TopNational Historic Site · 1928–1929St. Roch1905 Ogden AvenuePhoto: Napa · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
St. Roch · Photo: Napa · CC BY-SA 3.02historic places on the registers
History of Kitsilano · Canada’s heritage registers
Kitsilano has 2 historic places on the registers, one in the top tier
The record has a Recognized Federal Heritage Building. Go back to 1928 and you reach St. Roch, the oldest of them. Kitsilano has 0.7 for every 10,000 people, a higher rate than 77% of Canadian towns.
Historic places
2
0.7 per 10,000 residents
Highest designations
1
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Other federal designations
1
Recognized buildings, railway stations, lighthouses
Oldest building
1928
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
22%
typical town: 18%
In pictures
See Kitsilano today and before 1950: 2 photos, 1 old pictures
Each of Kitsilano’s two designated places has a photo. The set opens with St. Roch and Bessborough Armoury.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the place’s page. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Through time
Kitsilano before 1950
The oldest view of one of its historic places, made before 1950. A tap opens it at full size, with its credit.
1932Public domain or CC0, made before 1950, from Wikimedia Commons; old views of places can be drawings, prints or maps of their time. Each credit opens the image’s page.
The map
Where Kitsilano’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Highest designationsOther federal designations
Names show on hover, and a tap takes you to the place’s page.
The 2, by tier
1 Highest designations1 Other federal designations
The federal directory kept by Parks Canada supplies most of these places; provincial and municipal lists outside Québec aren’t open data, so only the ones Wikidata documents with an article appear.
Points from Wikidata (Parks Canada’s files carry none) and from Québec’s register, as mapped there.
Highest designations
One place in Kitsilano with the highest designation
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings, Canada’s highest federal recognition. Each one opens its own page.
Other federal designations
Federal heritage in Kitsilano: one more place
Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings, heritage railway stations and lighthouses. Each one opens its own page.
FedRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1932–1934Bessborough Armoury2025 West 11th StreetPhoto: Thomson, Stuart (Photographer) · Public domain · Commons file
Around the town
8 places of the highest rank within 5 km of Kitsilano
Within 5 km there are 27 in all. Oldest of them is Vancouver's Chinatown (1880), 4.2 km off. Yaletown, Granville Entertainment District and Strathcona hold most of them, among 7 towns.
The 12 nearest, within 5 km
| Seaforth ArmouryRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1935–1937 · 800 m away, in Fairview |
| Electra BuildingListed in a community heritage register · 1957 · 2.6 km away, in Granville Entertainment District |
| Orpheum TheatreNational Historic Site · 1926–1928 · 2.8 km away, in Granville Entertainment District |
| Vogue TheatreNational Historic Site · 1940–1942 · 2.8 km away, in Granville Entertainment District |
| Coastal ChurchHeritage designation · 1919 · 3 km away, in West End |
| Former Vancouver Law CourtsNational Historic Site · 1907–1912 · 3 km away, in Granville Entertainment District |
| Vancouver BlockHeritage designation · 1910 · 3 km away, in Granville Entertainment District |
| Hotel GeorgiaHeritage designation · 3.1 km away, in Granville Entertainment District |
| Queen Elizabeth TheatreListed in a community heritage register · 3.3 km away, in Yaletown |
| ArmouryRecognized Federal Heritage Building · 1899–1903 · 3.4 km away, in Yaletown |
| Former Main Post OfficeClassified Federal Heritage Building · 1905–1911 · 3.5 km away, in Coal Harbour |
| Victory Square, VancouverListed in a community heritage register · 1886 · 3.6 km away, in Yaletown |
Homes by age
Kitsilano added few homes from 2016 to 2021: 1.9%, where most towns have 4.1%
Few of Kitsilano’s homes date from 2001 to 2015: 11%, the norm 15%. More of Kitsilano’s homes were built from 1961 to 1980 than in any other period: 35%. 22% of Kitsilano’s homes were built before 1961, against 18% in the typical town.
22%
Before 1961
35%
1961–80
29%
1981–2000
11%
2001–15
1.9%
2016–21
KitsilanoTypical town
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
Towns its size
Kitsilano has the 4th most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 27,000 to 27,500 residents, by places on the registers.
Kitsilano2
Ahead of it: Amherstburg, La Prairie and Sainte-Thérèse. Their median is 0. 11 of them have nothing on the registers.
Neighbours
Kitsilano and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitsilano | 27,320 | 2 | 1 | 1928 |
| Greektown | 16,618 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Fairview | 33,969 | 1 | 0 | 1935 |
| Davie Village | 16,833 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Granville Entertainment District | 19,125 | 6 | 3 | 1907 |
| Arbutus Ridge | 15,083 | 0 | 0 | — |
| West End | 30,785 | 2 | 1 | 1888 |
In brief
Kitsilano in brief
Before 1961: 22% of Kitsilano’s homes, against 18% in the typical town. Together that makes 2 historic places, one with the highest designation, led by St. Roch. Only 3 of the 16 towns nearest its size have more historic places. Everything else is close to the norm: the designations ran from 1962 to 1997.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The tiers. Tiers follow the designation: national recognition and classement first, other federal designations next, provincial and local listings last.
- Provincial and municipal lists. Only Wikidata gives open access to listings on provincial and municipal registers outside Québec; without an article such a place is counted but not paged.
- Map points. Parks Canada publishes no coordinates, so federal places are pinned where Wikidata puts them.
- The grade. There is no history grade: the page sets out the record and compares it with other towns.
- Protection. A National Historic Site designation recognises significance; it doesn’t by itself protect a building the federal government doesn’t own. Legal protection comes from provincial and municipal designations, whose own registers aren’t open data outside Québec.
- People and events. Persons of national historic significance come with no location; a town gets one only by birthplace (name and both life years agreeing) or by one of its own places that bears the name and whose record tells the story. Events, which can’t be tied, are left out.
- The federal register. Federal places come from Parks Canada’s directory, which counts National Historic Sites, federal heritage buildings, stations and lighthouses; their statements are the register’s own.
Questions about Kitsilano’s history
Which places in Kitsilano have the highest designation?
Just one: St. Roch.
What is the oldest building in Kitsilano?
By its record, St. Roch, from 1928 (National Historic Site).
How old are the homes in Kitsilano?
The 2021 Census dates 22% of its homes before 1961 (18% in the typical 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).