Photo: Northwest · CC BY-SA 4.0Beyond Royal Oak’s limits, 43 historic places within 25 km
Only 7.9% of its homes were built before 1961, against 18% in the typical Canadian town. The closest top-tier heritage is in Strathcona, 10 km from here.
Within 25 km of Royal Oak: 43 places on the registers
Its 16 places of national rank start with Vancouver Japanese Language School, at 11 km. Yaletown, Granville Entertainment District and Strathcona hold most of them, among 14 towns. Nearest comes Holy Trinity Cathedral, 5.6 km off, in New Westminster.
The 12 nearest, within 25 km
| Holy Trinity CathedralListed in a community heritage register · 1902 · 5.6 km away, in New Westminster |
| Hastings ParkProvincially Recognized Heritage Site · 1888 · 8.3 km away, in Hastings-Sunrise |
| Bloedel ConservatoryListed in a community heritage register · 1969 · 10 km away, in Riley Park |
| Canadian National Railways / VIA Rail Station, Vancouver, British ColumbiaHeritage Railway Station · 1917–1918 · 10 km away, in Strathcona |
| Kuomintang BuildingHeritage designation · 11 km away, in Strathcona |
| Vancouver Japanese Language SchoolNational Historic Site · 1928–1929 · 11 km away, in Strathcona |
| Vancouver's ChinatownNational Historic Site · 1880–2003 · 11 km away, in Strathcona |
| Ovaltine CafeListed in a community heritage register · 1912 · 11 km away, in Strathcona |
| Carnegie Community CentreHeritage designation · 11 km away, in Yaletown |
| Pantages TheatreListed in a community heritage register · 1907 · 11 km away, in Yaletown |
| Sam Kee BuildingHeritage designation · 1913 · 11 km away, in Yaletown |
| Hotel EuropeHeritage designation · 1909 · 11 km away, in Yaletown |
Most of what stands within 25 km of Royal Oak dates from the decades after Confederation
Places as far as 25 km from Royal Oak, not in it, dated by the first construction year on their records.
Within 25 km, building dates exist for 37 places. First by date comes Vancouver's Chinatown in Strathcona, from 1880.
A growing town: 11% of Royal Oak’s homes went up from 2016 to 2021, against 4.1%
More of Royal Oak’s homes were built from 1981 to 2000 than in any other period: 34%. Homes built from 2001 to 2015 make up 34% of Royal Oak’s, against 15% in the typical town. Only 12% of Royal Oak’s homes were built from 1961 to 1980, less than the typical town’s 27%.
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
How Royal Oak compares with 16 towns its size
Towns of 18,200 to 18,600 residents, by places on the registers.
7 towns have more. Their median is 0. 9 of them have nothing on the registers.
Royal Oak and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Oak | 18,364 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Buckingham Heights | 8,794 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Metrotown | 36,594 | 0 | 0 | — |
| South Slope | 8,989 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Edmonds | 34,805 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Garden Village | 6,492 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Deer Lake | 8,417 | 0 | 0 | — |
Royal Oak in brief
Its oldest homes, those from before 1961, are 7.9% of the total, against 18% in the typical town. Towns its size usually have more historic places; the middle one has 0.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Provincial and municipal lists. The local and provincial lists outside Québec aren’t published openly, so this page counts what Wikidata records and pages only the places an encyclopedia describes.
- The federal register. Every federal designation is in Parks Canada’s directory, and the Canadian Register of Historic Places gives most of them a bilingual statement of significance.
- People and events. Parks Canada’s open file gives its national historic persons no place. A town’s page names one only when the person was born there (matched by name and both life years) or one of its own historic places carries the name and its record speaks of them; national historic events stay off.
- The grade. This page gives no grade; history doesn’t count toward a Canadian town’s letter.
- Protection. Federal recognition isn’t a planning control: buildings the federal government owns follow its heritage policy, while others are protected only by a provincial or municipal designation.
- The tiers. The highest designations are National Historic Sites, Classified Federal Heritage Buildings and Québec’s classements; then come the other federal designations; then provincial and local listings.
Questions about Royal Oak’s history
How many historic places does Royal Oak have on the registers?
Not inside Royal Oak. The closest is Holy Trinity Cathedral in New Westminster, 5.6 km away.
How old are the homes in Royal Oak?
7.9% of its homes were built before 1961, against 18% in the typical Canadian town.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada (Parks Canada).
Sources: Parks Canada, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations · Canadian Register of Historic Places (federal extract) · Wikidata (CC0) for map points, other names and articles · Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (homes by period of construction). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).