the scene as we huddle closer to hear.
This northeast residential pocket of Burnaby was Crown land and mostly forested. In the early 1900s, the Gold brothers, a pair of wealthy importers, bought most of the land and started dividing lots as a real estate boom took off. The area was supposed to be “tony” Reid tells us, similar to Vancouver’s Shaughnessy neighbourhood.
After a short stroll down North Boundary, we hit our second stop on the corner of Edinburg Street. This home was built in 1912, and according to the archival photo being passed around the crowd, stood alone on a sparse hill overlooking the Inlet. The current owner, an elderly gentleman, has lived there for 40 years and greets us on the street.
We then head to the bottom of North Boundary at the start of the Trans Canada Trail, and Reid tells us about Crabtown, a collection of squatters’ homes built on raised pilings on the waterfront close to the railroad tracks.
According to the signs along the trail, Crabtown’s origins are somewhat obscure, but it’s believed the waterfront community was built in 1912 by sawmill workers. The residents rallied for a water supply and trails so their children could safely get to school.
In 1957, the National Harbours Board evicted roughly 130 people for squatting on federal land, and the homes were torn down. (We can’t get close to the waterfront without crossing the railway tracks, which is considered trespassing.)
Reid tells us the Trans Canada Trail we’re walking along was supposed to be a scenic drive, but there was a revolt against the plan in the 1960s, and the idea was quashed.
We leave the trail and head up to 3870 Yale Street, site of a 1912 British Arts and Crafts home originally built for $15,000. The current owner, curious about the convening crowd, comes down to chat with us and tells us the place is split into several rental suites.
The fourth and final home, on the northwest corner of North Esmond and Yale Street, was built between 1911 and 1912 and was at one point owned by the Delesalle family, which started Lumberland. As an added bonus, we pass by the Overlynn mansion next to Seton Villa seniors’ home on the way to the park for cookies and juice.
Jane’s Walk is not just about exploring your own neighbourhood, it’s about connecting with your neighbours, and one of the interesting things about the event is the way participants bring their own stories to the table. There’s was an unconfirmed account from the crowd that the woman who wrote the jingle for Hockey Night in Canada lived at the Strathmore.
On the Trans Canada trail, local resident Jack Brownhill remembered when he was a little boy, walking with his grandfather along the water, close to the Chevron refinery, and seeing the shacks there. A woman in the crowd, who used to live close by, said the home at 3870 Yale St. was for the servants of the Overlynn mansion.
This particular corner of the city has one of the densest concentrations of historically significant houses. For a map highlighting these homes and more, check out www.heritageburnaby.ca/chartingchange/1925.
Correction: This article was changed: The home at 3870 Yale Street was originally built for $15,000 (not $1,500), and the current owner did not split the home into rental suites. That was done years before.
