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Reference Guide:
Historic Buildings and Houses

The Archives has a wide variety of records and other materials on commercial buildings, apartment blocks, and houses. This guide has been prepared to assist with historical research by listing the most commonly used resources available at the Archives. Visit the Archives to access the records, published items, and materials mentioned in this guide.

View of Granville and Georgia Streets ca. 1900
CVA 677-627

City Directories
Property Tax Assessments
Property Tax Accounts
Water Service Records
Building Permit Registers
Sectional Maps and Fire Insurance Plans
Architectural Plans
Books, Guides and Newspaper Clippings
Photographs
Other References

City Directories

1886-1996
Location: Reading Room
The city directories can be used to determine the approximate year a building was first erected, the extent of development or proportion of homes and businesses in a given area during any time period, the names and occupations of owners or tenants, and the type of businesses concentrated in an area. The directories are similar to telephone books, but provide access by address as well as by name.

The Archives has Vancouver City Directories and British Columbia Directories in hardcopy (1888-1996) and British Columbia Directories on microfilm (1860-1929). For conservation reasons no photocopying of hardcopy directories is permitted.

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Property Tax Assessments

1877-1977 (Missing 1890-1929 for Vancouver)
Location: Reading Room & Stacks
The tax assessment rolls consist of assessments made on real property and improvements compiled for the purpose of determining taxes. These records can be used to ascertain property owners and land values in the past. Consult the 'Property Tax Assessment Finding Aid' in the white binder next to the Public Record finding aids for location of the records and arrangement details.

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Property Tax Accounts

1974-1985, 1986-1989
Location: Reading Room
The Property Tax Accounts consist of computer output microfiche City of Vancouver tax statements and tax account/address cross references. These constitute a record of tax billings. Information on each statement includes land and buildings values, tax rates, taxes due (with and without grant eligibility) and legal description of the property. Records are arranged chronologically by tax account number.

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Water Service Records

1886-1991
Location: Reading Room & Stacks
These records are used to determine the date of initial and subsequent water applications and are useful for determining the approximate date of completion of a house or other building, and in some cases provide details on the buildings use. Use the microfiche at MCR 21, arranged by address, to obtain the application number then refer to one of the following for the actual applications:

Vancouver (1888-1993) use the microfilm reels at MCR 26.

Point Grey (1908-1928) see series 256 of the Point Grey records located in the black binders with the Public Records finding aids.

South Vancouver (1914-1928) see series 230 of the South Vancouver records located in the black binders with the Public Records finding aids.

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Building Permit Registers

1901-1947
Location: Reading Room & Stacks
City records used to determine the date of the building permit application, the applicant's name, the estimated value of the work, and other details (e.g. Point Grey registers include architects' names). Each application is listed as a 1-line entry. Arranged by name of owner, legal description, chronologically, or by permit number. To obtain legal description consult MCR 21 (there is no source for obtaining permit numbers). (Consult series descriptions for arrangement details: series 385, P&L; series 272, Pt.Grey; series 234, S.Van.).

Vancouver	(1901-1947)	Permits and Licenses series 235
Point Grey	(1912-1928)	Point Grey series 272
South Vancouver	(1912-1928)	South Vancouver series 234

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Sectional Maps and Fire Insurance Plans

Location: Reading Room and Stacks
Fire insurance plans and sectional maps can be useful when researching property. Fire insurance maps show details on individual buildings gathered for insurance purposes, including type of construction, number of storeys, positioning of building on the lot, and lot features such as driveways and location of oil tanks and water hydrants. Sectional maps give an overview of areas and can be used to trace the development of a neighbourhood and to determine the legal description of lots.

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Architectural plans

Location: Reading Room and Stacks
Architectural plans can be used to determine interior and exterior design and details of individual buildings. The archives holds the records of several architects in Vancouver including Charles van Norman and Ross A. Lort, and landscape architects Justice, Webb, & Vincent. Architects' records can be identified in the Additional Manuscripts card index, or by keyword search in our database. Other plans have been accumulated by the City's Permits and Licenses Department. Please note that the permission of the registered owner of a building must be obtained before viewing any architectural plans.

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Books, Guides and Newspaper Clippings

Location: Reading Room & Stacks
Publications, city guides, and newspaper articles are an excellent source of information on the history, development, planning, and architecture of an area. Books can be found on the general reference shelf in the reading room, or requested from the stacks after consulting the library card catalogue under 'architecture'. Pamphlets and newspaper clippings can be searched under general and specific terms for additional information and are available on microfiche in the reading room.

Suggested books and guides include:

Exploring Vancouver and the Vancouver Book (general reference shelf)
Vancouver Architecture, 1886-1914 (NA 747 V3 M5 1975)
The Pleasure of Seeing (NA 3513 V2 F6 1982)
Vanishing Vancouver (FC 3847.7 K68 1990)
Vancouver Building Register (3 volumes in red binders on reference shelf), a compilation of data on the more significant buildings, taken from Vancouver Public Library sources
A Guide to pre-1940 Architectural Records of Vancouver (general reference shelf).

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Photographs

ca. 1860-1990
Location: Reading Room photo binders
The archives photograph collection contains numerous images of houses, buildings, street views, and interior shots. There are two separate collections each with its own index, and the instructions for using each collection are posted above the card catalogues.

The Major Matthews' Collection (black photo binders) provides access by building or street name in the card index, or by the category 'Bu' (Buildings) and 'Str' (streets) in the binders.

In the CVA photograph card index consult the headings Buildings, Streets or the local area name eg. Kitsilano. Heritage inventory photographs are at CVA 409 in the red photo binders.