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We're updating the Vancouver Heritage Register!
We have received your nominations and our consultant is now in the process of reviewing them and will provide a report later in the year.
This will help us to update the Heritage Register and work on the Heritage Action Plan.
The Vancouver Heritage Register is a valuable record of our heritage
The Heritage Register is a list of about 2,200 sites with architectural or heritage value, such as:
- Buildings and structures
- Streetscapes
- Landscape resources (parks and landscapes, trees, monuments, public works)
- Archaeological sites
This list documents key examples of Vancouver’s heritage and is a planning tool to help manage our heritage resources.
While sites on the register aren't legally protected, they're acknowledged as Vancouver’s special places that link to our city's past and should be retained.
The Vancouver Heritage Register was formally adopted by City Council in 1994.
Themes for our Heritage Register
The following themes have been prepared to inform the Vancouver Heritage Register upgrade.
They'll be reviewed and updated as part of the Heritage Action Plan.
These themes will help us understand the heritage value of sites on the register and of sites you nominate.
Our themes are based on Parks Canada's national themes
To develop a framework of historic themes for Vancouver, we're guided by the historic themes of the National Historic Sites of Canada Systems Plan 
.
Learn about the themes that Parks Canada uses to organize Canadian history.
Peopling the Land
- Canada's Earliest Inhabitants
- Migration and Immigration
- Settlement
- People and the Environment
Developing Economies
- Hunting and Gathering
- Extraction and Production
- Trade and Commerce
- Technology and Engineering
- Labour
- Communications and Transportation
Building Social and Community Life
- Community Organizations
- Religious Institutions
- Education and Social Well-Being
- Social Movements
Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life
- Learning and the Arts
- Architecture and Design
- Science
- Sports and Leisure
- Philosophy and Spirituality
Governing Canada
- Politics and Political Processes
- Government Institutions
- Security and Law
- Military and Defence
- Canada and the World
Theme 1: Settling Vancouver
Subthemes: First Nations; Coastal Geography; and The Developing City.
| Subtheme | Description |
|---|---|
| First Nations | Addresses Vancouver’s rich and enduring history of the Northwest Coast First Nation peoples spanning more than 10,000 years |
| Coastal Geography | Examines the unique geological, hydrological, and climatic events that underpin the evolution of Vancouver’s current form and its past and present patterns of development |
| The Developing City | Encompasses the settlement of Vancouver, including the development of the city’s neighbourhood enclaves and influences on settlement patterns up to the present day |
Theme 2: Resource Economy
Subthemes: Terminal City; Resource Extraction and Industrial Production; Infrastructure and Transportation; and Labour.
| Subtheme | Description |
|---|---|
| Terminal City | Encompasses Vancouver’s role as a regional hub for communications and transportation
The story of Vancouver is intertwined with history of the CPR, an organization which has had a truly a profound effect in shaping the city's overall development, and whose influence continues to the present day. |
| Resource Extraction and Industrial Production | Explores Vancouver’s early industrial development
Early development of Vancouver included large industrial concerns along the shore of Burrard Inlet and False Creek, followed by the establishment of entertainment districts, including Hogan’s Alley and the hotels, restaurants, and pubs in Gastown, Hastings Street, Granville Street, and later along Main Street. |
| Infrastructure and Transportation | Addresses Vancouver’s transformation through the development and application of technological and engineering achievements, including transportation, communication, technological, and engineering advances and public works |
| Labour | Articulates the role of multicultural labourers in Vancouver’s economy |
Theme 3: Community Life and Neighbourhoods
Subthemes: Community Associations; Fraternal Assocations; Social Movements; Religious Institutions; Education; Health Care; and City of Neighbourhoods.
| Subtheme | Description |
|---|---|
| Community Associations |
Organizations were established that served many different interests, adding to the richness of community life across the city. |
| Fraternal Associations |
In response to harsh conditions, there was often a need to develop groups of self-interest. In the Chinese community, these groups formed along family lines. Many in the European communities banded together to promote common goals and assist group members during adverse times. |
| Social Movements | Addresses Vancouver’s significant pioneering role in environmental, social and political movements, and its continuing legacy for global and community action |
| Religious Institutions | From the first establishment of the City, settlers brought their belief systems, and places of worship sprang up across the city. The diversity of sacred places grew as the city's population expanded, reflecting many different denominations and their evolution over time. |
| Education | Articulates the activities associated with teaching and learning by children and adults and encompasses both public and private education |
| Health Care | Focuses on activities and processes associated with the provision of health care services by the government or philanthropic organizations |
| City of Neighbourhoods | Examines the numerous social and cultural communities that were instrumental in the development and growth of Vancouver's neighbourhoods |
Theme 4: Governing the City
Subthemes: Civic Institutions; Provincial and Federal Connections; Planning the City; and Law, Order, and Security.
| Subtheme | Description |
|---|---|
| Civic Institutions |
Sites, people, and events notable in the political life of Vancouver are included under this subtheme, including the development of Vancouver’s municipal government. |
| Provincial and Federal Connections |
Includes the development of the law courts and federally administered facilities such as post offices |
| Planning the City | Focuses on the development of city planning in Vancouver
Encompasses the early boom years of the 20th century, when the City of Vancouver focused its planning efforts on safety issues such as fire and sanitation, the City Beautiful movement, the first Town Planning Commission, and the formalization of planning |
| Law, Order, and Security | Highlights law enforcement, the development of the Fire Department, and national defence interests |
Theme 5: Building a Coastal Culture
Subthemes: Arts and Culture; Architecture; Philosophy and Spirituality; Leisure and Tourism; and Media.
| Subtheme | Description |
|---|---|
| Arts and Culture |
Examines Vancouver’s cultural milieu, which developed from an imposed, rigid, homogeneous, British-dominated colonial cultural framework, to a home-grown expression that recognized the wide diversity of the city’s population |
| Architecture | Focuses on senior government in various spheres, particularly the influence and connections between the federal and provincial level and the City of Vancouver.
Explores the development of Vancouver’s built environment, which represents a rapid and dramatic evolution of architecture, construction, form, style, and use of materials from rudimentary frontier settlement, to elaborate late Victorian architecture, an embrace of the Arts and Crafts and Neoclassical movements, renewed interest in Period Revival styles and the popularity of postwar contemporary design |
| Planning the City | Focuses on the development of city planning in Vancouver
Encompasses the early boom years of the 20th century, when the City of Vancouver focused its planning efforts on safety issues such as fire and sanitation, the City Beautiful movement, the first Town Planning Commission, and the formalization of planning |
| Law, Order, and Security | Highlights law enforcement, the development of the Fire Department, and national defence interests |
Every Heritage Register site connects to one or more themes
However, many sites that aren't on the register also connect to the themes.
By nominating a site, you help raise awareness of these connections.
View an example of a site that's on the Heritage Register, and one that's not. You might be surprised.
Haywood Bandstand: on the register
The Haywood Bandstand, located in Alexandra Park in the West End, is on the Heritage Register and is also a Municipally Designated heritage resource.
The Bandstand, constructed in 1914, is connected to the theme of Building a Coastal Culture and the subthemes of:
- Arts and Culture, because it's an original venue for the musical performing arts
- Architecture, for its Queen Anne design
Malkin Bowl: not on the register
The Malkin Bowl, located Stanley Park, is not on the Heritage Register.
Malkin Bowl, constructed in 1934, is connected to the theme of Building a Coastal Culture and the subthemes of:
- Arts and Culture, because it's a summer concert venue constructed during the Great Depression
- Architecture, for its Art Deco style
