One Less Vancouver Special

On the corner of West 31st Avenue and Wallace next to the park, there used to be a lovely home on a large lot. In the mid 70's, it was torn down and replaced by three Vancouver specials. Now these replacement houses are falling, one by one. This is the second one. On the left in these two photos, you can see a tiny view of the first (now gone) Vancouver special and its replacement. There is a blog about that one here. This second one was sold in November 2012 and has looked neglected ever since. Since the third one in the row also looks somewhat neglected, I'm prepared to see it disappear, although it has not been on the market. And the next house, an original one, has been sold recently...so I'm wondering if eventually there will be four new houses in a row.

 

Demolished May 21, 2015. What I find mystifying is that the BC Assessments for these remaining two Vancouver Special buildings (not the land) have each increased by approximately $15,000 in the 2014 assessment, despite their neglected states.

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.

Two Vancouver Specials Disappear in Dunbar

Most "Vancouver Specials" were built between 1965 and 1985 to replace an earlier house on the lot. The Dunbar area does not have as many Vancouver Specials as some other areas of the city, possibly because the original housing stock was kept in better shape and in less need of being replaced. Times have changed, and even houses in great condition are torn down these days. The condition of this Vancouver Special may not have been that good. It was for sale at the time this photo was taken, April 2013, and was torn down in the late summer or fall. Address: 3435 West 40th Avenue.

 This Vancouver Special at 3360 West 29th was torn down in January 2014:

Vancouver Specials can have a large interior space and recently, they are beginning to be considered vintage and even cool; here's a link to how they can be renovated.

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.