Four on West 26th Avenue All East of Dunbar Street

3365 West 26th Avenue. Torn down 2012.  This is the plainest of the four.

3340 West 26th Avenue. Torn down in 2011.  An interesting "Tudor".

3414 West 26th Avenue. A tiny house, torn down in 2012.

3554 West 26th Avenue.  This large house on the corner with Dunkirk Street was torn down in 2012.

Gone Away for Christmas

On Sunday, December 23, 2012 this was the sight at 4006 West 28th Avenue, on the corner with Crown:

 Demolition took place the next day, December 24.  Gone for Christmas...

 

 

 

A year ago, the house looked like this. Oddly enough, I never noticed that it was for sale.  It is one of the smallest versions of similar houses all built in the early 50's in the area bounded by Crown, Camosun, West 27th Avenue, and West 31st Avenue.  The middle bush under the living room window is rather misshapen.  However, it is a special variegated camellia, which bloomed beautifully for the last time in April 2012.

No Longer There on West 22nd and 23rd Avenue

 

3405 W. 22nd Avenue, built in 1926, torn down January 2012

3548 W. 22nd Avenue, built in 1929, torn down in 2012

3859 W. 23rd Avenue, torn down in the summer of 2011

Of the four in this blog entry, this one has lost the most character, although it is neatly maintained.  3814 W. 23rd Avenue, torn down May or June 2011, replaced by a new house + laneway house

More Demolitions on 17th and 18th Avenues

3716 W. 17th Avenue, torn down January 2011

A Vancouver Special at 3930 W. 17th Avenue, torn down December 2011 or January 2012

3913 W. 18th Avenue, torn down February 2011, replaced by a new house + laneway house

Side view of above house, a bit different from the front!

Rear view of above house. The roof line is unique.

3940 W. 18th Avenue, torn down December 2011 or later. Note the holiday wreath in the January 2011 photo of this well-kept house.

Two 1926 Cottages

This tiny cottage built in 1926 was certainly getting derelict and had lost some of its character with the closed-in front porch. The location is on a ridge with a great view of the city and mountains. Even with the scaffolding to show off the potential view that a taller house would have, it took over 6 months to sell. Maybe it was too scary to climb up! It was demolished in 2012.

 

On 17th Avenue this 1926 cottage had a glassed-in front porch.  To the left is a house of similar age or maybe older, which was renovated perhaps 10 years ago, with the character retained.  However, the grey house met a different fate, demolished in the fall of 2010.  It has been replaced by a very modern house and laneway house.

Disappeared Detroit

We spent the morning of August 20 exploring one of the depopulated areas of Detroit.  I wanted to see the urban gardens and farms that have been created there.  Uninhabited derelict houses have been removed, and in some areas grass has been planted and is mowed.  Other areas have been left to grow wild.  Streets are deserted, and it is very quiet like being in the countryside, despite seeing buildings in the distance.  The infrastructure is crumbling.  It was eerie to think of all the working people in those neighbourhood, now gone along with their homes. Where are they now?

Follow my other blog for the photos and more comment: 

http://growingedibles.blogspot.ca/

Disappeared, But Not Demolished!

This 97-year-old Heritage B home has left the Dunbar area for a new setting on Vancouver Island. 

Although the house appears large, especially with its much-emulated third storey, its foot print was surprisingly small:

Although I totally applaud the recycling of this house, I wonder whether any new house, no matter how luxurious, constructed on the site will ever attain a "Heritage B" rating.  Is it to our neighbourhood's benefit to lose this kind of well-maintained history?

Two on West 28th Avenue

In February 2011 there was a frenzy of selling on the 4000 block of West 28th Avenue--5 houses were sold.  The first two were demolished in early July.  These steps now lead nowhere:

This is what the house looked like last August:

 

 

The other house was on the south side, but its north-facing garden was pleasantly landscaped, looking nice even in February.

  

In August the surveyor's stakes went in.  Will this tree be saved?

  

Maybe...

 

Link to see my blog of March 2011 about this block of West 28th Avenue.

Digging, not Demolishing

It's not about demolishing perfectly livable houses this time.  Thanks to the Dunbar Village Business Association in partnership with KJM Country Gardens and keen volunteers, Dunbar Street has new plantings around the the enlarged areas surrounding the trees from 27th to 29th Avenues.  I participated on July 8.  The first task was to pick up the cigarette butts, ugh...

Here are two "after" photos.  The plants appear quite small now, and they will need a lot of watering during these hotter weeks.  Another vulnerability is the tree roots near the surface.  I was surprised to see two hapless teenagers tramp right through, shortly after the planting was completed.  But numerous people passing by were pleased with the enhancement to our shopping area.

3895 W 24th, With Video!

What you see now:

The corner looked like this in May 2011:

A year later, it looked like this:

The corner lot is large, and a gardener lived there.

But in the fall of 2008, things changed.  One of the early urban farmers in Vancouver was allowed to take over the south-facing front lawn to grow vegetables to sell.  The plastic hoops allowed the veggies to winter over.  The farm was not kept up for long, and the house sat vacant.

On June 22, 2012 it was torn down.  The video (below) by a neighbour who was passing by also includes some still photos from the interior of this imposing, now disappeared forever, 1925 character and ample home.

Dominoes on West 32nd Avenue

This modest house was built in 1941.  It was situated down the lane that is behind my house.

I was calmly eating my lunch on June 8 when I recognized what the noise was that I was hearing.  After lunch, I walked over to the site, to see that the house was nearly gone.

By 5:30 pm, it was gone.

This is the third house in a row on that side of the street that has been demolished, all three being on 33 foot lots.  Note that the house on the left in the first photo is not identical to the house on the left in the other two photos. 

Two on West 22nd Avenue

The corner of Wallace and West 22nd Avenue looked like this in March 2011:

Here is what it looks like now:

 

The typical storey-and-a-half stucco house on the corner had an atypical chain link fence (likely being replaced by a stone wall), and this house came down first.  The property had been neglected for some years. Here is a view of it in December 2010, a view of the gap when it was demolished in June 2011, and a view during the construction.

The adjacent house was newer, built in 1964, and appeared to be well maintained, but being vacant in late November lighting, it looked quite forlorn.

A neighbour was present on May 19, 2012 when the house was torn down and made a 6+ minute video which you can view here:

A Tiny House

Would this small and modest house be left standing in the Dunbar area?

It appears to be a valued home in the Mole Hill area of downtown Vancouver.  And, to be transparent, the house looks tiny, but it extends all the way to the lane, with the back part being a garage.  It is not without greenspace, though, as shown by the attractive and good-sized front garden.

Another Vulnerable Corner Lot

 

Should this house be demolished?
 

 

The talk of the neighbourhood around Crown and West 36th Avenue is that it will be demolished.  The realtor's information stated that this house was built in 1941.  A neighbour heard from the family that this unusual house was designed by a woman.  Having the house situated at the back of the lot allows a large southern garden.  The tulips along the picket fence by Crown are always a spring feature.  Let's hope all those neighbours are wrong!