1898 Robson Street

Former 1898 Robson Street – west side – early 1970s – also called 810 Gilford Street and 828 Gilford Street- courtesy of Ted Thomas.

 

828 Gilford – 1968 – detail from House on Gilford Street – Vancouver City Archives – AM1348 -CVA 1348-26; http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/house-on-gilford-street.

 

House at 828 Gilford Street, October 12, 1972; Vancouver Public Library; VPL Accession Number 54602; https://www3.vpl.ca/spePhotos/LeonardFrankCollection/02DisplayJPGs/1028/54602.jpg.

 

1898 Robson Street – east side – about 1910 – detail from postcard of 1860 Robson Street – private collection

 

1898 Robson Street – unknown date – detail from Denman Arena – Wikipedia commons; http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/DenmanArena_Vancouver.jpg

1898  Robson Street was at the southeast corner of Gilford Street and Robson Street. In 1945 the address of this house became 828 Gilford Street, although some sources refer to the house as 710 Gilford Street or 810 Gilford Street.

Legal Description: District Lot 185, Block 66, Lot 7.

1800 Block Robson Street – Detail from Goad’s Atlas of the city of Vancouver – 1912 – Vol 1 – Plate 7 – Coal Harbour to Barclay Street and Cardero Street to Stanley Park.

 

1898 Robson Street; detail from Goad’s Atlas of Vancouver, Volume 1, Plate 48 [Denman Street to Georgia Street to Chilco Street to Haro Street]; https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/plate-48-denman-street-to-georgia-street-to-chilco-street-to-haro-street.

There is one reference to this property in Heritage Vancouver Society’s database of historic building permits: http://permits.heritagevancouver.org/index.php?cID=1 [searched May 17, 2019].

District:	Vancouver
Permit:	4431
Owner:	Atkins, M.
Architect:	Gransling, C.
Builder:	Atkins, M.
Legal Address:	DL: 185 Block: 65 Sub: Resub: Lot: 7
Date (Y-M-D):	1913-02-28
Street Number:	1898
Street Name:	Robson Street
Value:	$350.00
Remarks:	Dwelling/house; one-storey frame garage [DBR]; [added legal desc.]
Reference ID:	VN-3400-3401-310

[Note: the block number in the permit reference should be block 66.]

John Milner Atkins was a druggist. He lived at 1898 Robson Street from 1900 to 1938.

In 1944, the house was converted into apartments.

 

Vancouver Sun, March 25, 1944, page 27, column 3.

 

After the conversion into apartments, the address became 828 Gilford Street.

A fire damaged the house in 1945.

 

Vancouver Province, December 3, 1945, page 5, column 1.

 

Vancouver Sun, December 3, 1945, page 11, column 5.

The house continued to offer rental accommodation through the 1970s and early 1980s.

 

Vancouver Sun, June 3, 1959, page 40, column 1.

 

Vancouver Sun, March 24, 1973, page 63, column 1.

 

In 1984, Stone Development Limited applied for a permit to construct a four-storey apartment building on the property.

 

Vancouver Province, September 30, 1984, page 111, columns 1-2.

 

In 1985, a new condominium apartment building was on the site.

 

Vancouver Sun, June 14, 1985, page 58, column 2.

 

828 Gilford Street; Google Streets, searched May 17, 2019; image dated April 2009.

 

 

Sources

Thanks to Ted Thomas for providing the photograph of the house in the 1970s. Ted lived in the house from 1972 to 1975. The rent for his one bedroom apartment was $115.00 per month. His front window looked out onto Robson Street, but the view was partially obscured by the monkey puzzle tree, which was as tall as the house. The ceilings in the house seemed incredibly high. The garages for the property were originally stables. Someone had nailed an old horseshoe above the garage door. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, an elderly British couple, were the managers of the apartments in the house. They were the sweetest people you could ever hope to meet. And there was a Manx house cat, which Ted called “Tom.”