West Vancouver (also West Van) is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is situated on the north shore of Burrard Inlet to the northwest of the city of Vancouver. With the District of North Vancouver and the City of North Vancouver, West Vancouver is part of a regional grouping known as the North Shore municipalities. It is among the wealthiest municipalities in Canada by average household net worth.
West Vancouver is home to the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal, one of the main transportation hubs connecting the British Columbia mainland and Vancouver Island, and to much of Cypress Provincial Park.
History
The Municipality of West Vancouver was incorporated on March 15, 1912, after separating from the District of North Vancouver. The first municipal election was held on April 6, 1912. In November 1938, the Lions Gate Bridge was opened to traffic, allowing extensive growth of the semi-populated community, previously only accessible by ferry. Some homes in West Vancouver date back to the 1920s and 30s, though most of the currently existing dwellings were built in the 1970s and 80s, and mostly in British Pacific Properties' developments.
Timeline
1792: Captain George Vancouver names Point Atkinson
1866: John Thomas, known as "Navvy Jack", sailed from England or Wales, arriving in Burrard Inlet, in about 1866. He was the first white resident of West Vancouver, offered first ferry service to what be known as Vancouver in a rowboat. His house still stands today at Ambleside and there is a Navvy Jack Point. Thomas' nickname Navvy Jack today remains used in British Columbia English to mean washed pea gravel used in construction and landscaping trades, as he was the original supplier of the material to Vancouver and mined it from coves in West Vancouver.
1872: James Blake preempted the first 65 hectares (160 acres) of land
1875: First lighthouse at Point Atkinson
1898: Mr. Francis Caulfeild was put ashore at Skunk Cove
1905: John Lawson, a local leader settled at foot of 17th street
1908: First pier, Hollyburn Pier
1909:
West Vancouver Transportation Company was formed, provides ferry service across harbour to Vancouver
"Real estate boom" lots sold for as little as $450 and as much as $4,500
1910: Water systems started at Caulfeild and Ambleside
1911: First primary school, Presbyterian Church at Dundarave
1912:
West Vancouver separated from the District Municipality of North Vancouver and incorporated on March 15, 1912.
Population was approximately 1,500 people
First municipal election
Council appointed John Teare as the first police constable on May 17. F.H. Kettle was appointed the second constable on May 28
West Vancouver Transit System opens for public use
1913: Hollyburn Elementary School structure built, facility of the longest existing school in West Vancouver
1914:
First known settlement, the Coast Salish village at Sandy Cove
Pacific Great Eastern Railway in service from North Vancouver to Caulfeild and Horseshoe Bay
Colonel Albert Whyte pressed for a spelling change from White Cliff City to Whytecliff
1915:
Dundarave Pier built
Marine Drive was officially opened by Premier Richard McBride
1922: British Columbia Electric Railway starts electrical service
1923: Adopted STV for city elections (discontinued in 1930)
1924: House numbering scheme started
1926:
Marine Drive extended to Horseshoe Bay
Town Planning Act banned any new industry forming an exclusively residential community with minimum lot sizes
1927: Inglewood High School built
1928: Direct telephone service to Vancouver operational
1930:
Septic tanks made mandatory
Only 48 of West Vancouver's 100 kilometres of roads paved
1931: Dan Sewell opened his marina and the Whytecliff Lodge
1932: 650 hectares (1,600 acres) of land bought by A.R. Guinness-Br. Pacific Properties bought for $50 a hectare, they have been developed as the British Properties
1934: First police car
1936: Hollyburn Post Office built at 17th street and Marine Drive
1938: Lions Gate Bridge finished, opened May 29. The bridge cost a total of $6 million to build. It was financed by the Guinness family, in conjunction with the development and marketing of the British Properties.
1947: Ferry service stopped due to lack of demand after bridge constructed
1950:
West Vancouver Memorial Library opened on November 11 (Remembrance Day)
Park Royal Shopping Centre, Canada's first shopping centre opened
1951: Hollyburn Mountain opens first chairlift
1954: Public Safety Building opened. It housed the West Vancouver Police and Fire Departments
1959: Rezoning allowed 78 apartment buildings in Ambleside
1961: The Crescent Apartments, West Vancouver's first high rise apartment opened
1963: Tolls on Lions Gate Bridge lifted on April 1
1967: Fire hall was built and opened on November 22, 1967, at 16th and Fulton Ave. The Police Department remained in the Public Safety building
1973: Clyde McRae completes a world record walk across Canada on Ambleside Beach.
Facilities
West Vancouver is mainly a residential district as many residents are retired, work at home, or take the short commute to downtown Vancouver.