St. James Anglican Church, the city’s first church, relocated after the 1886 fire to Gore Avenue and East Cordova Street. Within the immediate area, other services included the city’s first hospital with nursing training which opened in 1888 -– now the site of St. Luke’s Home. Further east along Cordova, the city’s first school, East School, was located at Jackson Avenue, while the first Methodist Church was built in 1906 at Powell and Jackson. These, along with St. James, provided early education in English to new immigrants to the neighbourhood. The Vancouver Japanese Language School was established that same year to retain the community’s linguistic roots.

St James Anglican Church 303 East Cordova Street, built 1936

Catholic Japanese Mission, 255 Dunlevy Ave. c.1930 JCNM

The Roman Catholic Church has maintained a presence here since the 1930s: first with the conversion of houses at the east end of the 300 block East Cordova by the Sisters of Atonement and with the construction of St. Paul’s Church in that same block in 1937. The houses still occupied by the Sisters of Atonement are two of the oldest in the city. The added vitality of Cordova Street and its surroundings is demonstrated by the successful conversion of the former Fire Hall into a theatre and the Coroner’s Court into a museum, and more recent changes to the Armstrong Funeral Home and the former gas station at Dunlevy to serve the arts and cultural community.

The continued teaching role of the Vancouver Japanese Language School on Alexander Street, including to those of non-Japanese background, its function as a centre of cultural and social activities and its expansion into other much needed programs such as child care, is a testament to its deep roots in the community that it serves.

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Last modified: Wednesday, October 14, 2009