Marpole, originally a

Musqueam The Musqueam Indian Band ( ; hur, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm ) is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the only First Nations band whose reserve community lies within the boundari ...

village named , is a mostly residential neighbourhood of 23,832 in 2011, located on the southern edge of the city 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 ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, immediately northeast of

Vancouver International Airport Vancouver International Airport is an international airport located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, serving the city of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland region. It is located from Downtown Vancouver. It is the second busiest ...

, and is approximately bordered by Angus Drive to the west, 57th Avenue to the north, Ontario Street to the east and the

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

to the south. It has undergone many changes in the 20th century, with the influx of traffic and development associated with the construction of the

Oak Street Bridge The Oak Street Bridge is a crossing over the north arm of the Fraser River, the Canada Line, and several roads, in Metro Vancouver. History Infrastructure During the planning stage, it was known as the New Marpole Bridge, and steel plate girder ...

(which leads to Highway 99 leading to the southern suburbs) and the

Arthur Laing Bridge The Arthur Laing Bridge is a crossing over the north arm of the Fraser River, and several minor roads, in Metro Vancouver. History Proposal The closing of the original Marpole Bridge in 1957 created a more circuitous route between Vancouver and ...

(which leads to

History

Marpole is one of Vancouver's oldest communities. The

Great Marpole Midden The Great Marpole Midden (also known as the Eburne Site, or Great Fraser Midden, and known in Halkomelem as ''c̓əsnaʔəm''), is an ancient Musqueam village and burial site located in the Marpole neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia. ...

, an ancient Musqueam village and burial site, one of North America's largest village sites and "one of the largest pre-contact middens on the Pacific coast of Canada", has been a National Historic Site since 1933. According to the Musqueam, it dates back at least 4,000 years. A long-house dated to the year 5 AD was located near modern Marine Drive, in South Vancouver, belonging to the Ancient Marpole First Nation. Non-natives began to inhabit the area in the 1860s, calling it Eburne Station. The small town was separated from the city by miles of forest. At the turn of the 20th century, the Vancouver

Lulu Island Lulu Island is the name of the largest island in the estuary of the Fraser River, located south of Vancouver, British Columbia, and the second-most populous island in British Columbia, after Vancouver Island. The city of Richmond occupies mos ...

Railway of the

British Columbia Electric Railway The British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER) was an historic railway which operated in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Originally the parent company for, and later a division of, BC Electric Company (now BC Hydro), the BCER assumed contro ...

interurban train was constructed, which triggered the development of sawmills, shingle mills, and gravel companies in the region. The area was renamed after Richard Marpole in 1916, and by the time it joined Vancouver in 1929, it had become one of the area's major industrial centres. The

was completed in 1957 and was partly responsible for a downturn in business around the Marine and Hudson area, as traffic shifted to the east. The 1975 opening of the

helped shift the business area back to the west, along

Granville Street Granville Street is a major street in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and part of British Columbia Highway 99, Highway 99. Granville Street is most often associated with the Granville Entertainment District and the Granville Mall, Vancouver ...

Transportation

Because of the Oak and Arthur Laing Bridges, traffic jams are common in the area, especially during peak hours. However, it is well-served by public transit, which is run by

TransLink Translink (or TransLink) may refer to: * TransLink (British Columbia), the public transport operator in Vancouver, Canada * Translink (Northern Ireland) Translink is the brand name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo), a ...

and operated by

Coast Mountain Bus Company Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) is the contract operator for bus transit services in Metro Vancouver and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority, known locally as TransLink, the entity respons ...

. In September 2009, the

Canada Line The Canada Line is a rapid transit line in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, that is part of the SkyTrain system. The line is owned by TransLink and InTransitBC and is operated by ProTrans BC. Coloured turquoise on route maps, it op ...

replaced most of the suburban routes and the

98 B-Line The 98 B-Line was a bus rapid transit line in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It linked Richmond to Downtown Vancouver, with a connection to Vancouver International Airport. It travelled mainly along Granville Street in Vancouver and a ...

. It runs under Cambie Street, and has a bus connecting surface station at Marine Drive, with a future station at 57th Avenue. Marpole is also directly across the Fraser River from

. Located on Sea Island in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, it is the second busiest airport in Canada.

Demographics

37% of Marpole residents’ mother tongue was one of the two forms of Chinese (Mandarin & Cantonese) and 42% of the area's populace identified as Chinese in 2006. Fifty-nine percent of the population of Marpole was born outside of Canada.

Economy

Most of Marpole's stores are centred along the southern end of Granville Street. There are small corner shops located on Oak Street and 67th, and on Cambie at 57th. A number of businesses, ranging from drive-through fast-food eateries to big box stores, manufacturers and distributors are also located along Marine Drive east of the Arthur Laing bridge, with more heavy-industry type businesses are located along the banks of the Fraser River. Just west of the Arthur Laing bridge is the old Fraser Arms Hotel, now a strip mall and liquor store. Just west of the Fraser Arms is the approximate location of the Great Marpole Midden. The West 70th Avenue area is currently undergoing some revitalization, with the redevelopment of the Safeway grocery store, partnered with residential condo towers. Another large commercial district has been approved for Marpole, which will be in the eastern portion of the neighbourhood. The intersection of Marine Drive and Cambie Street was designated by the City of Vancouver as the "Marine Landing" precinct of the Cambie Corrido
(Marine Landing Precinct)
Two developments in the Marine Landing precinct have been approved and are currently under construction. "Marine Gateway
Marine Gateway
which will sit atop the Marine Drive Station, will provide two residential towers, one office tower and a large amount of commercial and retail space, including movie theatres and a grocery store. The second development, MC2 on the North East corner of the intersection will provide two residential towers and a small amount of retail at the ground level. The third site, (the old Petro-Can station) on the North West corner was finished in 2018, and hosts high rise condominiums anchored by ground level retail services.

Education

There are six elementary schools in the Marpole area. These include: * David Lloyd George Elementary School *

Sir Wilfrid Laurier Elementary School The Vancouver School Board (VSB; officially School District 39 Vancouver) is a school district based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A board of nine trustees normally manages this district that serves the city of Vancouver and the Uni ...

** Laurier Annex * McKechnie Elementary School * J. W. Sexsmith Elementary School *

St. Anthony of Padua Independent Catholic School ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

Strictly speaking, there are no high schools which fall within Marpole's borders, however Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School sits just across 57th Avenue in Oakridge and serves the majority of the neighbourhood.

Magee Secondary School Magee Secondary School is a public secondary school on West 49th Avenue, 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 p ...

serves the western portion of the neighbourhood. Note that the Laurier Annex closed since 2017 and its students merged with Laurier Elementary.

Healthcare

George Pearson Centre is located in Marpole. It is a centre that specializes with adults with disabilities who require special assistance. This site is also undergoing a redevelopment program.

Joy Kogawa's ''Obasan''

Joy Kogawa Joy Nozomi Kogawa (born June 6, 1935) is a Canadian poet and novelist of Japanese descent. Life Kogawa was born Joy Nozomi Nakayama on June 6, 1935, in Vancouver, British Columbia, to first-generation Japanese Canadians Lois Yao Nakayama a ...

's bestselling novel, ''

Obasan ''Obasan'' is a novel by Japanese-Canadian author Joy Kogawa. First published by Lester and Orpen Dennys in 1981, it chronicles Canada's internment and persecution of its citizens of Japanese descent during the Second World War from the perspe ...

'', which tells the story of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

and

persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

of its citizens of

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

descent during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, partially takes place in Marpole, in a tiny bungalow located at 1450 West 64th Avenue. Joy Kogawa (née Nakayama, born 1935) lived there as a child, and in 2006 the house was purchased by The Land Conservancy of British Columbia following a nationwide fundraising campaign. The 1912 house stands as a cultural and historical reminder of the war-time experience of Canadians of Japanese heritage, who were interned in remote camps and their property expropriated during World War II. Today, the Historic Joy Kogawa House Society, a community-based group of arts supporters, operates a writer-in-residence program at the house with a long-term from new owners, the City of Vancouver. The writer-in-residence program has been under way since 2009 and during that time has enriched the literary community and fostered an appreciation for Canadian writing by bringing well-regarded professional writers in touch with a local community of writers, readers, and students. The writer-in-residence program celebrates the work of Joy Kogawa, which brought the war-time experience of Japanese-Canadians to general awareness among Canadians.

Winona Park

Winona Park is a park in the Marpole neighbourhood of

, just south of the Langara golf course. It has three levels, each being the size of a football field. Unlike many similar parks that contain large grass fields, Winona Park is not attached to any community centre or school. It is in an area that consists mostly of low-density residential housing, and organized sports clubs require an explicit permit for use of the fields. Therefore, Winona Park is relatively calm as attendance is low, and it provides individual and couples a haven of privacy and peace. In addition to the three parallel fields mentioned above, the park also features a small children's playground which consists of a slide, several bars, a tire swing, and four swings. It is notable that the terracing of the three fields and the natural southern aspect of the land in the area allows a spectacular southern view, featuring the North Arm

and into the

delta. It is said that on a clear day with minimal smog interference, one is able to see tens and tens of kilometres into the distance. Also, since most of the park is composed of grass expanses to accommodate the fields, a light breeze is present even on mostly windless days and grants us relief from the heat of the summer sun. The park is not without shade, however, as there are large trees planted in a linear fashion between each of the fields/levels of the park.Vancouver.ca parkfinder
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References

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