The housing stock in the Dunbar area of Vancouver has undergone significant change in the past five years. Originally a working class neighbourhood with many quite modest homes surrounded by lovely gardens, it is now a neighbourhood that 99% of the people working in Vancouver cannot afford because the replacement homes are built to the maximum footprint and cost millions. Greenspace has been reduced. Included on this website are photos of many (not all) of the disappeared houses.
View Teardowns in the Dunbar area of Vancouver, BC in a larger map

Demolitions West of the Dunbar Community Centre

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

The 1920's Houses are Disappearing

This charming 1926 house is situated outside my "assigned area", but I am featuring it for two reasons: 1) I know the people who lived in it years ago, and 2) the house is a charming example of preserving the façade while enlarging the back for better livability. The real estate ad stated "fall in love", but the new owner did not succumb to falling in love with this updated Dunbar "original".




Many of these 1920's houses were demolished and replaced years ago. Designating a few specimens of the remaining 1920's houses as Heritage B might be a good idea, so that some could be retained to show a bit of the history and life at the time when the streetcar was active along Dunbar Street. (This would have the side effect of preserving some permeable green space, not gobbled up by the footprint of a huge house with extensive paving stones and a 3-car garage.) This house at 3657 West 23rd Avenue was demolished on April 10 or 11, 2015.

P.S. Upon seeing this post, a Dunbar resident pointed out to me that Michael Kluckner created a painting of this house, and you can see it at the link below. Kluckner describes the area as a "dying neighbourhood". He is probably referring to the empty or nearly empty expensive new homes being constructed for rich folks, making it very difficult for young families to populate the area because "starters" are no longer available. Not only is the average age increasing, the area is emptying out. That's our Dunbar!

http://www.michaelkluckner.com/commissions.html


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