TopNational Historic Site · 1912–1913Point Atkinson LighthouseBurrard InletPhoto: Clayoquot · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
Point Atkinson Lighthouse · Photo: Clayoquot · CC BY-SA 3.02historic places on the registers
History of West Vancouver · Canada’s heritage registers
All of West Vancouver’s 2 historic places are top designations
The oldest building on West Vancouver’s record is Point Atkinson Lighthouse, from 1912. Wikidata gives March 15, 1912 for the municipality, whether that is when it was founded, incorporated or merged. Relative to its size West Vancouver has 0.4 per 10,000 residents, more than 73% of Canadian towns. Just beyond the boundary, the registers place one more.
Historic places
2
0.4 per 10,000 residents
Highest designations
2
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Oldest building
1912
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
21%
typical town: 18%
The map
Where West Vancouver’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Highest designations
Tap any dot to open that place’s own page; hovering shows its name.
The 2, by tier
2 Highest designations
Most entries are federal, from Parks Canada’s Directory of Federal Heritage Designations; local listings outside Québec are known only through Wikidata items with an article.
Points from Wikidata (Parks Canada’s files carry none) and from Québec’s register, as mapped there.
Highest designations
2 places in West Vancouver with the highest designation
They date from 1912 (Point Atkinson Lighthouse) to 1941. National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings, Canada’s highest federal recognition. Their designations span 1974 to 1998. Each one opens its own page.
National Historic Site · 1941–1942Binning Residence2968 Mathers Crescent
Around the town
Near West Vancouver, within 10 km: 10 places of national rank
Oldest of them is Vancouver's Chinatown (1880), 9.1 km off. Between them, 8 towns share them, mainly Yaletown, Granville Entertainment District and Strathcona. The nearest is Stanley Park, 5.6 km away in West End.
The 12 nearest, within 10 km
| Stanley ParkNational Historic Site · 1888–1989 · 5.6 km away, in West End |
| Saint Paul's Roman Catholic ChurchNational Historic Site · 1884–1885 · 7.4 km away, in North Vancouver |
| Coastal ChurchHeritage designation · 1919 · 7.5 km away, in West End |
| St. RochNational Historic Site · 1928–1929 · 7.6 km away, in Kitsilano |
| Electra BuildingListed in a community heritage register · 1957 · 7.9 km away, in Granville Entertainment District |
| Former Main Post OfficeClassified Federal Heritage Building · 1905–1911 · 8 km away, in Coal Harbour |
| Hotel GeorgiaHeritage designation · 8 km away, in Granville Entertainment District |
| Former Vancouver Law CourtsNational Historic Site · 1907–1912 · 8 km away, in Granville Entertainment District |
| Vancouver BlockHeritage designation · 1910 · 8.1 km away, in Granville Entertainment District |
| Gastown Historic DistrictNational Historic Site · 1886–1915 · 8.2 km away, in Coal Harbour |
| Orpheum TheatreNational Historic Site · 1926–1928 · 8.2 km away, in Granville Entertainment District |
| Vogue TheatreNational Historic Site · 1940–1942 · 8.2 km away, in Granville Entertainment District |
Just outside West Vancouver: 1
| Lions Gate BridgeNational Historic Site · 200 m outside the town |
Homes by age
West Vancouver built the most from 1961 to 1980, 33% of today’s homes
Count back from today and half of West Vancouver’s homes are older than 1981. Like the typical town (18%), West Vancouver has 21% of its homes from before 1961. From 2016 to 2021 West Vancouver added 5.3% of its homes, more than the typical town’s 4.1%.
21%
Before 1961
33%
1961–80
26%
1981–2000
15%
2001–15
5.3%
2016–21
West VancouverTypical town
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
Neighbours
West Vancouver and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Vancouver | 47,929 | 2 | 2 | 1912 |
| Capilano 5 | 3,376 | 0 | 0 | — |
| West End | 30,785 | 2 | 1 | 1888 |
| Coal Harbour | 10,407 | 2 | 2 | 1886 |
| Davie Village | 16,833 | 0 | 0 | — |
| North Vancouver | 66,624 | 2 | 0 | 1905 |
| Granville Entertainment District | 19,125 | 6 | 3 | 1907 |
In brief
West Vancouver in brief
The 2021 Census dates 21% of West Vancouver’s homes before 1961, against 18% in the typical town. In all there are 2 historic places, 2 with the highest designation, including Point Atkinson Lighthouse. Beyond that, it has 2 historic places, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 4); and its places were designated between 1974 and 1998.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The grade. History is described, not graded, for every Canadian town.
- Provincial and municipal lists. Provincial and municipal listings here come from Wikidata alone, since the provinces’ own registers can’t be reused; a listing needs an encyclopedia article to get a page.
- The tiers. Three tiers: the top for National Historic Sites, classified federal buildings and Québec’s classements, a second for the other federal designations, a third for provincial and municipal listings.
- 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.
- 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.
- Map points. Parks Canada publishes no coordinates, so federal places are pinned where Wikidata puts them.
Questions about West Vancouver’s history
Which places in West Vancouver have the highest designation?
These: Point Atkinson Lighthouse and Binning Residence.
What is the oldest building in West Vancouver?
Point Atkinson Lighthouse (National Historic Site): the first construction date on its record is 1912.
How old are the homes in West Vancouver?
21% 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).