Update: March 28, 2023 – Currently, all tours are full. Please feel free to contact me if you’d like to join a waiting list or if you’d like to be notified if other tour dates are added.
I’m happy to announce that I will be leading Mount Pleasant Stories history walks this spring (April & May). Tour groups will be kept small (maximum 8 participants) allowing for a more personal and flexible experience. These tours are for anyone who would like to learn about Mount Pleasant’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage in an active way.
Tours will be held on a Saturday or Sunday starting at 10 AM.Each tour will be around 2 to 2.5 hours. Participants must be comfortable walking 3 kms over a 2.5 hour period of time. The tour routes include a few alleys without sidewalks and some uneven surfaces. Tours take place rain or shine. Wear comfortable clothing & shoes. If rain is forecasted bring rain gear.
Tour 1: In the path of Brewery Creek
Doering & Marstrand Brewery Employees ca. 1892. Photo: CoV Archives, Dist P18; 1901 Fire Insurance Plan; Wallace -Stark House E 10th, ca. 1911. Photo: Salt Spring Archives. All colour photos: C.Hagemoen
Mount Pleasant is Vancouver’s first suburb and the only neighbourhood to develop along a creek. Brewery Creek once flowed down to False Creek, carving a ravine for itself through Mount Pleasant, crossing Main Street twice – at 14th Avenue and again at about 10th Avenue. Early settlers established industries – tanneries, slaughterhouses, and several breweries – along its ravine. That early growth was supported by the introduction of electric streetcar service in 1891. Many of the buildings from this streetcar era still exist. These older, human-scale buildings continue to provide housing, creative and commercial spaces for a wide variety of individuals, community groups and local businesses.
Starting at historic Heritage Hall, we’ll loosely follow the historic path of old Brewery Creek through Mount Pleasant’s heritage heart as it winds its way downstream towards False Creek. Along the way, we’ll discover the people and businesses that settled along its banks, including the historic breweries that gave Brewery Creek its name. In addition, we’ll explore quirky streets and alleys, discover historical and other interesting neighbourhood features, learn about the area’s built and natural history, and meet some of the interesting people who once made their homes and livelihoods in this neighbourhood. Conveniently, we’ll end the tour at one of Mount Pleasant’s breweries giving participants an opportunity to savour some of the neighbourhood’s liquid history, if they so choose.
- Duration: 2 – 2.5 hours. Please note this tour is point-to-point and will not end up at the start location.
- Meeting location – Heritage Hall at 10 AM. (please arrive a few minutes early for check in).
- End location – TBA
- Cost: $20 per person – tour capacity 8 people
Tour 1 dates: Saturday, April 8 (Full !); Sunday, April 23 (almost full, 1 spot left!); Saturday, May 13 (FULL); Sunday, May 28 (almost full, 1 spot left!).
To reserve a space (or spaces) on this tour fill out the contact form below.
Federal Store, east 10th at Quebec. Photo: C. Hagemoen
Tour 2: Lower Mount Pleasant
W6th at Ontario, Laura’s Coffee Shop, and Mount Pleasant Hall. Photo: C. Hagemoen; 1913- NE Mount Pleasant. Photo: CoV Archives, PAN N161B; Children on the SE corner W4th at Yukon, 1938. Photo: Karel Haspel, CoV Archives, CVA 300-138; Italian family & friends on sidewalk, 1943, C.Hagemoen family archives.
Lower Mount Pleasant, the light-industrial, commercial, & residential area (north of Broadway, bounded by Cambie Street and Clark Drive), is often omitted when Mount Pleasant heritage is discussed. Though it is hard to tell today, this area was once primarily residential and home for a multi-cultural community of families and individuals. Many of them were new immigrants who came to work in the industries that operated along the south shore of False Creek. Others set up their own businesses, opened shops or restaurants, or provided services to the Mount Pleasant community. Small pockets of the original dwellings, buildings, and businesses still exist and serve as a tangible reminder of the varied history of this part of the community.
On this walk we’ll explore the surprisingly rich history of this area and learn the stories of some of the families, workers, legacy businesses, and social groups that once called this unique part of Mount Pleasant home.
- Duration: 2 – 2.5 hours. Please note this tour is point-to-point and will not end up at the start location.
- Meeting location – SW corner of Jonathan Rogers Park (W8th at Columbia) at 10 AM. (please arrive a few minutes early for check in).
- End location – TBA
- Cost: $20 per person – tour capacity 8 people
Tour 2 dates: Saturday, April 15 ( Full); Sunday, April 30; (Full) Saturday, May 20 (Full!).
To reserve a space (or spaces) on this tour fill out the contact form below.
30 W 6th, 1974. Photo: CoV Archives, CVA 1095-03484
About the tour guide: Christine Hagemoen, a 4th generation Vancouverite, is a Mount Pleasant based historical researcher, writer, and photographer. She is the You Should Know columnist at Scout Magazine and has written for Photo Life and Geist magazine. Christine has led walking tours for the Vancouver Heritage Foundation and Heritage Vancouver. She recently published the first book in a series of walking tour guides titled Mount Pleasant Stories: Historical Walking Tours.
I respectfully acknowledge that these Mount Pleasant Stories walking tours take place on the traditional and unceded lands and waters of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
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