Heritage
Fairview House is a piece of Vancouver history and one of its premier addresses.
Vancouver
Vancouver was incorporated as a city on April 6, 1886. Three years later, in 1889, Fairview House was built by Sir Dr. John Reid and Lady Georgina Reid in the affluent suburb of Fairview.
Sir Dr. John Reid
Sir Dr. John Reid was the honorary physician to Victoria, Queen of England and later to King Edward VII.
Coming to Canada
He is seen here aboard the SS Cutch surrounded by Vancouver’s most prominent residents. Leaders of Vancouver aboard the SS Cutch 1892. Sir John Reid circled
Lady Georgina Reid
Lady Georgina Reid founded The Vancouver Council of Women which called for women representation on public boards.
Fairview House
The Reids built Fairview House one block east of where this photograph was taken. Fairview 1888
Vancouver 1888
Access to downtown was via a timber framed Granville Street Bridge built one year prior to Fairview House, in 1888.
Fairview 1889
In 1889 Fairview was forested. (Sawmills at the foot of Granville Bridge, Fairview in the background)
Granville Street
Granville Street , south of the bridge, was a mud track. (1895)
The Birth of Fairview
By 1905 suburb supplanted forest. Fairview House is circled. Taken from West 12th Avenue and Oak Street.
Fairview 1904
View from Fairview House, 1904.
Sir Walter Nichol
In 1903 Sir Walter Nichol bought Fairview House and lived there until 1910. Sir Walter is second from left, back row, in this photograph of the Lieutenant Governors of Canada , 1925.
Growing City
1920s photograph of Fairview. Fairview House, circled. The city had grown from 400 residents in 1884 to 117,000 by 1921. (CPR’s trestle bridges seen on False Creek.)
1940′s
View from Fairview House, 1940s
Vancouver 1940′s
Aerial view from the late 1940s. Fairview House is just out of the picture to the right of Granville Island. The large building downtown is Hotel Vancouver, built in 1939.
Fairview House 1960
In the 1960s Fairview House was converted to a rooming house.
Fairview House 1980
In 1980, Rand Iredale Architecture renovated the Fairview House exterior for which they received a Regional Award of Honour from the Heritage Foundation of Canada.
2010
In 2010 RPG bought Fairview House with the intention of restoring Fairview House’s interior.
Executive Offices
The iconic Fairview House, is home to a limited number of exclusive, furnished and fully serviced executive offices available to those for whom quality and style are of importance.
Heritage
One of Vancouver’s iconic buildings, Fairview House was built in 1892, just six years after Vancouver was founded, making it one of Vancouver’s five oldest buildings. At the time, only 14,000 people lived in Vancouver and Fairview was its affluent suburb. Fairview House was commissioned by Sir Dr. John Reid on his retirement from the Royal Navy.
Location
One of Fairview’s original addresses, Fairview House is conveniently located on 8th Avenue between Alder and Spruce Street. One block north of West Broadway, it is lunch-time walking distance to Broadway and Granville Island.