Strathcona is one of this city's earliest neighbourhoods. It grew out of the collection of shacks and small buildings that surrounded the Hastings Mill site. Strathcona is a unique mix of people, history, land use and architecture. It is a neighbourhood of houses, apartment buildings and rooming houses where neighbours walk to the corner store, do tai chi in the parks or stroll in the community garden. Strathcona is a community that has managed to survive, and thrive, despite constant pressure for change. Today it features beautifully restored row houses, overflowing flower gardens, and welcoming front porches.

Strathcona includes the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood, which has achieved a certain renown across the country. It's been described as the poorest neighbourhood in Canada, and its problems with crime, homelessness, and substance misuse have been topics of national discussion. But the Downtown Eastside is also a neighbourhood rich in history, architecture, and diversity.

The Downtown Eastside - bound by Burrard Inlet to the north, Clark Drive to the east, Hastings Street to the south, and Main Street to the west - is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Vancouver. It is also a neighbourhood that works hard to maintain its integrity and improve its identity as a vital inner-city neighbourhood.

Did You Know?

The Venice Bakery was started in a storefront on Princess Avenue in 1909. It was one of at least four bakeries in the neighbourhood.
A street car service ran along East Georgia Street from Main Street to Victoria Drive and back again on a 20 minute service.
The names of the streets in Strathcona were named after directors of the Vancouver Improvement Company which owned and subdivided the area.
Until the 1950's, the neighbourhood was known simply as the "East End". When the area was about to be redeveloped it was given the name Strathcona (after the school) by City Planners. The Strathcona name had been used by the CPR for its west side subdivisions near 36th Ave.
The 1907 Pantages Theatre near Main and Hastings is the oldest remaining Pantages Theatre in North America.
The upstairs of the Carnegie Library was the home to the Vancouver Museum until 1968.
Gore Street, the only street in the area to run at an angle to the regular grid system, was originally a logging skid road leading to the Hastings Sawmill on the waterfront.

Comments or questions? Send us e-mail at community@vancouver.ca