Homeless in Vancouver: Just a South Cambie back alley

This is the alley on the east side of South Cambie. it runs for eight blocks between King Edward Avenue and 16th Avenue. We’re looking north towards 16th Avenue.

The west side of the alley has a decades-old look about it. Most of the old apartment buildings still have their original detached garages. The east side marks the edge of a large area of single family residential housing which continues past Ontario Street into East Vancouver. Many of the homes throughout this area are relatively new, extensively renovated, or have added brand-new lane homes.

Maybe I have things back to front

There are three blocks worth of classic West Coast cool left on South Cambie just on the north of side of King Edward Avenue, between 23rd and 19th Avenue. I’m talking about a number of sprawling old three-storey apartment buildings with stucco facades and airstream curves and detailing. These apartments could have been built anytime between the late 1930s to the very early 1950s. They all have great-looking façades. Just looking at a block of them is a kind of time travel.

The side streets of this part of South Cambie are also notable for having an entirely unique species of skinny streetlights, which I think may be of the same vintage as the 1940-ish apartment buildings.

That’s another post I’ll be doing. This post was just about a back alley behind some of those buildings. The alley doesn’t look as fancy as the Cambie Street side, but it’s just as important. Apparently you can’t put up a good front without a back. 

Click the image to enlarge.