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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1889)
THE WEST SHORE. l,r,L Uu- td the. mill. m located on the water ml! of the I M city of Vancouver. I orycnrs thi. rather primitive m mill, and few wooden l.uiMiig.orfojd h lumbermen and fishermen, con tituUl th" "nly .-ttl.-m.-Lt th-ro, and it was known ly tu Mj.rri-iTo name "(iaAtown." Lhter it as- am! more imrta jxaition, and wan for a cam Ur ,.f jrMi, during Kih it grew to ho a town of aUul ii hundred inhabitant., called Granville. When it Ul w definitely wtthnl fact that tho Canadian iViflc mil)' would mako that point its .nWn touiino., the hitherto insignificant bamlet uddn.ly .pratjtf iiito prominence. The railway com ''f by K't ff,l,u tMft government, 'cured con trol of the Und ojm which tho city muHt bo built, ftr I tho j.lify punned by tho company baa resulted in r.Ubli.hing foundation for a iint growth. Peo jdo from tho rwiti ru province. Hocked to the pros jfdite m.-tro'lii in great Dumlx-ri, and it was re dml to entirely reorganize tho town. Accordingly, thii m dntio, and tho city of Vancouver waa incor H.rtxl on tho &nU mentioned, the namo being in honor cf Cupula Oisirgn Vancouver, of tho I5ritinh navy, ho dmooTorl, explored and named 1'urrard inlet, brrlj a hundred year. Tho condition irujxiiiyl on purchaser, of proper ty in Vancouver arc mch that no mere .peculators ran l-uy tho land and hold it, without improvement, for tho rio In uluo which tho indu.try of other peo jlo will U turn to king iL This policy bM tended to krp out adventurer, and to .curo tho benefit, of tho nty'. fcilranrt-ment to thoao who bavo home, there, or to tW who are interpatal in it. bu.inos. affair.. Tbo (milling condition, accompanying transfer, dur tog tho put two w.vka tho Ut two w.N'ki of March - biod purchuru to rnvt thi. sea,n Uo and brick trurturc aggregating jD uluo irj-VHH) (M. Theao build.rg.will doIU all in ono locality, but will lie acattl over a considerable area. Thi. jx.licy re lc,rtho rily (,f Uj0 N,,r(lIW ((f l)fingfroW(lllil and encourage npataion in all direction., while tbo lntcnorm:g i rtjr i., of ,,, augtnontM in val. tv Hut tho nty 1M t ij-rieneed remarkable growth l-lhlhMUK-that ill rnaWM n-rty owner, to rrlLt.aj.tnBu I. t,.n ,f .U growth .cat. Wc.bo.in IUU would I. unprofiubl,, and it would U uW. to .tumpt to c.forc ,tlfh fomli. tixi.i ai am U,l d,,wn in y,I1(Xl(n,r u h Us that thcr, ntUnd.vl o.tf)d,.1(. in iu futon faW than tho ,wtm d,.mn,, fof tL ii4.iDMnrDbo in ,,. "ui,,"' iurtM or o utiiiititin.i icimtj prewar f.mr yor. ago wd rrroral tf Nine-tenths of the present area of the city was a dense, unbroken forest of hnge firs. There was but a single street cleared of timber, and a few rude roads led into tho gloomy wild. To build a city there was certainly a Herculean task. The timber was removed at a cost of 8200.00 to $300.00 per acre, and, follow ing tho retreating forest, massive structures of stone and brick sprang up, streets were graded, sidewalks built, and large business enterprises inaugurated. Bomo of the finest business blocks in the city stand on ground that, three years, or even two years ago, was occupied by a howling wilderness. The Cana dian Pacific railway was completed to Vancouver in May, 1887, when the first through train arrived from Montreal. That year, also, the Canadian Pacifio com pany put a line of steamships on the route between Vancouver and China and Japan, Those two impor. tant projects gave an impetus to the growth of the city, by placing its advantages entirely beyond the realm of speculation, and the advancement the city made was truly marvelous. A great conflagration, in June, 1886, nearly wiped tho young city out of existence, but before the embers died, materials for rebuilding were on their way to Vancouver, and where small wooden structures were before, there arose grand edifices of stone, brick and iron. Tbo fire seemed to be a positive benefit, and in a few weeks all traces of it had been removed and tho town presented a vastly better appearance. Un der tho influence of the large transportation interests which were established there the next year, the build ing of the city progressed rapidly, and during 1887 mo.t of the city plat was cleared of timber, and a largo amount of street work was done. Then it really began to assume the appearance of a city and its nat ural physical advantages were made apparent. Since that time its progress has been unhindered by any disaster, and Vancouver now, probably, con tain, more handsome buildings than any other city of its eize in tho country. The city is laid out on a magnificent Bcale, and it is being built up in a style fully in accord with the plan. Its residences, busi now blocks, hotels and publio buildinga of all classes would bo creditable to any city. During the year buildings aggregating in value $1,350,000.00 wero erected within the corporation limit. In Janu ary, Isss, tho city assessment showed a taxable vain Miou of property aggregating nearly $3,500,000.00, and the population was then, in round numbers, six thousand. In January, 1889, the total valuation of taxable property waa $G,G0O,00O.OO, and the inhabit atih numbered eleven thousand. Laat year $85,000 00 were expended in street improvement, making the total mileage of graded atrecti in the city thirty-sis. and there are twenty.five miles of idewalki. Street