The housing stock in the Dunbar area of Vancouver has undergone significant change in the past five years. Originally a working class neighbourhood with many quite modest homes surrounded by lovely gardens, it is now a neighbourhood that 99% of the people working in Vancouver cannot afford because the replacement homes are built to the maximum footprint and cost millions. Greenspace has been reduced. Included on this website are photos of many (not all) of the disappeared houses.
View Teardowns in the Dunbar area of Vancouver, BC in a larger map

Demolitions West of the Dunbar Community Centre

Friday, April 29, 2011

The Ending (with Video)



Thos Gee's video Demolition in Dunbar is more riveting than my two still photos, taken mid December 2010 and in March 2011.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

36th Avenue West of Dunbar

This small house was built in 1931 on a 66 foot wide lot. Because there is no back lane, the garage was accessible from the front. A Dunbar resident, R. Ripley, suspected that the house would be demolished and took this photo in May 2008.
Left to deteriorate, by January 2011, it appears that a car had bashed into the house breaking the front window, and the entire scene looked rather morose and untidy.
Sometime in February 2011, it was demolished, and at least one large tree was cut down.

In April the foundation of one large house can be seen.

Ever on the lookout in the neighbourhood, R. Ripley took this photo in November 2010.
I came by after Christmas and spotted the red fencing.
In late January, construction had begun.
One month later:
A mid-April view of this very fast construction project:


If you're ready for more, here are two "before-and-afters" on 36th Avenue, where R. Ripley took the early photo, predating this blog project, and I took the photo of the new house.

Compare July 2004 and April 2010:

Compare April 2007 and April 2010:

Friday, April 8, 2011

Two Demolitions on 39th Avenue



Over a year ago, in early February 2010, R. Ripley a Dunbar resident, became aware that this house at the corner of West 39th Avenue and Camosun would likely be demolished and took this photo.
When I began gathering photos for this blog in the fall of 2010, I stumbled across the same house, looking uncared for, and took a photo.

On December 5, I knew for sure what would happen...

By January 21, the hole was dug and concrete had been poured. Note how large the house will be compared to its neighbour.

On March 27 the house's structure was evident. There was also a new 3-car garage under construction. With this large lot, there is enough green space left for a couple of the large trees.
Across the street next to the corner, this house looked desolate on October 3, 2010. Looking up the address on Google, I found "permits ready to go."

It was still standing in early February, but the red fencing had been put up.
The last time I checked, the house was down, and a new one under construction. Both lots are wide but not wide enough for two houses. The original houses were built in 1946 and 1945 respectively. The second one was pretty ordinary on the exterior, but in my opinion the corner house was special with that large south-facing windowed extension on the front. Unfortunately a few more houses on the same block have surveyor's stakes.