Home >> Collier's New Encyclopedia, Volume 10 >> Trout to Victoria Regia >> Vancouver

Vancouver

city, steamers, value and school

VANCOUVER, a city in British Co lumbia, ; on Burrard Inlet, at the W. ter.ninus of the Canadian Pacific railway . It is the largest and most im portant city and seaport in British Co lumbia, with one of the finest harbors in the world. It has daily communica tion by mail steamers with Victoria. Vancouver is the home port of two lines of large and commodious ocean mail steamers, one plying to China and Japan and the other to Australia; and the head quarters of a fleet of smaller vessels en gaged in the northern and coasting trade. It is well laid out with wide streets, lighted by electricity, the leading streets being paved, some with bituminous rock, others with sawed cedar blocks set on a concrete base. The climate is temperate and salubrious, with a more or less rainy season from November to March. Here are Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Presby terian, Methodist, Baptist, and Congre gational Churches; a normal school, high school in affiliation with McGill Univer sity, Montreal; and seven large and well equipped public schools with accommoda tions for 3,800 pupils; Roman Catholic Hospital, City Hospital, St. Luke's Home; several orphanages; water works; street railroads; a well regulated fire depart ment; several banks; and three daily and several weekly newspapers. There are

within the city limits, 23 parks, of over 1,400 acres, including Stanley Park of 1,000 acres. Shipbuilding is one of the important industries. During 1919 42 wooden steamers were launched, 5 schooners, and 10 steel steamers, with a tonnage of 165,000, with a value of $28,875,000. There are 80 miles of water frontage. The city has 85 schools and missions and a school enrollment of over 17,000 pupils, and over 400 teachers. The assessed value of real estate in 1919 was $224,202,883. The bank clearings in the same year amounted to $657,913,208. There are nearly 450 industries, employ ing nearly 30,000 wage earners. The value of the manufactured products in 1915 was $33,871,044. The city has large lumber interests, pork-packing plant, a sugar refinery, railroad construction and repair shops, ironworks, foundries, ex tensive warehouses, etc., and is the cen ter of the Fraser river salmon industry. Vancouver was laid out in 1885. It was entirely destroyed by fire in 1866, but was rebuilt the same year and since then has had a marvelous growth. Pop. (1891) 13,685; (1901) 26,133; (1919) 109,250.