North Van History Highlights
North Van History Highlights presents significant developments on the waterfront, in the community and in the parks and mountains that make North Vancouver a special place. At the bottom of this page, see our Did You Know? section and learn about some North Van high achievers!
Click away and enjoy your voyage of discovery!
A visit to the Archives and a look at our online exhibits will add more to the stories. A sampling of artifacts that help tell some of the stories may be found in the Museum collection. A browse through our Instagram, Twitter and Facebook sites also provides opportunities to explore North Vancouver’s stories.
Section I: At Water’s Edge
1792 - The First Europeans
On June 13 British Captain George Vancouver meets a group of Squamish from the village of Homulchesan (xwemelch’stn) at the mouth of the Capilano River. Vancouver and his men are the first Europeans to enter Burrard Inlet. A week later Spanish mariners explore the inlet, including Indian Arm.
1860 - First Catholic Mass
First Catholic Mass on Burrard Inlet is celebrated at the Squamish village of Ustlawn (Eslha7a’n) at the mouth of Mosquito Creek.
1868 – St. Paul’s Church
A Catholic Church, St. Paul’s, is erected at Ustlawn (Eslha7a’n), where Squamish families are settling. The original church is replaced with a new building in 1884, which was reconstructed with the twin towers it has today in 1909-10. The church becomes a National Historic Site in 1981. It is the oldest surviving mission church in the Lower Mainland.
1882 – First Electric Lights
Electricity comes to Moodyville; these are the first electric lights north of San Francisco.
1906 - Ships on the Ways
Shipbuilder Andy Wallace moves his yard from Vancouver’s False Creek to the North Vancouver waterfront. During World War I, Wallace builds the first deep sea steel-hulled cargo vessels in BC. Wallace Shipyards later becomes Burrard Dry Dock (1925) and then Versatile Pacific (1985).
1908 - Talks with the Prime Minister
Led by Chief Joe Capilano (pictured fifth from left, front row) at North Vancouver Ferry Wharf, this delegation embarks on a journey to undertake talks with Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier. Land claims, fishing and hunting rights, and education are on the agenda.
1925 – Danger at the Bridge
On November 7 the Second Narrows Bridge opens to road traffic, making North Vancouver accessible to motorists. It opens to rail traffic the following year. Currents make navigation treacherous and vessels routinely smashed into the bridge. The worst incident occurrs in September 1930 when a log-carrier under tow knocks out one of the bridge spans; the bridge does not reopen until November 1934.
1925 - City Grows
In January Moodyville joins the City of North Vancouver.
1928 – First Grain Terminal
The Midland Pacific grain terminal opens on the site of the former Moodyville. It is the first major port installation on the North Shore.
1938 – Bridging the Narrows
1940-45 – The War Effort at Home
During World War Two Burrard Dry Dock manufactures naval vessels and one third of all the cargo ships produced in Canada. At its peak, the shipyard employs 14,000 people in three round-the-clock shifts. Wartime housing booms to accommodate the workers and their families. North Vancouver’s role in maintaining the war effort is out of all proportion to its size as a community.
1945 – Women in the Shipyards
Women have been employed in the shipyards since 1942, making up about seven percent of the workforce. Burrard Dry Dock is the first shipbuilder in Canada to employ women in significant numbers. At the end of the war they all lose their jobs to men returning from the armed services.
1958 - Bridge Collapse
On June 17, 1958 one of the worst engineering disasters in BC history occurrs when the partially-constructed Second Narrows Bridge collapses into Burrard Inlet. Eighteen workers lost their lives (a nineteenth victim, a diver searching for bodies, died a few days later).
1960 – Iron Workers Memorial Bridge
On August 25 the new Second Narrows Bridge opens to traffic. It is later renamed the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge.
1992 – Versatile Pacific
In December the Versatile Pacific shipyard closes.
2005 – Waterfront Returned
On April 23 the 700-foot long Burrard Dry Dock Pier opens. Along with a waterfront walk, it affords public access to the formerly industrial waterfront for the first time in a century.
Section II: A Community Develops
1905 – The "Express"
The community’s first newspaper, the “Express”, begins publication.
1906 – Transportation Hub
The British Columbia Electric Railway Company initiates streetcar service on track running up Lonsdale Avenue from the waterfront. Eventually the service grows to three lines, connecting the ferry dock to Capilano Canyon on the west, Lynn Canyon on the east, and Upper Lonsdale. The streetcars are replaced by buses in 1947.
1912 – West Vancouver Secedes
Municipality of West Vancouver is separated from the District of North Vancouver.
1923 – Squamish First Nation
Sixteen Coast Salish chiefs sign an amalgamation document to create the Squamish First Nation and a council of chiefs to conduct Squamish affairs.
1930 – Deep Cove Resort
Deep Cove is developing as a summer resort, site of Corfield’s Dance Hall. The Deep Cove Yacht Club is formed in 1936.
1932 – Receivership
In December, buffeted by the Great Depression, District government is taken over by a commissioner appointed by the province. The District does not regain an elected government until 1951. The City follows the District into receivership in January 1933 and is also managed by a commissioner until 1944 when wartime prosperity allows a return to democratic governance.
1947 – A Community of Communities
A post-war population boom opens several new residential neighbourhoods, including Norgate, Capilano Highlands and Edgemont Village.
1957 – Re-amalgamation
City council investigates the possibility of re-amalgamation with the District but the matter dies. The issue is revisited several times during the 1960s but no steps are taken.
1961 – Upper Levels Highway
On March 4 Premier W.A.C. Bennett opens the Upper Levels Highway between the Second Narrows Bridge and Taylor Way in West Vancouver.
1966 – North Vancouver Memorial Community Centre
In March the North Vancouver Memorial Community Centre (now the Harry Jerome Community Recreation Centre) opens at 23rd and Lonsdale. It is a joint City-District project and has been approved by a referendum.
1968 – Capilano College
Capilano College (now Capilano University) begins offering classes on the grounds of West Vancouver Secondary High School. It moves to its present campus (between Lynn Creek and Seymour River) in 1973.
1972 - North Vancouver Museum and Archives
The North Vancouver Museum and Archives is established (originally as the North Shore Museum & Archives). In 1976 it moves to facilities at Presentation House. In 2006 the Archives moves to the newly-renovated Community History Centre in Lynn Valley.
1988 – Park & Tilford Shopping Centre
Park and Tilford Shopping Centre opens on the grounds of a former distillery.
1989 – North Shore Studios
North Shore Studios (originally Lions Gate Studios) opens as a film and television production center.
2003 - Energy Smart
The Lonsdale Energy Corporation (LEC) begins. LEC provides dependable, clean, and competitively priced energy to residential and commercial buildings in the Lonsdale area. By heating our community naturally, the demand for energy lessens and support for global and local climate action grows.
Section III: The Great Outdoors
1894 – Grouse Mountain Summited
In October the first hikers to climb Grouse Mountain reach the summit. They name it for the blue grouse they see along the way.
1926 – Greater Vancouver Water District
The Greater Vancouver Water District is created, drawing water from the Capilano and Seymour River watersheds.
1936 – Mount Seymour Provincial Park
Mount Seymour Provincial Park is created.
1950 – Cates Park
Cates Park (also known as Whey-ah-Wichen Park) is dedicated in memory of Charles H. Cates, founder of the historic Cates Towing Company, and develops over the following decade.
1981 –Lynn Headwaters
Lynn Headwaters becomes a regional park.
1981 – Deep Cove Bike Shop
The Deep Cove Bike Shop brings mountain biking to the North Shore.
1983 – Capilano Suspension Bridge
Nancy Stibbard purchases the Capilano Suspension Bridge, which has been owned for the previous thirty years by her father, Rae Mitchell. The Bridge is the North Shore’s number one attraction for visitors.
2004 - First Nations Snowboard Team
Established in 2004, the First Nations Snowboard Team program works to improve the quality of life and to empower Aboriginal youth across Canada. Squamish artist Xwalacktun depicts Thunderbird and Eagle on this board to provide inspiration for the athletes.
2009 – Filtration Plant
The Seymour-Capilano Filtration Plant, the largest water filtration plant in Canada, begins distributing water to the residents of Metro Vancouver. The plant treats water from the Capilano and Seymour watersheds. Upon completion (May 2015) 1.8 billion litres of drinking water will be treated daily.
2010 – Winter Olympics
During the Winter Olympics hosted by Vancouver/Whistler, the American television network NBC broadcasts its coverage live from Grouse Mountain.
2010 - Turbine Attraction
Did You Know?
During a visit to Vancouver in 1892 as part of his round-the-world honeymoon, the English writer Rudyard Kipling was enthusiastic enough about North Vancouver’s future that he bought a piece of land here. As a result, in 1897, the list of ratepayers eligible to vote in the local election included “R. Kipling.” Of course by then he was back in England and never cast a ballot. [image of voters’ list]