Comments on: The Ratdale Apartments on West Broadway

By: Karen Jay

Karen Jay — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 04:30:57 +0000

The wall between the two top-floor apartments was taken down for a party but not by George. One of the original tenants who is still active in Vancouver’s alternate arts and music scene (no names please!) and worked seasonally on rural forestry contracts spacing plantation trees did the deed as he was the one who had the gear for it. I recall the same gentleman using his chainsaw to cut up 4by4s from the lumber yard in the hall way to feed the fireplace because the place had no other heat. Another prominent feature was an isolation tank built into the inner hallway that doubled as a guest bedroom. Hi Debbie!

By: Debbie Gartner

Debbie Gartner — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 02:35:14 +0000

The chainsaw took down a wall between apartments for a party then reconstructed afterwards, as I remember. I lived in the other apartment. T’was a grand time!!

By: Sharon

Sharon — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 18:15:42 +0000

In reply to Claire Heffernan. I would normally agree with you, but it seems clear to me from the post that the chainsaw renovations were done after they knew the building was going to be torn down. At that point, who cares?

By: Deirdre Keohane

Deirdre Keohane — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 01:05:24 +0000

Hi fellow Ratopians! Deirdre here, Queen of the Rats🐁 Good times!

By: Angus McIntyre

Angus McIntyre — Sat, 28 Sep 2024 23:45:56 +0000

I seem remember it as the Burkdale Apartments, while riding the bus from Dunbar to start my shift downtown as a bus driver. Back then the Dunbar trolley bus was routed along Broadway, and the bus sat in the nearside stop at Arbutus long enough for everyone to have a good look at the place. The base colour of the building was turquoise, which made an ideal palette for decoration. It was part of our conversations at the time, especially when it became the Ratdale and the Vespa appeared.

By: Claire Heffernan

Claire Heffernan — Sat, 28 Sep 2024 19:55:20 +0000

Lovely little building and it would have made a great Co-op. However, even if the landlord neglected the building and it was slated for demolition, this is no excuse for taking a chainsaw to the interior to make more room for a party and other structurally damaging activities. “The entire building was an empty stage or canvas ready for ideas that were beyond limits.” Reality: The building was being destroyed by vandals and by the sounds of it – some tenants. It wasn’t your building to destroy! You could have purchased it and fixed it up. That’s what we did starting in 1974. See Bain Avenue Co-op Toronto Ontario http://www.bainco-op.ca/

By: bruce stewart

bruce stewart — Sat, 28 Sep 2024 16:47:47 +0000

Eve – We were there for the ‘Fairly Formal Ball’ when the clouds appeared with the ‘OBLIVILAND’ logo and the black picket fence was still extant. Gord, this is a wonderful photo chronology of the original Ratdale sliding into its demise only a few short years later. Deidre’s and others’ visions live on in this blog post. Perhaps someone will produce a Ken Lum version of this structure as a ‘gallery piece’. The ‘joy’ lives on!

By: Brett Wilkie

Brett Wilkie — Sat, 28 Sep 2024 16:08:29 +0000

I absolutely remember this place as I would cycle past it daily on my way to work and sometimes I would stop just to stare at it for a minute or two, the building was a bit of a spectacle but entertaining to look at. I was sad to see it demolished.