English Bay Beach
The beach has always been popular, especially after sand was added in
1898 and people began to build themselves cottages where they would spend
their summers. It's hard to imagine that in order to reach the beach in
the 1890's, one had to follow trails through the bushes and then, when
you arrived, the beach was divided in two by a large rock, men on one side
and women on the other! In the early 1900's, a wooden bathhouse was built
(people no longer had to change behind the bushes) and a walking pier with
a glassed-in dancehall called "The Prom" were added. The current
concrete bathhouse was constructed in 1931 while, seven years later, the
pier and dancehall were both torn down.
TRIVIA!
English Bay beach, which was termed 'Ayyulshun'
by the Indians meaning 'soft under feet,' was established in 1893 with
a few beach shacks built there. The name 'English Bay' commemorates the
meeting of the British Captain Vancouver and Spanish captains Valdes and
Galiano, in 1792. This is the event that also resulted in Spanish Banks'
name.
A significant figure in the history of this beach is 'old black Joe,'
a Barbados-born man that made English Bay his home in the 1890's and made
a considerable impact on the lives of those who knew him. We have dedicated
a section to Joe where you can find out a bit more about this local hero.
The origin of West End street names
Denman Street:
named after Admiral Denman, the hero of the bloodiest naval scene ever
fought on the coast of B.C. A rebellious Vancouver Island tribe suffered
a bombardment of 9 villages and 64 canoes lost.
Davie Street:
Vancouver's Premier of B.C. in 1887, Honourable A.E.B. Davie was
Vancouver's first openly homosexual politician. A group of friends of Davie's
formed the seed of what is now Canada's largest gay community.
Robson Street:
named after Honourable John Robson, Provincial Secretary in 1883
and Premier of B.C. from 1889-92.
Morton Street: the West End's
original founder, John Morton
Many of the area's streets are named after naval officers: Bidwell (Bedwell
was the actual officer's name), Broughton, Denman, Haro and Pendrell. All
were named by Lachlan Hamilton, assistant land commissioner of the CPR
when Vancouver was born. He was responsible for envisioning the importance
that Vancouver would have in the future and thus laid out the streets as
we see them today, even though they were laid out far beyond the spatial
needs for the time.
Vancouver 'Millionaires' win The Stanley Cup
- on Denman Street!
Denman Arena was a huge brick building built by Frank Patrick and brother
Lesterin in 1911 at 1805 West Georgia at the corner of Denman. At the time,
it was the largest indoor ice rink in the world. In order to make their
new league competitive, the brothers stole players from the National Hockey
Association and created the Vancouver Millionaires - hockey flourished
in this good playing environment. The 1914-15 season saw the Millionaires
become Western champions. The Ottawa Senators were Eastern champs and they
played at Denman arena for the Stanley Cup. The Millionaires won with ease
and had their names engraved onto the cup! In 1936, the Denman arena was
sadly destroyed by fire.
