Vancouver's Mount Pleasant was one of the first areas developed in the city
Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant is an eclectic area known for Main Street shopping and its rise in stylish eateries. The hub of activity now centers on the Main Street and Broadway corridor, although Mount Pleasant officially spans from Clark Drive to Cambie Street and south from 16th Avenue.
The Beginning
Early activity began here when a road was created by the Royal Engineers from New Westminster to English Bay in 1860. Known then as “False Creek Road,” it attracted Captain Edward Stamp who was seeking a source of fresh water for his steam-operated sawmill.
He quickly damned Brewery Creek (which is now near 8th avenue and Sophie Street), in order to allow water to run across False Creek and to his mill, which was located on Burrard Inlet, 4 kilometers north.
The Beginning of Civilization
The fall of 1872 brought a bridge that would connect the township of Granville (present day Gastown) to the wilderness of Mount Pleasant. The unstable bridge over False Creek allowed the many pioneers to begin building a new community in this once deserted district.
After the first resident, Charles Cleaver Maddams, built his home on waterfront property only accessible by boat, others became interested in the alternative to living in the Granville Township.
Development Begins
As more residents made the area their home, the first schoolhouse was built on the corner of 9th (now Broadway) and Westminster Avenue (once the False Creek Trail). The area was still known as “across the creek” at this time.
A Community is Born
The residents grew weary of saying they lived “across the creek” from Granville and one Mrs. Edmonds decided to give it a name. To honor her birthplace in Ireland, the present Mount Pleasant neighborhood was born.
Boom and Bust
The rest of the district was growing rapidly at the beginning of the 1900’s. Regular streetcar service made transportation easy; large houses were built beside grand churches; Great Northern Railway built a line from the United States; the CPR constructed a branch line along the south shore of False Creek.
When the depression hit, the area began a short decline. Property values dropped as a steady stream of immigrants and factory workers came to live there. The large, private residences became rooming houses and repetitive rows of apartments were built to accommodate the influx of people.
Mount Pleasant Today
The Mount Pleasant of today is still filled with a wide range of residents. The area has had a recent past of drug problems and prostitution, but has become a much safer neighborhood to live and work in the past few years.
The real estate boom in Vancouver has seen housing prices soar and higher end boutique shops and restaurants move in. The hip vibe of today’s residents will see an even larger increase in property values as more young professionals decide to make Mount Pleasant their home.
Information compiled from the City of Vancouver Planning Department and The Vancouver Museum.
