A May Demolition on King Edward

I'm sorry that I didn't get a photo of this cute house before it began to be torn down. It is of the same era as the one at 3820 West King Edward (torn down in June--see blog of June 27), but it has the addition of an enclosed front entry. On April 3, the house looked like this.

There was a lovely gate, but it is gone. There is still evidence of a beautiful and well cared for garden.


On May 4, more of the house is gone.
It was torn down prior to May 15.

A First

This is a lengthy blog because the house is near mine, only 4 houses away, and as far as I know it is the first house on this side of the 4000 block of West 31st Avenue to be demolished. A tribute to the neighbourhood conviviality of this block is that many of the 1 and 1.5 storey houses on this side (developed in 1938) have been renovated, some extensively, by the resident owners because they enjoy living here. One resident recently told me, "This is the best block that I've ever lived on." Each year on July 1, the street is decked out with Canadian flags for the annual block party. Two families still living on the block owned this small 2 bedroom home as their "starter" home.

Let's remember the distinctive little round red window.

The house was put up for sale in September 2010. Surveyors arrived in late March 2011. In early May the stakes were sunk. On July 9, protective fencing was put around the boulevard tree. On July 18 the excavator arrived.

A very tall and badly-topped cedar tree growing next to the lane was cut down in preparation for the demolition, a good thing in this case as the core was quite rotted.

Scenes from the demolition, photos from the front and the rear taken by my husband and me:

Path to destruction?

View from the side:
Not a calm view from the neighbour's Zen garden:

Requiem for a Red Camellia

In early May, the red camellia bloomed for the last time in front of this house, perhaps a type of "Vancouver special" or an older house remodeled in the 70's.


By 1 p.m. on June 30, much of the house was gone, but bits of it were recognizable.

The view from the lane shows materials that will go to the landfill. Or will the metal be recycled?