History of Lower Lonsdale
Centred around the Lonsdale Quay Shipyards, Lower Lonsdale was once a marine industrial hub for Vancouver, hosting the largest shipyard in Canada in the early 1900s. Since then, North Vancouver’s real estate scene has exploded, and Lower Lonsdale has transformed from a noisy industrial yard, to a modern, lively, and trendy community space with places to eat, drink, shop, and live .
Early History
North Vancouver is on the traditional and ancestral territories of the Coast Salish peoples and the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam nations. Long before colonial settlers came to turtle island (North America), the Burrard inlet was a source for many meals and nutrition for the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam peoples and their ancestors,
These indigenous communities lived in the rich forests of North Vancouver and relied on easy access to both the land and ocean for their food, water, and shelter.
Typically, Coast Salish Peoples lived in small temporary camps when gathering food in the summer, and permanent houses during the colder winters.
Interactions between settlers and indigenous communities began in the late 1700s when Spanish settlers arrived in the Burrard Inlet, led by George Vancouver.
A City is Born
The 19th century saw the fur trade take over the Lower Mainland, including North Vancouver. The rich forest and natural resources became a massive attraction to colonial settlers. Historically, Lower Lonsdale was a logging community known as Moodyville, named after sawmill owner Sewell P. Moody. This settlement was a prominent feature of the future of North Vancouver, as Lonsdale avenue was a route for loggers to travel timber down to the water for transport.
Timber was a massive industry for the North Shore. The dense forests offered riches for settlers who sold lumber using the port for shipment. As a result, timber mills became a prominent fixture for industries connected to ports, quickly developing the area for settlers to form new communities. Sewell Prescott Moody, around 1865, purchased the first sawmill on the Burrard Inlet, to which this begins a community in the Lower Lonsdale area, previously called Moodyville.
Image from the Museum of North Vancouver
Development in the 1900s
North Vancouver was incorporated in 1891 and has since been a prominent port for ore, lumber, and grain.
People began moving to Moodyville as the expansion was happening rapidly. Lonsdale Avenue quickly became a central route for new communities settling in North Vancouver. Then, with the purchase of land west of Moodyville, residential housing and commercial business began. This expansion started the beginning of North Vancouver as the city people know today.
War Time Efforts
The first deep-sea steel-hulled cargo vessels were built off of the Burrard inlet in North Vancouver. These became essential vessels to be used in war efforts. This site was known as Wallace Shipyards (1916), then later Burrard Dry dock (1925), and Versatile Pacific (1985).
Image from the Museum of North Vancouver
Image from the Museum of North Vancouver
Modern Day
In 1985, Lonsdale Quay opened with an exciting advertisement poster. This commercial success was on the former site of the North Van Ship Repairs and is the start of the transformation of this industrial space to a commercial and public one.
Present Day
Starting in 2014, the North Vancouver city council announced the repurposing of the Shipyards. The shipyards near the Lonsdale Quay were previously one of the largest in Canada. Formerly called the Burrard Dry Dock Company. This changing location is the site of redevelopment and repurposing for residential, commercial, and community use.