Downtown Eastside Monitoring Report

This report provides quick, relevant information on a variety of topics, including demographics, housing, community services, and property development. This information allows the community, the City of Vancouver and other levels of government to better understand and assess health indicators, revitalization initiatives, and the effects of new development in and near the Downtown Eastside. This edition was released in fall 2005.

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Downtown Eastside Map

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Neighbourhoods

The Downtown Eastside and surrounding communities include five very distinct neighbourhoods and historic areas that include Thorton Park and an Industrial Area. A major consideration when developing a revitalization strategy for one neighbourhood is to ensure that all the initiatives undertaken are compatible with the surrounding areas. This page looks at some of the issues facing the historic areas, as well as profiles of each of the communities.

Chinatown

Vancouver's Chinatown emerged in the 1880's on the edges of False Creek around the intersection of Carrall and Pender Streets. It was a community established and fostered by the many Chinese immigrants who moved to Vancouver (years before the City's incorporation in 1886) to work as labourers in local industries. Chinatown became one of the city's earliest commercial and residential districts, and has weathered racial discrimination, economic hardships and the decline of areas around it, to remain one of the most interesting neighbourhoods in the city.

In the 1950's a highway was proposed to run through the Chinatown area, but the strong public response convinced government to abandon the project. In 1971 the province designated both Gastown and Chinatown as historic districts. Chinatown is not the only Chinese community in the region, but is home to the Chinese Cultural Centre, Museum and Archives and still has a strong identity that is evident in its community vision for the future.

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Gastown

Gastown is the historic cobble-stoned tourist attraction on the western edge of the Downtown Eastside. The area started off in 1867 as the location where Captain John "Gassy Jack" Deighton chose to build a saloon. Other businesses followed, and the area flourished into a townsite. In 1886, Gastown and its adjacent lands were incorporated as the City of Vancouver.

Through the decades, Gastown has gone through both prosperous and hard times. In the late 1960's, the City along with local property owners pooled their resources and efforts into restoring the area, adding touches such as the now distinctive brick streets and vintage-style street lamps. Many private developers became involved with renovating and preserving the area's heritage buildings. In 1971 the Province of B.C. designated both Gastown and Chinatown as historic districts. Today, Gastown is a popular area for tourists and is undergoing a resurgence with new businesses and residential units being added to the neighbourhood.

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Victory Square

The Victory Square area lies within several zoning districts; the central downtown business district to the west and the south, Gastown to the north, Chinatown and International Village to the southeast and Oppenheimer to the east. Victory Square Park and the war memorial cenotaph anchor the area which was an off-shoot of the Gastown area dating back to the 1890's, and was part of the commercial and administrative centre of the city.

While the Victory Square area has faced the same economic and social problems as its neighbours in the Downtown Eastside, the area is still home to many businesses, and is within close proximity to the downtown campuses of several post-secondary institutions. Victory Square is also an established residential neighbourhood, being home o approximately 1,500 people. Its single room occupancy hotel rooms house most of the area's residents.

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Strathcona

Prior to European settlement, the Strathcona area was well known by First Nations as a camping spot called 'Kumkumalay.' In 1865 the area was chosen as the site for the Hastings Mill and over the years a number of industries contributed to the growth of this residential neighbourhood.

In the 1930's, Strathcona was a very diverse community that included people from a number of cultural backgrounds. Among these were Canadians of Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Jewish, Scandinavian, Russian and Ukranian descent. However, by the 1950's the mixture of housing and industry had given the 'East End' a derogatory meaning and the area was set to be redeveloped. The urban renewal plan called for the tearing down of homes and replacing them with large social housing projects. As well, a proposed freeway would cut through the neighbourhood while nearby Chinatown, was slated as an area where a third crossing to the North Shore would be built. The public outcry against its destruction eventually saved the neighbourhood, and Strathcona, as well as Chinatown, emerged with a strong identity.

Today, Strathcona continues to be a diverse neighbourhood with some light industry, retail, manufacturing, and wholesale storage. As Chinatown is right next door, nearly 61 per cent of Strathcona residents speak Chinese as a first language, with English, French, Spanish and Italian being the other primary languages. The neighbourhood contains some of the City's oldest heritage homes, but also includes apartments, public housing, converted houses and rooming houses.

Oppenheimer

The Oppenheimer neighbourhood is often identified by the park of the same name that is at its centre, and is sometimes referred to as the heart of the Downtown Eastside. Originally called the Powell Street Grounds, the park was the first official playing field in Vancouver and was later named after the second mayor of Vancouver, David Oppenheimer.

In the late 1800's the first Canadians of Japanese descent settled in the Oppenheimer neighbourhood and it soon became known as Japantown. Today, this heritage is reflected in the Powell Street Festival that happens every year on the BC Day long weekend in July/August.

During the Depression, the park and surrounding area became a staging point for rallies, and in 1936 the Vancouver Park Board declared Oppenheimer as the only park where political, religious or other views could be publicly voiced.

In 1942, the Oppenheimer neighbourhood was struck a difficult blow as Canada's wartime decision to intern all ethnic Japanese moved the majority of the community to camps in the interior. Businesses and assets were either closed or confiscated. Japanese Canadians were not allowed to return to Vancouver until 1950.

Today, the Oppenheimer area includes a provincial court house, a police station and a firehall that also serve the neighbouring communities. Powell Street includes retail, restaurants, cafes, a buddhist church, wholesale offices, grocery stores, a live performance theatre, social service centres, pubs and some light industrial facilities.