It’s easy to forget how young Vancouver is, until you visit eastern Canada, where they’ve been building homes and businesses since the 1500’s. Even outlying areas, like the Quebec’s Eastern Townships, have structures built in the mid 1800’s that are still in daily use. Historical plaques in front on many tell the ownersh
ip story, and point out interesting features. I’m not sure if these plaques make visitors and locals appreciate heritage more, 
however with so many well-loved vintage buildings, they seem to be the norm, not the exception, in most communities. Nor are older homes being demolished on a regular basis. I’m still pondering this different perspective, and how we can encourage it here in Vancouver.
Tag: character
Empty Homes
A 1919 Vancouver Sun article was titled, “A City’s Soul Lies in Its Homes,” and the many empty homes we see in our neighbourhoods today remind me that’s so true. It’s difficult to describe “soul” – it often has a fuzzy, non-quantifiable feeling about it, one that more practical people dismiss. Miriam-Webster’s dictionary describes it in part as “the ability of a person to feel kindness and sympathy for others,” and perhaps it’s that lack of consideration for our fellow Vancouverites that’s most bothersome. Fortunately on my street, two of the homes recently sold to developers will have tenants for some time, but sadly one Vancouver Special has sat empty and deserted for several months.
