Main Street in Vancouver, BC

Geographical Location

Located on the Vancouver Eastside, Main Street takes the shape of a rectangle and has various boundaries around it. Ontario Street encloses the western border, towards north lies the East 16th Avenue, the Prince Edward Street creates a boundary to the east and the East 49th Avenue borders it on the south pole of the neighborhood. Basically, this street runs all the way from the northern Burrard Inlet at the tip of Vancouver city down towards the south on Kent Avenue near a branch of the Fraser River. It crosses several neighborhoods such as the Chinatown, Sunset, Old Japan town, Punjabi Market, Mount Pleasant, Strathcona, Downtown Eastside of Vancouver and Riley Park found on the Little Mountain.

Historical Information

Historically, detached homes and single family housing units were constructed along the Main Street before 1946. The intersection of the Hastings and Main Streets was initially the core of the downtown area and featured the former city hall and the city’s major public library. To-date, this intersection is home for the prostitutes, drug addicts, those without homes and the poor. Before 1910, this street was known as Westminster Avenue because it linked to Kingsway (known as New Westminster Road at that time). Before the reclamation of the lands to the east of False Creek meant for the railway lines in the 10s and 20s, it divided this street into two.

Education in the Main Street Neighborhood

Livingstone, Wolf, Van Horne and Brock are the four major pre-secondary educational institutions within the neighborhood that provides basic education. The Sir Charles Tupper, Sir Winston Churchill and Sir John Oliver are the major schools within Main Street that offer high school education. From any point in the neighborhood, residents can access private schools such as St. Andrews and the Khalsa School. Education is power and a community without it is hopeless.

Population Demographics

The population of adults living in Main Street is 11,309 with an annual average income per household of $68,039. People of all ages reside in this neighborhood with a distinct traditional touch of style. The affordability and improved access to Main Street make it very appealing to prospective residents. Although the aged residents who have lived in this area for many years do exist, many younger people have moved into the neighborhood (and still do). The major languages spoken in the order of dominance are Chinese, Filipino and other Asian languages. Several minor ethnic communities residing in the area comprise 47% of the total population. While 52.5% own houses, 47.5% rent their homes.