Introduction to Renfrew-Collingwood

This neighbourhood is known for its family-oriented community on the slopes of east Vancouver. This area is within Broadway and the Lougheed Highway on the north, Nanaimo to the west, 41st Avenue and Kingsway on the south, and Boundary Road to the east.

The first business established in Collingwood was the Collingwood Inn. It was a roadhouse that offered overnight stay to stagecoaches traveling along Kingsway between Gastown and New Westminster. In 1925, bus service started along Kingsway. Drivers defrosted windows with a row of lighted candles on their dashboard. The 2400 Motel on Kingsway, near Nanaimo, is a popular film location and has been used in an episode of the X-files. It was built in 1946.

History & Heritage

Wildlife population and lakes once dominated this area. Geese, ducks, cougars and even black bears lived in this area. There were lakes that do not existed today, such as Moody Lake, where Sky Train is today, and three small beaver-built lakes, where Grandview Highway runs through. The earliest non-native settler that lived in this area was George Wales. He owned 221 acres of property that was bordered by 45th Avenue, Kingsway and Wales Street, which is the street on which his house actually stood before. In 1891, Canada's first electric railway tram, a British electric streetcar, was introduced into Vancouver. The tracks of this inter-urban train connected Downtown Vancouver to New Westminster. This attracted new people to the area, which lead to many houses and stores to be developed near the Collingwood East Train Station, located at Vanness Ave. and Joyce St.

Collingwood got its name from some principals from the Tramway Company, who had lived in Collingwood, Ontario before. This area began to be associated with the Renfrew neighbourhood. Once the wilderness was cleared, residential development started to spread along Westminster Road, now Kingsway, and west of Boundary Road. The first store opened in the area was near Central Park and the first Collingwood school class was held in an empty store in 1895. In 1896, the oldest school, a two-room Vancouver East School, was built. It had 30 Collingwood students. Many of the streets were named after the families of the school's first students such as Earles Road, named after Florence Earles and Battistion Road, named after the Battison brothers. Other streets include Vivian road, named after the first child born in the area and Joyce Road, named after the 1st school board secretary. In 1908, the school's name was changed to Collingwood Heights and then in 1911, it changed again to Sir Guy Charleton.

In 1913, there was a grocery store, a branch of Bank of Vancouver, Methodist Church, a doctor and a butcher shop. Westminster Road, a road that connected Vancouver and Westminster, was paved and renamed Kingsway. The streetcar between Earles Street and Victoria Drive was extended further to Joyce Street. The electric Interurban tram; however, declined in popularity because of the expansion of the streetcar system and the introduction of a new bus system. In 1929, as the Municipality of South Vancouver developed, the Renfrew-Collingwood area changed from a semi-agricultural area to a residential suburb area. In 1954, the interurban tram closed after 63 years of service. Then in 1986, Sky Train was built along the old interurban route, which revived the development of highrise and lowrise apartments near station stops.

The heritage of Renfrew-Collingwood has few buildings from its early time. One of the oldest schools is Carleton Elementary School, at the southwest corner of Kingsway and Joyce. It is Vancouver's only example of a one-room schoolhouse. Other heritage buildings include a two-room schoolhouse, a larger two-storey Edwardian style building and a larger, brick-faced Carleton School No. 4. A 1912 building, called Earles Court, was an electric substation of the interurban line. It had undergone successive renovation with different uses and now exists as 12 condominium units.