History
Named after CPR engineer Henry Cambie, South Cambie was once home to
elk, oxen, loggers, ranchers, and Chinese vegetable gardeners. Today,
as yesterday, the area is dominated by Little Mountain, the highest point
in Vancouver, and one of the only places from which to command a 360-degree
view of the city.
The first non-native settler to the area was William Mackie, a logger
and gold miner. In 1874, Mackie claimed 65 hectares around what is now
Douglas Park. The next year Jeremiah Rogers built a road to Little Mountain
to access the lumber that covered it. After the lumber was removed, the
former oxen pasture became site of a small milk ranch. In 1910, as houses
began springing up in less fertile ground all around, the land was used
for Chinese vegetable farming. Finally, in 1926, the land was designated
as Douglas Park.
Like Shaughnessy, the area north of King Edward developed in the boom
years following the turn of the 19th century. By 1926, houses dotted the
area surrounding Douglas Park, and by the mid-1950s, the last remaining
raw land just north of 41st Avenue (used as army barracks during the war)
was released by the federal government for development.
Heritage
Edith Cavell School and a heritage development on
Ash Street
The Fairmont Academy on Heather Street is an important community landmark
listed on the City's Heritage Register. Now used as an RCMP training facility,
the 1912 tudor-style building designed by Samuel Maclure, originally served
as the Langara private school for boys.
The oldest part of the community, the northern portion bounded by 17th,
23rd, Cambie and Oak, has a number of Craftsman-style heritage homes from
the 1910s and 1920s. There are also several excellent examples of Moderne
buildings in South Cambie including the Jean Matheson Pavilion and the former Shaughnessy
Hospital's main building.
Detailed information on the city's heritage and a complete list of heritage
buildings is available at City
of Vancouver Heritage.
Additional information is available through the City
of Vancouver Archives.
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