There’s been a lot about laneway houses in the media over the last couple of years. Loosely defined, it’s a legal way of plonking down a small house in your backyard, and depending on your point of view, either exploiting or helping to ease the current rental squeeze.
Laneway houses have to be under 1,000 square feet. The fact that this seems small is ironic when you think about it. “In 1945, the average size of a Canadian home was 800 sq. ft. and typically housed a family of four or more. Today an average British Columbian home easily surpasses 2000 sq. ft and is providing shelter to 2.5 individuals.”[1]
What I didn’t know until recently, is that Vancouver has always had laneway houses, we just didn’t see the value in keeping them.
One laneway house has managed to survive at York and Yew in Kitsilano since 1908. It’s behind the Suffolk apartment building at 1540 Yew Street, which I must have walked by dozens of times and never noticed the duplex in the lane. Its continued existence is precarious, as the owner plans to either sell or develop the property. Currently, the eight rental apartments at the Suffolk are one-bedroom units, and the duplex at 2181 and 2183 York Street are two bedrooms. One tenant has lived there for over 40 years. Neither of the buildings are on the heritage register.
Looking at old aerial photos, there were three BC Mills prefab cottages along Yew Street, two more facing the lane, and three other laneway houses besides the existing laneway duplex.
“That Kits Beach lane block was unique,” says Michael Kluckner. “There were several little houses jammed in. I lived in an apartment at Cornwall and Arbutus in 1974 and used to walk the lane often.”
Paul Houle was only four when he and his baby sister and parents moved into the laneway duplex in 1960. He says according to photos he has, little has changed since 1961.
“Both units have the original (1908) iron claw foot tubs in the bathrooms, and the original wainscoting,” he says. “Even the colour on the kitchen wall is the same yellow.”
Amazingly, Paul remembers several other houses along the lane, and. And three little BC Mills houses along Yew Street likely demolished in the ‘70s. “I recall as a kid there would have been several houses facing the laneway because I used to play there . There was a grocery store where the Starbucks is now. My mother used to write a note and give me some money for a quart of milk. I would give him the quarter and take it back to my mother.”
There are still a few of the old laneway houses around. Neville Hogsden found a 1951 aerial photo showing a number of lots with a small house at the rear of the property. Michael Kluckner knows of one at 1829 Parker Street in Grandview and another on 11th in Mount Pleasant. Do you know of any others still standing?
[1] from a BCIT thesis by Rosa Linn, September 2014
With thanks to Paul Houle, Michael Kluckner, Neville Hogden, Jessica Quan and Patrick Gunn for the research.
For more on early Kitsilano see Kits Point and the Summer of ’23
© All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, all blog content copyright Eve Lazarus.
18 comments on “The Kitsilano Laneway House”
The laneway I lived in around 1982 is still standing. rear of 4572 West 2nd. It predates WPG becoming part of Vancouver and from what I remember from the landlord, back then it was a summer cottage for West Enders. The heritage value needs to be recognized and judging from a drive-by the pace of redevelopment is a threat. It was a stand-alone cottage that had the garage added to it.
Thanks for that addition Kathy. Will check it out!
On Tupper, at 18-19th behind the coffee shop and choices..
there was one on 26 and Dunbar.
A few more, great post!
Thanks Anders!
Kitsilano has always been one of my favorite neighborhoods. To this day it has managed to not mirror the development that happened across English Bay. The tiny homes are all over the area. I seem to remember one on Cyprus just South of Cornwall. Kits Point has always intrigued me , its one of the areas that seem very livable. All of this will change when the Squamish Nation puts 3,000 rental units along False Creek. Molsons property will also see development. I fear that Kits is about to see some dramatic changes.
David N-Dorrington and I lived in ‘Tex And Kitties Fishing Camp’ in that alley which had a set of mannequin hands on the front door.I might have photos somewhere. Anna Gustafson, of Liberty’s Bakery fame on Yew ( I worked there with my high school buddy, Gina Gustafson in 1974/5), sub-letted it to us in 1976 when she went to California to Art School. Larry Osland, the artist, lived next door in another small alley house. Mon Dubay lived with her Mom…down the alley a ways. Up till then I had lived for a few years with my Dad in an apartment up on Vine and 3rd and worked at the notorious ‘Back to Eden’ health food bar/store. Dad built a red Dune Buggy there, kept Sam the white alley cat and had a couple of pet raccoons for a while. We lived first next to, then moved across the street from, the Native Friendship Centre, now a condo. Colleen Winch lived in that Suffolk Apartment building. My cousin still lives on 3rd by Burrard. Neil McGovern and Maria still live in the small house at the alley at 2nd and Cypress. We were all art school students at one time.
Good times! Thanks for posting
I used to live a couple of blocks away, at 1st & Vine. I rented the top floor of a beautiful old house, which my roommate and I “renovated,” taking down the cardboard tiles to reveal shiplap and hauling a massive slab of rock and driftwood root up from Kits beach to form a table near the stove. I built counters from recycled oak flooring. Rent: $190 per month.
The house is long gone, replaced with one of those awful pink faux California condos, which has probably already been through leakage remediation. The corner store was a real neighbourhood meeting spot and, of course, it was wonderful to live a stone’s throw (for smaller stones, at least) from Kits Beach and its entertainments.
In my “archives” (AKA packrat’s nest) I still have a menu from (what was) the King’s Head, across the way.
If you don’t mind, I’ll link to a blog post with a couple of interior photos of my old apartment.
Thanks for the added detail on the neighbourhood! I’d love to see photos of your old apartment.
Cheers, Eve. Linked from my name
My parents just got renovicted from the house they lived in for the last forty years (the house I was raised in). It’s at 1833 Yew Street, west side of street, in the lane between 2nd and 3rd.
Very sorry to hear that, it must be devastating for them.
hi, my childhood pal Danny del la Giroday after being evicted from his fathers [ Louis Giroday of Giroday saw mills in false creek, nicknamed the 14th by the area kids] manse in the 1200 block of Tecumseh[ they originally lived at 1311 The Crescent but the family grew too big [ but down one when son Dennis jumped from the 22 floor of a west end high rise on lsd in 66] and he subdivided the lot and built a new home with a duplex bedroom wing giving the 1311 home to the church. when danny was born his oldest bro was 34] he squatted at the 1296 The Crescent, the Fleck mansion with its 2 stall stable in the basement, walk in safe, his and hers masters, greenhouse with a downstairs boiler and stables in the far left corner with grooms rooms above . oh yes a tennis court. the moved by douglas park where he had a laneway home on the corner of two alley ways. a friend sleeping dies after setting the home on fire with a smoke. it had an upstairs accessed by a steep stairway up three steps then fluch to the wall. bathroom under the stairs. not sure if it was rebuilt by amazing use of a tiny space
Hi James,
I wanted to let you know that Danny Giroday (my father) passed away this August. I’d love if you got in contact with me. My brother & I are putting together a book of stories about my late dad. If my name sounds familiar, it’s because my dad named me after his mother.
Sincerely,
Ruth
My brothers grandmother owned the pink and yellow houses at York and Yew,sold around ’94.We moved to 1st and Cypress around ’79 from False Creek,before that 4th and MacDonald.I remember seeing kids getting pepperoni from a green shack pepperoni factory at 1st and Cypress pre Bread Garden.I remember when it was suddenly gone later replaced by a deli and co-op above it.Across was a gravel sidewalk and shrubs then Bekins Storage.I recall a soda fountain then a Starbucks went in at Cornwall and Yew where the grocery store was.I remember the fresh bread from Elsie’s bakery and Big Scoop ice cream early ’80’s and Neptune Records was at the corner of the alley next to Mama Golds.
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