Mount Pleasant, Vancouver

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mount Pleasant is a neighbourhood in Vancouver stretching from Cambie Street to Clark Drive and from Great Northern Way and 2nd, to 16th and Kingsway (Vancouver). The neighbourhoud, once characterized as working class, has undergone a process of gentrification since the early 1990s, including the area around the Main Street and Broadway intersection that is increasingly becoming known as South Main, or SoMa. Vancouver City Hall is also located in Mount Pleasant.

The neighbourhood has been the site of the controversial RAV Line, a massive public works project being done in preparation for the 2010 Olympics in which a subway system is being constructed right through Mt. Pleasant. Several business owners and residents have complained about noise, pollution and loss of income, and a lawsuit has been launched against the corporate-public partnership that is in charge of the project.

Mount Pleasant is known as one of the more up and coming neighbourhoods, especially in the communities surrounding Vancouver's downtown peninsula. Many first time homeowners and young professionals, as well as a growing number of families, call Mount Pleasant home, which gives it its vibrancy. It is also home to a number of artists and writers, including CBC personality Ian Hanomansing, The Tyee editor David Beers and documentary filmmaker Peter Klein.

[edit] History

Mount Pleasant owes much of its origins to a former stream and, because of it, developed much of its unique and rich character. The stream attracted a number of breweries from 1888 to 1912, hence it became known as Brewery Creek. In 1890 the first street cars arrived; as far south as 1st and Main. Brewery Creek, in conjunction with the connecting routes of Main and Kingsway, became the centre of industry and commercialism for the district of Mt. Pleasant. By 1897 there was a substantial population growth centred on Broadway and Main Street. The ability to commute to the City Centre and the industries of Brewery Creek and False Creek provided the draw for many working families that now populated the area below Broadway. In a sense, Mount Pleasant can be called Vancouver's "first suburb".

[edit] Footnotes

Brewery Creek Urban Study, 1985 by Barb Johnston and Denis Turco . http://www.lesliefield.com/bchs/

[edit] References

Live In Mount Pleasant Community Portal and Reference Information Directory. [1]

Historic Mount Pleasant: Archival Photographs, and Brewery Creek Historical Society Project. [2]

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