1840 Robson Street

1860 Robson Street - about 1910 - Postcard in private collection

1860 Robson Street – about 1910 – Postcard in private collection

 

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

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

 

1840 Robson Street [notional address], detail from Goad’s Atlas of Vancouver, volume 1, plate 48 [Denman Street to Georgia Street to Chilco Street to Haro Street]; 1972-582.23; https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/plate-48-denman-street-to-georgia-street-to-chilco-street-to-haro-street.

Lots 3 and 4, between 1860 Robson Street and 1818 Robson Street, remained more or less unoccupied until the late 1930s. (There was a garage at the south end of lot 3.)

 

British Columbia and Yukon Directory, 1938, page 1417 (Robson Street: no even numbered residences between 1818 Robson Street and 1860 Robson Street).

 

In 1939, E.M. Craig and Company Ltd. applied for a permit to build an apartment building on the vacant lots. Henry Sandham Griffith (1865-1943) was the architect.

 

Vancouver Province, November 17, 1939, page 6, column 3.

 

Vancouver Sun, November 17, 1939, page 1, column 4.

 

In April 1940, the building was ready. It was called the “New Richborough Apartments.”

 

Vancouver Sun, April 13, 1940, page 29, columns 3-5.

 

 

1840 Robson Street, 1978; Vancouver City Archives, CVA 786-3.12; https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/1840-robson-street.

 

In 1981, the owners of 1840 Robson Street and 1860 Robson Street were planning to demolish both buildings and to replace them with a much larger residential structure. Several tenants objected to the demolition, including Carolyn and Hector Fisher.

 

Vancouver Sun, March 30, 1981, page A3, columns 1-3.

 

Vancouver Sun, March 30, 1981, page A3, columns 1-3.

(Carolyn Fisher’s husband, Hector, died on January 10, 1982. Carolyn died on January 20, 1997.)

Since 1987, Stanley Park Place (1860 Robson Street) has been at this location. It occupies the former sites of 1840 Robson Street and 1860 Robson Street.

 

 

Sources

Richborough Apartments (1840 Robson Street)

Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800 to 1950: Griffith, Henry Sandham (1865-1943); http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/node/1601: “Richborough Apartments, Robson Street near Denman Street, 1939-40 (C.R., lii, 6 Dec. 1939, 35).”

 

Hector Campbell Fisher and Carolyn Esser (tenants at Robson Street)

British Columbia Registrations; Registration Number: 1901-09-084239; Hector Campbell Fisher; BC Archives Microfilm Number: B13817; GSU Microfilm Number: 2134887; date of birth: August 18, 1901; place of birth: New Westminster; http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/6447a39f-38fd-438c-a3e1-59769ecd45be.

British Columbia Marriage Registrations; Registration Number: 1941-09-503054; Hector Campbell Fisher and Catherine Shaw; date of marriage: January 15, 1941; place of marriage: Vancouver; http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/21c9093e-f1d8-4ac3-8353-f8d0c621585e.

“British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986; 1992-1993”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FL18-RNY : 8 November 2017), Hector Campbell Fisher, 1982; http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/072b87c6-5883-4141-97ba-975107a157b2.

British Columbia Death Registrations; Registration Number: 1997-09-001863; Carolyn Fisher; date of death: January 20, 1997; place of death: Vancouver; age at death: 94; http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/4ed477fb-56b2-48bc-af18-c590405d8329; medical certificate of death: http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/21bd3b03-385d-4299-ab7d-b646c40a0a19.