1420-1430 Napier St

This large wooden frame building features a series of six rowhouses. It has stood on this site since its construction in 1909 for a value of $1,000. The building style shows that from an early period the Grandview neighbourhood has been home to diverse forms of housing, including mansions, rowhouses and apartments.

Owners Thomas and Mary Lafleche lived in one of the units with their eight children until 1922, but they were only one of dozens of families that have called this place home. The historical city directories indicate that residents frequently came and went during the first few years of the building’s existence, especially during the turbulent years of World War I. Toward the middle of the 20^th century, the building saw some longer-term tenants, such as the Bowers, Hill, Evans, and Slater families, who each lived in the building for more than a decade in the 1940s and 1950s.

Source

British Columbia City Directories 1860-1955, Heritage Vancouver Building Permits Database, City of Vancouver Archives