Dunbar–Southlands is a neighbourhood situated on the western side of

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia, Canada, that stretches north from the

Fraser River The Fraser River () is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain (Canada), Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of V ...

and covers most of the land between the mouth of the Fraser and English Bay. This neighbourhood consists of many commercial and residential areas that mostly consists of single-family dwellings. It also contains parts of the Mackenzie Heights enclave, and is the home territory of the

Musqueam Indian Band The Musqueam Nation (Hunquminum: ) is a First Nations in Canada, First Nation whose traditional territory encompasses the western half of what is now Greater Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada. It is governed by a band council and is known ...

History

Archaeological findings shows that native First Nations have inhabited the area was early as 400 B.C. The Fraser provided large amounts of hunting and fishing areas for Salish Indians who settled at three locations. As recently as 15,000 years ago, it was buried under a sheet of glacial ice. In 1908, the land in the Dunbar area was owned by the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

and was part of the now defunct, Municipality of

Point Grey Point Grey () is a headland marking the southern entrance to English Bay and Burrard Inlet in British Columbia, Canada. The headland is the site of Wreck Beach, Tower Beach, Point Grey Beach and most notably, since 1925, on its top is the Poin ...

. At that time, the land was unstable for development. The first non-native settlers purchased a lot on 22nd Avenue. By 1927, the area was served by three streetcar routes. Dunbar–Southlands became a part of Vancouver in 1929 when the Municipality of Point Grey merged with the City of Vancouver. The first major land development in Dunbar–Southlands took place in the mid-1920s with some of the homes that were built during this period still standing to this day. Due to West Point Grey's 1922 zoning, by-laws ordered that these early homes be situated on the back of their lots; those that remain stand out as neighbourhood landmarks.

Geography

Dunbar–Southlands is bordered on the north by West 16th Avenue and on the south by the Fraser River; it stretches from the

University Endowment Lands The University Endowment Lands (UEL) is an unincorporated area in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It lies west of Vancouver and east of the University of British Columbia's Point Grey campus lands. Most of the University Endowment ...

on the west to Mackenzie, Quesnel and Blenheim Streets in the east. The neighborhood is centered on Dunbar Street while the vicinity of Southlands lies south of Marine Drive in the floodplain of the Fraser River, and the Musqueam Indian Reserve is also encompassed by the region.

Demographics

Parks and services

The Vancouver Park Board and the Metro Vancouver Regional Parks maintains a total of 10 parks in Dunbar–Southlands, including the Pacific Spirit Park, which contains 55.5 km of trails. The Dunbar Community Centre is jointly operated by the Vancouver Park Board and the Dunbar Community Centre Association. The Vancouver Public Library also maintains a branch in the Dunbar–Southlands district. The

Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services (VFRS) was founded in 1886 and today serves the city of Vancouver, British Columbia. The department provides fire suppression, medical response, technical rescue and hazardous materials response services. In 2 ...

operates the Vancouver Fire Hall No 21 which serves the Dunbar region. The area also contains many golf courses including the Musqueam Golf Course, Point Grey Golf Club, Shaughnessy Golf Club, and Marine Drive Golf Club.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunbar-Southlands Neighbourhoods in Vancouver