Main Street Vancouver
Main Street Dimensions
Main Street in Vancouver, British Columbia is a major north-south thoroughfare that bisects the city nearly equally between the westside neighbourhoods that extend to the University Endowment Lands on the ocean and the eastside limits of Boundary Road, which marks where the the City of Burnaby begins. From north to south Main Street crosses the Vancouver neighbourhoods of Downtown Eastside, Chinatown, Strathcona, Mount Pleasant, Riley Park, and Sunset. Major east-west intersections with Main Street from north to south are Cordova Street, Hastings Street, Georgia Viaduct, Terminal Avenue, Broadway, 12th Avenue, King Edward Avenue, 33rd Avenue, 41st Avenue, 49th Avenue, and Southeast Marine Drive.
From Waterfront Road where it begins by the Burrard Inlet, Main Street runs southward all the way to Kent Avenue, where it ends by the Fraser River, Vancouver’s southern limit. En route, the street runs through Chinatown below Hastings Street, continues past the Pacific Central railway and the Main Street/Science World SkyTrain stations, and at Terminal Avenue ascends into the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, a residential/commercial mixture that continues south of Broadway with numerous restaurants and some fashion retail. Property values in Mount Pleasant, once working-class, are definitely on the rise.
Between 33rd and 41st avenues Main becomes more residential in its ascent to high ground. In the Sunset neighbourhood south of 41st Avenue, the street acquires an Indo-Canadian character. The Punjabi Market district begins just north of 49th Avenue, south of which the street again becomes almost entirely residential. At Main Street’s intersection with Marine Drive in South Vancouver, it becomes big-box commercial with a Real Canadian superstore and a miscellaneous mix of low-rise office space, manufacturing, and warehousing.
History
On the north end, Main Street is just west of the historic site of Hastings Mill, the area around which Granville, the earlier settlement that later became Vancouver, grew. Main and Hastings mark the former centre of downtown Vancouver with the old central public library (now Carnegie Centre) and the old City Hall. The intersection is now a local catchword for the drug abuse, homelessness, poverty, and prostitution once endemic in Downtown Eastside.
Originally Main Street was Westminster Avenue as it connected at East 7th Avenue to New Westminster Road, now Kingsway. Local merchants arranged to change the name in 1910 to what they thought would bestow a more cosmopolitan character to their neighbourhood. At one time, Main Street had a bascule bridge over False Creek, which then flowed to Clark Drive over a mile farther east. During the First World War, the Great Northern and the Canadian Northern Pacific railroads filled in and reclaimed that land for use, removed the bridge, and reconnected the previously bridged Main Street segments.
Information Links:
http://shopmain.ca
http://vancouver.ca/green-vancouver/mount-pleasant.aspx http://www.hillcrestcentre.com/default.aspx#.U8mATlZRHnc http://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/mount-pleasant-community-plan.aspx
Revitalization Chic
A recent Seattle Times article describes Vancouver’s mid-city Main Street as “certifiably hip” though a place “where women of a certain profession once worked the street corners in stilettos” but where now “explosive growth in the city” and relatively “cheap rent in this Mount Pleasant neighborhood in Southeast Vancouver” have brought in many “new boutiques, novelty shops and fancy restaurants.” According to the article, “Main Street was crime-infested 20 years ago, but that just meant cheap rent to starving artists and Asian immigrants who were looking for studio and restaurant space. They led the revitalization.”
The article concludes that “For all the concerns of gentrification, Main Street appears unremarkable with its worn storefront signs with missing letters and storefronts in need of a new coat of paint. They just all seem to blend into this street’s gritty roots and who-cares-what-outsiders-think attitude.”
New Main Street Live MLS Listings
Main Street Vancouver
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211 E 38TH Avenue in Vancouver: Main House for sale (Vancouver East) : MLS®# R2684725
211 E 38TH Avenue Vancouver V5W 1H3 
$7,100,000Residential Detached- Status:
- Active
- MLS® Num:
- R2684725
- Bedrooms:
- 3
- Bathrooms:
- 1
- Floor Area:
- 1,000 sq. ft.
Developers' Alert! Opportunity on MAIN STREET!!This DOUBLE CORNER LOT 66.6 X 110 with 2 PID no. Note: North Corner 202 E.37th Ave and 5320 Main St. and 5322 Main Street also for sale (Land Assembly) City Considerations for rezoning in this RT-2 Zone, 4, 5 or 6 storeys. On Arterial Mixed Use. Location directly across from the Little Mountain Holborn Properties Development Site. Minutes from the Iconic Queen Elizabeth Park, Riley Park Area & Hillcrest Community Centre. Live in with mortgage helper. Convenient Area & Best location on Main St. surrounded by restaurants, shops, schools, transit and parks. More detailsListed by Sutton Group-West Coast Realty
- Aedis Realty
- 604-688-8669
- 604-657-1111
- Contact by Email
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74 E 37TH Avenue in Vancouver: Main House for sale (Vancouver East) : MLS®# R2643520
74 E 37TH Avenue Vancouver V5W 1E2
$4,999,999Residential Detached- Status:
- Active
- MLS® Num:
- R2643520
- Bedrooms:
- 5
- Bathrooms:
- 2
- Floor Area:
- 2,100 sq. ft.
Attention Builders and Investors! Very Solid and livable House:Great location in the Heart of East Vancouver. One minute Life Circle, Long Term Holding. BUILDING LOT ZONED FOR A RENTAL/ RESIDENTIAL BUILDING.Nearby Schools General Brock Elementary School, Sir William Van Horne Elementary School,John Oliver Secondary School, Eric Hamber Secondary School and more.Close to Queen Elizabeth Park,Langara,Cambie Skytrain station,Oakridge Shpg Ctr and all of Main street.Almost West Side.Potential for Rezoning to Apartment.Great Investment Chance, Motivated seller, Try offers. ACT NOW IF YOU ARE SMART BUYERS!This won't last! More detailsListed by Royal Pacific Realty Corp. - Aedis Realty
- 604-688-8669
- 604-657-1111
- Contact by Email
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202 E 37TH Avenue in Vancouver: Main House for sale (Vancouver East) : MLS®# R2683450
202 E 37TH Avenue Vancouver V5W 1E6
$3,688,888Residential Detached- Status:
- Active
- MLS® Num:
- R2683450
- Bedrooms:
- 4
- Bathrooms:
- 3
- Floor Area:
- 2,500 sq. ft.
Developers'Alert!Note sold in conjunction with 5320 and 5322 Main Street.(Land Assembly)Opportunity on MAIN STREET!! City Considerations for rezoning in this RT-2 Zone, 4, 5 or 6 storey On Arterial Mixed Use. Location directly across from the Little Mountain Holborn Properties Development Site. Minutes from the Iconic Queen Elizabeth Park, Riley Park Area & Hillcrest Community Centre. This Solid Vancouver Special consists of 5 bedrooms, 2 kitchens , enclosed double car garage with enclosed solarium. Below has its own entrance to the 2 bedroom suite.Live in with mortgage helper.Best location on Main St. surrounded by shops, schools, restaurants, transit and parks. Excellent for family and investment. More detailsListed by Sutton Group-West Coast Realty - Aedis Realty
- 604-688-8669
- 604-657-1111
- Contact by Email
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45 E 49TH Avenue in Vancouver: Main House for sale (Vancouver East) : MLS®# R2720127
45 E 49TH Avenue Vancouver V5W 2G1
$3,500,000Residential Detached- Status:
- Active
- MLS® Num:
- R2720127
- Bedrooms:
- 5
- Bathrooms:
- 3
- Floor Area:
- 1,833 sq. ft.
Developers and Investors Alert!!! Potential land assemble , for more information, visit the city of Vancouver, lot size 33 X 142, 4686 sq.ft. close to Langara College, walking distance to Canada Line Station, Langara Golf Course & Oakridge Mall. Rental ensuite downstairs with separate enterance. There are 3 bedrooms - only 2 of the 3 are rented. 1 is kept for storage. More detailsListed by RE/MAX Westcoast - Aedis Realty
- 604-688-8669
- 604-657-1111
- Contact by Email
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65 E 49TH Avenue in Vancouver: Main House for sale (Vancouver East) : MLS®# R2745668
65 E 49TH Avenue Vancouver V5W 2G1
$3,498,000Residential Detached- Status:
- Active
- MLS® Num:
- R2745668
- Bedrooms:
- 7
- Bathrooms:
- 3
- Floor Area:
- 2,536 sq. ft.
Vancouver Special completely renovated inside with gorgeous new Kitchen & Bath on Main floor with H/W floors & 3 Bdrms. Self contained 2-2 bdrm suite downstairs. Total 7 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms. 2536 sq ft on 33 x 142 lt. Close to Langara College, Main Street Market, YMCA, golf course & Oakridge Mall. Direct to UBC, Metrotown, Downtown. By appointment only. All meas are approx. More detailsListed by Sutton Group-West Coast Realty - Aedis Realty
- 604-688-8669
- 604-657-1111
- Contact by Email
