Torn Down Twice

In 1976 I remember walking down my street (West 31st Avenue) towards Dunbar Street with my two very young children. On the corner of Wallace, bordering Memorial Park West (the one next to the Dunbar Community Centre), I saw a home being demolished. It was an unusual one that I especially liked, a "California mission" or Italian type. I told the workers that I liked the house, complaining that it was being torn down. Those were the days of building Vancouver specials. A developer probably made a large profit, building three Vancouver specials on the large lot. Of course, now all three have seen better days. The one on the corner was sold in 2011 and has been moldering ever since. The one next to it was sold in November 2012 and looks to be torn down sometime.

This Vancouver special in no way replaced that original house, but the builder did make some attempt to relate it to the corner.

The original back yard had at least one fruit tree, and you can see the trunk of it. I was intrigued with the old stone bench. It appears that no one has sat on it for a very long time! Just before the demolition, it disappeared. It was from the original house. I hope this vintage bench found a new home.

I really wish that I had a photo of the original house!! This Vancouver special replacement was torn down in May 2014. The next replacement appears to have the same footprint, but of course the hole is deeper. Is the new house destined to be torn down in 2054? Do the math.