Coulter House

Coulter House at 67 W 6th Avenue stands as one of Mount Pleasant's last remaining working-class cottages from Vancouver's first suburb. Built in 1901, originally at 35 W 6th Avenue, by William Henry Coulter, a millworker and machinist, this 1.5-storey front-gabled house exemplifies the aspirations of early Vancouver's working class during a period of rapid industrial growth. The house is a Gabled Vernacular style, identified by the Vancouver Heritage Foundation as "the most common surviving houses of old Vancouver." It displays unusually ornate decoration for a working-class cottage, patterned decorative shingles, ornamental frieze with brackets, and turned wood porch columns. This detailing likely reflects Coulter's occupation as a millworker, giving him access to decorative elements beyond most working-class homeowners' reach.

William Coulter lived in the house until 1906 and afterwards various working-class residents, including a tinsmith, upholsterer, and shoe store clerk resided there. In the BC City Directories, “Little Smith metal works” is listed in 1908 and “Smith Little tinsmith” in 1909. Smith Little was convicted and fined $100 in Victoria in1911 for an “Infraction of Alien Labour Act” which was the first case of its kind in the city, as reported in the Victoria Daily Times.

In 1912, Sidney F. Boutall built a grocery store in the front yard, beginning 66 continuous years of neighbourhood commerce. The store operated as Sixth Avenue Grocery (1928), Jack's Market (1960s), and John's Confectionery (1970s) before closing in 1978. Only the original house survived when the store building was demolished.

The Mount Pleasant neighbourhood has undergone several transformations, from the 1950s industrial rezoning which removed much of the residential character to the 1980s which brought serious decline with street-based sex work and crime. Gentrification began in the 1990s with coffee culture and heritage restoration, accelerating through the 2000s with developers and hipster demographics. The 2010s saw Mount Pleasant become a major tech hub fundamentally altering the neighbourhood's economic base.

By 2017, developer Conwest Group recognized the house's heritage value, incorporating its preservation into contemporary development plans. Vancouver City Council designated it as heritage on April 17, 2018, granting zoning relaxations in exchange for conservation. The innovative approach involved embedding the heritage building within a new 4-storey glass and steel structure called HOUSS.

Coulter House was lifted in July 2019 and temporarily stored at Olympic Village during construction. Extensive restoration included custom-milled drop siding matching the 1901 profile, custom double-hung wood windows based on archival images, and modern systems integration. Returned in March-April 2021, it was repositioned 30 metres west of its original location at 67 W 6th Avenue. The interior was completely gutted, removing the second storey to create a 24-foot ceiling commercial space. The controversial monochrome white exterior replaced traditional multi-coloured heritage schemes. Heritage consultant Elana Zysblat argued this helped the house "hold its own" against the contemporary glass building while showcasing wood texture and ornamentation. A contemporary red door marks the restaurant entrance. Mount Pleasant Vintage & Provisions opened in 2022, with Melbourne artist Steen Jones creating three "Postcard" style murals on adjacent concrete walls. The adaptive re-use provides public access through the original house structure.

The development created an unusual visual effect where surviving heritage houses across the street (14, 24, 28, 30 West 6th Avenue) reflect in the glass façade, symbolically restoring a lost streetscape. As conservation documentation notes, "our little house finally has neighbours again, as reflected in the glass."

Nearby Jonathan Rogers Park, one block south, was opened in 1958 from a $100,000 bequest for "a poorer part of the city.” The Lindsay Residence at 144 East 6th Avenue, possibly Vancouver's oldest house outside downtown (1888), sits four blocks east. The J.F. Clark Building at 2313 Main Street represents the oldest commercial building outside downtown (1892) with its western boom-town facade.

Since time immemorial, this area served as Coast Salish resource lands. Nearby Brewery Creek sustained salmon runs and provided a natural gathering place, while the surrounding land offered deer, elk, berries, and medicinal plants, including Labrador tea. An ancient Indigenous trail, now Kingsway, connected the area to broader territories.

Source

Elana Zysblat, Heritage Vancouver Society, City of Vancouver, Eve Lazarus, Scout Magazine, Vancouver is Awesome, Montecristo Magazine, Mount Pleasant Vintage and Provisions