Businesses along Fraser Street, near 47th Avenue, Vancouver, ca1910 Source: Sunset on Fraser/Tucker-Goode Family Archives G.E. McBride & Co. Hardware, J. Norbury and Unique Cafe Fraser Street is one of Vancouver’s oldest, most storied roads and given its rich history, it is not surprising that the route evolved into the vibrant neighbourhood and successful business district of South Hill. The street began in 1875 as a muddy wagon road carved out of the thick forest that covered South Vancouver. Originally named North Arm Road, it linked two former First Nations’ trails that later became Kingsway and Southeast Marine Drive.
The north-south slash through the brush was the most direct route between the farms on Lulu Island (Richmond) and the growing settlement of Gastown (Vancouver). When South Vancouver incorporated as a municipality in 1892, farms were already sprouting up along the road.
A pair of bridges was built at the foot of North Arm Road in 1894 to cross the Fraser River in two hops. These spans helped secure Fraser Street’s logistical importance and South Vancouver Council knew that the right place to build their new city hall was at Fraser and 41st, the present-day location of John Oliver Secondary School. Shops and homes sprouted amid the orchards and dairy farms of the area, but the sharpest boost to development came in 1909 when Vancouver’s streetcar tracks were extended south on Fraser from 33rd Avenue. Suddenly the sleepy, rural neighbourhood was just a five-cent tram ride to a booming downtown that was just beginning to see automobiles.
D Sampson FB Nostalgic/Sentimental Vancouver