Walking down Pemberton Ave in North Vancouver you could be easily fooled into thinking you’re back in the 1950s or 1960s if you ignore the modern cars lining the street. Just like the nearby Norgate Park subdivision, built between 1950 and 1952, whose houses were originally painted every colour of the rainbow, Pemberton Ave has continued that colourful tradition to this day. Popular mid-century colours such as pink, aqua blue and lime green are especially prominent. Low-framed wood and concrete buildings, along with numerous built-in planters and brick exteriors, often just on the lower portion, complete the mid-century aesthetic. It’s a useful area to shop in, but it’s also cheery and a pleasure to spend time in. With modern building exteriors and interiors in North Vancouver trending towards a monochromatic palette, I think it’s wonderful to see this area celebrating colour and texture as much as it does.
Beige Isn’t Very Popular on Pemberton Ave
Built-in Planters
The built-in planters below hold a number of tropical plants and grasses, adding to the California vibe the area already invokes with its colours.
Zoning and Walkability
Many areas on the North Shore have what I call commercial “dead zones”. City planning on the North Shore, as it has been in much of the Lower Mainland for the last century, seems to have largely favoured non-mixed zoning, making a clear distinction between residential and commercial/industrial zones. There are large swaths of housing with not even a corner store to be found anywhere nearby.
As we grapple with a lack of affordable housing paired with a lack of walkable services, more mixed zoning is emerging, so this is slowly changing, but as it is now, many neighbourhoods still have poor walking scores. They are food deserts but they also don’t provide many, if any, other services or stores within walking distance. This creates a lovely, quiet, suburban feel but also forces people to rely on cars or transit, which can be challenging for many, and it also takes more time to reach the services they need.
Pemberton Ave, along with the nearby commercial area along Marine Drive, is in stark contrast to this, and provides nearly every service one could ask for, all within walking distance for its nearby suburban residential communities. I’m fortunate enough to live a 5 minute walk from both Pemberton Ave and Marine Drive and don’t take for granted that I live in a leafy suburb but also have access to so much when I need it.
A Bit of History
South from Pemberton Heights and block to west. (1971?)
House at 1221 Marine Dr. is Carlo’s Ornamental Arts.
Courtesy of MONOVA Museum and Archives of North Vancouver inventory # 106-24-19
The house mentioned in the MONOVA description I believe to be one I found mentioned in an old ad I found in a 1950s newspaper advertising a mixed zoning double lot for sale. You wouldn’t likely see this kind of zoning today where the owner is living in the home and the entire front and side yard are covered with goods for sale. It’s hard to tell from the size of the photo but this is a lawn ornament business. This house and the rest of the block east of it was eventually demolished and replaced by commercial buildings.
South from Pemberton Heights (1971?)
Courtesy of MONOVA Museum and Archives of North Vancouver inventory # 106-24-19
This photo shows that the area in 1971 looks largely the same as it does today. The McDonalds on the NW corner of Marine and Pemberton is still there, albeit a newer building. The chalet style roof of the current Cactus Club is visible on the left side and just beside it is an auto body shop the “Auto Haus” which is still there today. Many other buildings have changed owners and have other businesses, but I was surprised to see how many had been there since the mid-century.
The Pemberton Ave commercial district, categorised as a “light industrial district”, sprang up largely between 1950 and 1970, likely as a response to Norgate Park subdivision being built in the early 1950s just to the west, the lower Pemberton area growing larger north of Marine Drive, as well as the wartime housing that used to be in the surrounding areas. Pemberton Ave, before the wartime housing was demolished and eventually made way for Capilano Mall and other commercial areas, was nestled right in the middle of a fairly large suburban area. This, paired with a Safeway and a few other businesses at the foot of Pemberton and Marine Drive provided the area with most of their needs. This has diversified even further over the years and continues to do so to this day. Marine Drive in this area is now a bustling mixed-zoned area with a lot of housing above and businesses below.
The foot of Pemberton Ave by the water has been a busy commercial area since the early 20th century because it was the site of the mill and booming grounds of the Capilano Timber Co., and later the Lion’s Gate Lumber Co., but Pemberton Ave as a business district did not really begin developing until the 1950s. It developed north and south all the way from its foot at E. 1st St to Marine Drive and east and west from Pemberton Ave heading east to the bottom part of Mackay Creek, just West of Capilano Mall. Eventually this type of zoning stretched along nearby 1st St and Welch St, with a number of light industrial businesses establishing along the southern border of Norgate.
Not only did these areas provide locals with services, but also allowed them to work within walking distance of their homes. These days, light industrial areas where there is manufacturing or machine work, is largely relagated to the fringes of urban or suburban areas, often forcing a long commute or, even more often, sent to other countries where cheaper labour is contracted out. It’s remarkable to me that, even with all the development we’ve seen lately, the area maintains its light industrial status in the midst of it.
I’ve been surprised over the years as to how many times I looked up a type of business or service I needed and it came up as being in the Pemberton Ave area. By the 1970s, this commercial district provided a vast array of businesses and restaurants, and this is still the case today. There are warehouses that do industrial work and numerous auto repair shops, but there are also stores, restaurants, cafes, art studios, dance studios, health services and much more. Most of these businesses are small and independent and it’s a nice contrast from going to the mall to access a number of businesses in a walkable area.
Building Re-use
Many businesses on Pemberton Ave have changed hands over the years, but the area is a model in the re-use of older buildings, as businesses have been continuously maintained and renovated, rather than building newer and bigger, keeping the overall silhouette low at a very human scale and reducing the environmental footprint of the buildings.
One of the longest running businesses, The Corner Cafe, opened in the 1950s. Before it closed, it still had the original diner seats, black and white checker floor and diner tables. It had provided many decades of memories to the local community and was so original that it had been used many times as a filming location. I was saddened when it closed in 2019, as I was a regular patron, but fortunately, the new owners kept it as a diner. Although they renovated the vintage interior, they did their renovation in a vintage style, and their brightly coloured painted exterior and flower baskets are a sweet homage to another time. It has continued to be a popular spot for locals, with line-ups out the door on the weekends.
Another popular restaurant on Pemberton is the vegetarian cafe, The Workshop. They make ramen noodles from scratch with incredibly rich broths as well as a number of other plant-based dishes. They have a mission to provide healthy, plant-based food to people and aside from selling hot food from their restaurants, they’ve now expanded into selling packaged food wholesale to stores. I really enjoy their food, but it’s also gratifying for me to see such intentional businesses like theirs - who care about people and their well-being - in the area, providing a space for community to grow, as well as renovating the buildings so beautifully, as you can see from the light and plant-filled interior. I spoke to the Director of Operations, Hanaca, a sibling of the founders, and she said that the cafe had loyal customers and enjoyed a sense of community with local patrons. The area has a cosy, small town feel to it, and places like The Workshop and Douce Diner are certainly re-inforcing that vibe.
Barry’s Discount Auto is based out of a very typical mid-century style building that was popular for repair shops of the time. Unlike many buildings on the North Shore of that size and age, it still stands, and is still an auto shop. I couldn’t believe my luck when I stopped by to take a photo and this amazing old car was in for repair, creating a scene that we would have seen when the shop originally opened.
The Cactus Club restaurant runs out of this classic post and beam building near Marine Drive. Although they’ve added a patio area out front, the building is essentially the same as it has been for decades.
The old phone booth inside has been converted to a wine fridge, a clever and quirky re-use of a vestige of the past.
Ghost Sign and a Jungle
I was walking down the east side of Pemberton one day on an errand and noticed this amazing jungle growing in this narrow gap between two buildings. Near the top of the building was a ghost sign, which tells me that the building on the left was built sometime after, but I haven’t been able to find out yet what the letters are behind the ivy.
Looking to the Future
Near the corner of Marine Drive and Pemberton you can see a glimpse of the future for the area. On the left is an original two story building and on the right is a fairly recent, four story condo building. As we move towards higher density, taller buildings are inevitable, but four stories still seems a reasonable height for the feel of the area. All the condos along nearby Marine Drive are similar in height so it seems there is a city planning element to height in the area. However, I still hope that we will also continue to see re-use for the buildings in this district as has been the trend, and that we preserve, as much as possible, the practical and colourful commercial area that provides services and gathering places, via a short walk, to so many.
Except where indicated, text and images Copyright @ North Shore Heritage and Jenny Morgan. All rights reserved. Republication in whole or in part is prohibited without the written consent of the copyright holder. No reproduction of text or photos allowed without express permission of North Shore Heritage.
Sources:
Monova Archives, vancouverisawesome.com, newspapers.com, bcassessment.com