Walking Tour: Shaughnessy
Introduction
From its inception, the Shaughnessy neighbourhood commanded a special
place in Vancouver. Its original developers, the Canadian Pacific
Railway (CPR), designed the subdivision in the early part of the
century as an exclusive enclave for Vancouver's wealthy, and named
it after its President, Sir Thomas Shaughnessy. More recently, the
City has adopted a special development plan for Shaughnessy, recognizing
that all Vancouver residents have a stake in maintaining its splendid
mansions and estate character. This walking tour will introduce
you to Shaughnessy's history and architecture.
In The Beginning
At the turn of the century, Vancouver was booming. Its population
nearly quadrupled in a decade, reaching just over 100,000 by 1911.
Prairie wheat poured into Vancouver by the boxcarful. And in return,
the city's entrepreneurs scrambled to supply western towns with
timber, fish and consumer goods. They tapped new markets within
British Columbia too, as settlements struck it rich with mining
or lumbering. In downtown Vancouver, well-paid newcomers fresh from
the east opened up branch offices of banks and insurance companies.
Shaughnessy—A Neighbourhood Created By The CPR
The Canadian Pacific Railway, the city's largest landowner and
real estate developer, had its nose to the wind. It noticed that
the traditional home of the city's elite, the West End, was losing
its exclusive character. New apartment buildings were crowding the
family mansions. In 1907 the CPR embarked on an ambitious plan to
develop a tract of forest into a Garden City suburb.
The railway commissioned Montreal landscape architect, Frederick
Todd, and Danish engineer, M. Davick, to lay out curving streets
and generous lots of one-fifth to one-and-one-half acre. Before
the lots were sold, sewers were laid and sidewalks paved. Lot prices
were comparable to other Vancouver neighbourhoods, but the CPR protected
Shaughnessy’s exclusive character by requiring that any house
built cost at least $6,000 (at a time when a standard bungalow might
cost $1,000).
Vancouver's more affluent residents found in Shaughnessy a neighbourhood
that reflected their wealth and status. They appreciated its location
on the edge of the city, a dignified distance from their downtown
offices. After all, they could afford to keep carriages and horses,
or motorcars, and live all the way out in Shaughnessy. The CPR ensured
that they could enjoy favourite pastimes, sponsoring the nearby
Vancouver Tennis Club, the Lawn Bowling Club and eventually the
Shaughnessy Heights Golf Club. So successful was Shaughnessy's appeal
to the city's elite that the CPR also developed adjacent acres to
the south as "Second Shaughnessy" and "Third Shaughnessy."
Shaughnessy Architecture
A glance at the photographs in this tour reveals the character
of the First Shaughnessy residence: large, grand and reminiscent
of other older houses built elsewhere—in Renaissance England
and in colonial America. Architects such as Samuel Maclure translated
their clients' desires for status and stability into "revival"
styles, such as Tudor and Classical, that invoked English and American
values. These values were also evident in the large, private gardens
and significant landscaping features.
Shaughnessy reveals the impact that deliberate planning and restrictive
zoning can have on neighbourhood development. The CPR took pains
to protect Shaughnessy's exclusive character, and thereby the value
of its lots. Prior to 1929 when the current boundaries of the City
of Vancouver were established, Shaughnessy was part of the municipality
of Point Grey. In 1914, the railway tried to withdraw Shaughnessy
from Point Grey and establish it as a separate municipality. But
the provincial government refused. Instead, it passed the Shaughnessy
Settlement Act of 1914, permitting only single-family houses in
the area. In 1922, the Province enacted the Shaughnessy Heights
Building Restriction Act, prohibiting new subdivisions of lots and
permitting only one single-family dwelling per lot.
Shaughnessy Landscape
The streets and parks of Shaughnessy were as carefully planned
as its houses. The CPR hired the Montreal firm of Todd and Davick
to design the subdivision. They were inspired by the work of Frederick
Law Olmsted, who had designed Central Park in New York City. With
curving streets, offset intersections and broad planted boulevards,
the landscape architects created a restful landscape within the
city. In Shaughnessy's open, pastoral acres, the well-to-do could
feel safely distant from the noise, congestion and diversity of
city living.
Social Customs
The magnificent elaboration of manners and social customs during
the Edwardian era was mirrored in the many specialized public areas
of these houses. Carriages drew up under porte- cocheres, guests
were received in huge furnished halls. There were reception rooms,
music rooms, ballrooms and parlours of every description. One look
at these houses suggests the large staff required to stage these
lavish entertainments. Imagine the many servants who trod miles
of corridor and climbed thousands of steps in any one of these houses.
The back doors of these houses were usually busier than the front
entrances—with deliveries of food, fuel, flowers and ice, and
streams of messengers, tradesmen, and applicants for under-parlour
maid.
The Depression
The Depression of the 1930s hit Shaughnessy hard. The huge houses
were expensive to maintain and property taxes were held at high,
pre-Depression rates. As the CPR repossessed house after house,
the area was nicknamed "Mortgage Heights." The Tait House,
for example, was valued at $75,000 in 1920 and sold for $7,500 in
1939. Many wealthy residents fled to other parts of the city, and
despite the provincial restrictions, many single-family houses were
converted into rooming houses or multiple-conversion dwellings.
In 1938, residents who remained began to lobby for stricter enforcement
of the building restrictions of 1914 and 1922. The Shaughnessy Heights
Property Owners Association successfully petitioned to extend the
restrictions on multiple-conversion dwellings, and created a complaint
process for prosecuting offenders. But the World War II housing
shortage eroded the property owners' gains, as the federal government
opened many districts, including Shaughnessy, to more multiple-conversion
dwellings.
Compromise
After World War II, the problem of Shaughnessy's future arose once
again. An association of landlords of rooming houses squared off
against the Property Owners' Association. The Province compromised,
allowing all multiple-conversion dwellings from before 1955 to remain,
but keeping the Building Restriction Act of 1922 on the books. In
the 1970s the Act finally expired. For the first time, Shaughnessy
was subject to the give-and-take of the City's zoning decisions
that had shaped other Vancouver neighbourhoods. The boom in land
values created new pressures to subdivide. Many of the newer houses
on smaller, 75 ft.-wide lots were built during this period.
Today
In 1981 the City passed a by-law creating the First Shaughnessy
Official Development Plan, which attempts to preserve the area's
pre-1940 estate image and single-family character while allowing
some infill and conversion to multiple family use. Now applicants
for development permits must demonstrate compatibility with the
Plan's guidelines. Once again, Shaughnessy's special character is
protected by special legislation.
The B.C. Heritage Trust has provided financial assistance to this
project to support conservation of our heritage resources, gain
further knowledge and increase public understanding of the complete
history of British Columbia.
Walking the Tour
The entire tour will take about two hours. For the best views of
houses, walk the tour after the leaves are off the trees. Whatever
the season, however, your sightseeing will be somewhat frustrated
by high hedges, gates and fences. The tour begins at 3351 Granville
Street, near the corner of Granville Street and Marpole Avenue.
For information on public transportation to Shaughnessy, www.translink.bc.ca
For
more information about Shaughnessy
Vancouver Walks: Discovering City Heritage by Michael
Kluckner & John Atkin (Steller Press, 2003)
The Greater Vancouver Book, edited by Chuck Davis (Linkman
Press, Vancouver, 1997).
Exploring Vancouver: The Essential Architectural Guide
by Harold Kalman, Ron Phillips and Robin Ward (UBC Press, Vancouver,
1993).
Vancouver: A Visual History by Bruce Macdonald (Talon
Books, 1992).
First Shaughnessy District: Historic Style Manual, prepared
for Shaughnessy Heights Property Owners Association by Robert G.
Lemon Architecture and Preservation, 1990.
Vancouver The Way It Was by Michael Kluckner (Whitecap
Books, 1984).
Vancouver: An Illustrated History by Patricia E. Roy
(James Lorimer and Company, Toronto, 1980).
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