Joe Fortes arrived in Vancouver in 1885 and quickly became one of the city’s most loved citizens. As our first official lifeguard and Beach Avenue resident, he saved dozens of lives.
This story is excerpted from: Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History.
Joe Fortes:
In 1904 Joe Fortes was living in a sweet little cottage at the foot of Gilford, right by where the Sylvia Hotel is today. When he heard that the city wanted to rid the water side of homes, he got permission from the mayor to put his home on skids and move it three blocks down the beach to the foot of Bidwell.
Two decades earlier Joseph Seraphim Fortes jumped ship in Burrard Inlet and decided to settle in Vancouver. He was a porter for a time, but after Vancouver burned to the ground in 1886, he started to teach kids to swim in English Bay—hundreds and hundreds of them. Twenty-nine is the official number of lives he saved, but the unofficial number is estimated to be closer to a hundred.
Joe’s Beach Avenue Cottage:
Joe lived in his little cottage by the water until his death on February 4, 1922. He was 57.
Instead of moving his former home across the street to Alexandra Park where it could become a repository for black history in Vancouver, for Joe Fortes, and for the houses that once dotted the water side of Beach Avenue, we burned it to the ground—the standard practice for demolition in the ‘20s.
“Our friend Joe’s” funeral was held at Holy Rosary Cathedral, and it was the most heavily attended in the history of Vancouver with thousands of people spilling outside the packed church.
In 1927, the people of Vancouver–many of them children–raised $5,000 (the equivalent of about $70,000 today) to build a memorial fountain in his honour. The fountain was sculpted by Charles Marega, one of the most interesting and prolific artists that you’ve probably never heard of, and inscribed with the words “little children loved him.”
Joe’s legend continues to carry on almost a century after his death.
Joe has a seafood restaurant named after him, and a library. In 1986, the Vancouver Historical Society named him “Citizen of the Century,” and in February 2013 he was honoured with a stamp on the 150th anniversary of his birth.
Related: A superb National Film Board animation short about Joe produced in 2002
© All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, all blog content copyright Eve Lazarus.
16 comments on “Remembering Joe Fortes”
It looks like the sculpture is in front of the gazebo/bandstand. Is it still there?
Yes it is Doug, I visited it a month or so ago. It’s quite lovely.
Hi Eve, do you know where his house was exactly? Or do you know how I can find out? I heard that it was on Bidwell street after he moved it from about where the Sylvia Hotel stands. I remember a little pale yellow cottage on the corner of bidwell and I believe Harwood Street across from the bandstand at Alexandra Park. Now it’s a very Boutiquey low rise condo. Can’t remember exactly when it was built but I am thinking the late 80’s / early 90’s? I just want to know if I’m correct.
Thanks so much for all you do for the history of Vancouver. I really like your stuff
Brian Becker
It was originally at the foot of Gilford then moved to the foot of Bidwell. Both on the water side of Beach Avenue. I’d suggest paying a visit to Vancouver Archives and check if it’s on their early maps.
Many thanks for the Our Friend Joe plug, Eve! I’ll be presenting my Joe Fortes talk at Joe Fortes Branch Library next Saturday, Feb. 11th at 2 pm as part of a Black History Month event with drumming, etc. Looking forward!
And, the perfect place to have it! Do you have a poster or a link to the talk and I’ll post on FB?
Next Saturday is Feb 12, not the 11.
I wrote this story in 2017…
You can watch a charming animated film on Joe for free on the NFB’s website https://www.nfb.ca/film/joe/
Have you watched the animated NFB film “Joe” by Jill Haras. It is a wonderful tribute to Joe.
Hi Eve! Lovely piece about Joe Fortes. I am going to check out your books.
Hope you are doing well.
All the very best!
Thanks so much! It’s nice to be connected over FB
What an interesting read.
My wife and I were treated by a friend to an incredible dinner at the Joe Fortes restaurant several years ago. We still talk about it.
I had no idea who he was, nor the story behind him. Thank you!
Thanks so much for writing. It’s also one of my favourite restaurants!
My grandmother Lottie Irene Jewitt (Malcolm) was one of those children taught to swim by Joe Fortes.
[…] took swimming lessons from Joe Fortes and later, art lessons from Emily Carr. Friends of her mother’s who dropped by the house […]