All is not well on the East side
Nov. 8th, 2006 11:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreaminghopeSubtitled: Why we can't have nice things.
My friends from the suburbs, or even from the wealthier areas of Vancouver, have often noted the complete lack of garbage cans on the streets of my neighbourhood on the East side, especially at bus stops.
Strathcona is a lovely neighbourhood. It is a neighbourhood with tradition, with Italian and Chinese families who've been here for generations, taking advantage of its proximity to both Chinatown and Little Italy. It is a neighbourhood with energy, with hip up-and-coming artists scattered everywhere in studios, garages, and basement suites.
We finally got a garbage can at the bus stop near the park and community garden. It was full to overflowing most of the time, which either shows how desperately we needed it or how infrequently the city emptied it. It isn't an issue anymore, though, because someone, who was probably looking for cans and bottles to return, cracked the garage can open – split it top to bottom – and now they've taken our garbage can away.
Russ and I got broken into on Monday morning, not long after we left for work. Someone jimmied the basement door's lock. They didn't get any further then that basement storage room. As soon as they got the basement door open, our monitored alarm system went off, and functioned exactly as it was supposed to: the intruder ran off, the police came, we didn’t lose anything. There wasn't even any damage.
When we moved into this neighbourhood a year ago, there was this ugly lump of a building two doors down from us. It was free-standing from the house, right on the alley. It was covered by a massive black tarp, with flapping corners where it wasn't tied down completely, and it dominated the view from our deck.
As with most of the lots on our street, the main house's size meant that there was already more building on the lot then was allowed, so the second building must have been old enough to have been grandfathered in. As long as the building stood, it could remain, but if the owners ever tore it down, they would not be allowed to build anything new in its place.
Recently, the owners decided to re-roof and start fixing up the lump. They've been re-shingling, making additions, basically rebuilding it from scratch without it ever coming down. In talking to them about their plans, we found out that the building was actually a 100-year-old horse barn. This was one of the last areas of Vancouver to have horses.
We heard stories about the building when we first moved in. A previous house owner had divided the old barn into bedrooms. Though the building did not have electricity or running water, people would rent the rooms (stalls?), then go into the main house to use the washroom.
There was also gossip that the barn was once a bordello… but I may have started that rumour.
There are old houses in our neighbourhood being fixed up, getting heritage status. There are some gorgeous buildings near us now, painted with rich colours, with so many details like trims and stained glass and beautiful railings and fences. A lot of time and money went into those buildings.
The summer's rash of arsons seems to have ended, though no one was ever apprehended. Some brand new homes, still unfinished, and a importer's warehouse were among the victims. The warehouse was only damaged, and it is fully repaired now. The houses were completely destroyed, but they have almost been completely rebuilt.
Russ and I put down a deposit on our new windows today. They will be installed in January. Our house is a long way from being heritage, but it will look nicer with shiny new windows. They will also cut down the noise from the street and will help with our energy costs. As soon as they are installed, we will have our alarm company come in to upgrade our system.
Someone was sleeping in the next door neighbour's car port the other morning.
My friends from the suburbs, or even from the wealthier areas of Vancouver, have often noted the complete lack of garbage cans on the streets of my neighbourhood on the East side, especially at bus stops.
Strathcona is a lovely neighbourhood. It is a neighbourhood with tradition, with Italian and Chinese families who've been here for generations, taking advantage of its proximity to both Chinatown and Little Italy. It is a neighbourhood with energy, with hip up-and-coming artists scattered everywhere in studios, garages, and basement suites.
We finally got a garbage can at the bus stop near the park and community garden. It was full to overflowing most of the time, which either shows how desperately we needed it or how infrequently the city emptied it. It isn't an issue anymore, though, because someone, who was probably looking for cans and bottles to return, cracked the garage can open – split it top to bottom – and now they've taken our garbage can away.
Russ and I got broken into on Monday morning, not long after we left for work. Someone jimmied the basement door's lock. They didn't get any further then that basement storage room. As soon as they got the basement door open, our monitored alarm system went off, and functioned exactly as it was supposed to: the intruder ran off, the police came, we didn’t lose anything. There wasn't even any damage.
When we moved into this neighbourhood a year ago, there was this ugly lump of a building two doors down from us. It was free-standing from the house, right on the alley. It was covered by a massive black tarp, with flapping corners where it wasn't tied down completely, and it dominated the view from our deck.
As with most of the lots on our street, the main house's size meant that there was already more building on the lot then was allowed, so the second building must have been old enough to have been grandfathered in. As long as the building stood, it could remain, but if the owners ever tore it down, they would not be allowed to build anything new in its place.
Recently, the owners decided to re-roof and start fixing up the lump. They've been re-shingling, making additions, basically rebuilding it from scratch without it ever coming down. In talking to them about their plans, we found out that the building was actually a 100-year-old horse barn. This was one of the last areas of Vancouver to have horses.
We heard stories about the building when we first moved in. A previous house owner had divided the old barn into bedrooms. Though the building did not have electricity or running water, people would rent the rooms (stalls?), then go into the main house to use the washroom.
There was also gossip that the barn was once a bordello… but I may have started that rumour.
There are old houses in our neighbourhood being fixed up, getting heritage status. There are some gorgeous buildings near us now, painted with rich colours, with so many details like trims and stained glass and beautiful railings and fences. A lot of time and money went into those buildings.
The summer's rash of arsons seems to have ended, though no one was ever apprehended. Some brand new homes, still unfinished, and a importer's warehouse were among the victims. The warehouse was only damaged, and it is fully repaired now. The houses were completely destroyed, but they have almost been completely rebuilt.
Russ and I put down a deposit on our new windows today. They will be installed in January. Our house is a long way from being heritage, but it will look nicer with shiny new windows. They will also cut down the noise from the street and will help with our energy costs. As soon as they are installed, we will have our alarm company come in to upgrade our system.
Someone was sleeping in the next door neighbour's car port the other morning.
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no subject
Date: 2006-11-09 08:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-09 04:46 pm (UTC)