Marpole
Marpole is a small community at the South end of the Vancouver Westside. It is very close to Marine Drive, Oak, Granville, Cambie, and Main streets, and the Oak and Arthur Lang Bridges connecting it to the airport and Richmond. With all these major routes immediately accessible, it is easy to head in any direction from the Marpole area.
The roads that make up the borders of the Marpole area are 59th on the North end bordering South Cambie, south to Marine drive and the Fraser River. Its Western border is Oak Street bordering with South Granville and the Eastern border is Main Street bordering the South Vancouver area.
Some of the main facilities and business in the area are:
High Schools: Sir Winston Churchill High School is the closest, just north in the South Cambie area.
Elementary Schools: Sir Wilfrid Laurier and Sexsmith elementary schools.
Government Services and Community Centres: Vancouver Public Library on Granville. There is the Marpole Oakridge Community centre near Cambie and 60th.
Business Centres: Along Marine Drive there is many businesses from auto dealerships to restaurants. At the South end of Granville there is a Safeway, restaurants, liquor vendors, and every shop you can think of from jewellery to travel. Just up Cambie is Oakridge Mall at 41st and Cambie, and it is one of the best shopping malls in the city and is the home to many high-end stores.
Recycling / Garbage: There is a community dump and recycling centre just South of the intersection of Cambie and Marine drive.
Services
The following is a list of services in or near the Marpole area that could be of use. If you own, manage, or know of any businesses / facilities that should be listed here, please let us know by CLICKING HERE:
Education
Sir Winston Churchill High School
http://churchill.vsb.bc.ca/- Sir Winston Churchill is a comprehensive school of approximately 2,000 students in Grade 8 - 12.
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Elementary School
http://laurier.vsb.bc.ca/ - Official website for the Sir Wilfrid Laurier Elementary School.
Sexsmith Elementary School
http://sexsmith.vsb.bc.ca/ - Sexsmith Elementary School celebrates and respects the rich diversity of its school culture and installs a commitment to personal excellence and a love of life-long learning.
Vancouver School Board
http://www.vsb.bc.ca - The Vancouver school district is a large, urban and multicultural school district providing programs to 56,000 students in Kindergarten to Grade 12, over 3,000 adults in adult education programs and over 40,000 in continuing education.
Parks and Community Centres
Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/parks/index.htm - Offers information on parks and recreation in the Vancouver.
Marpole – Oakridge Community Centre
http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/parks/cc/marpole/ - Marpole-Oakridge Community Centre was founded in 1949 and now serves two neighbourhoods of diverse populations and ages.
Government
City dump and Recycling Depot
http://vancouver.ca/engsvcs/solidwaste/transfer/index.htm - Vancouver city recycling depot and garbage dump.
Vancouver Public Library
http://www.vpl.ca/home.html - Vancouver Public Library is the third largest public library system in Canada, with over 395,000 cardholders and more than 8 million items borrowed annually.
Shopping
Oakridge Shopping Centre
http://oakridge.shopping.ca/cambridge/jsp2/index_flash.jsp?mallid=oar - Oakridge Centre offers 150 stores and services conveniently located in the heart of Vancouver, minutes from downtown and from the airport.
Restaurants
The following is a list of restaurants in or near the Marpole area that are worth a visit:
Mr. Pickwick's Fish & Chips
http://www.mrpickwicks.bc.ca/
8620 Granville Street, Vancouver. Tel: 604-266-2340. At Mr. Pickwicks, One Bite & Your Hooked...Vancouver's Best Fish & Chips.
Characters Fine Books & coffee bar
http://www.charactersbooks.ca/
8419 Granville Street, Vancouver. Tel: 604-263-4660. We are retail and on line used bookstore with a full service coffee bar in Vancouver, B.C. Canada.
If any of the above links do not work, please let us know by CLICKING HERE.
Marpole is one of the city’s oldest communities, which were settled in the 1860’s. It is usually the one that visitors will see first when entering from the South.
Marpole is known for its high-life, multicultural community with service businesses and affordable housing. The community is quite the large residential neighbourhood holding a population of around 21,000 people. Although an active industrial area is just south of the area on South West Marine, the community still holds the feel of a warm and, comfortable neighbourhood.
History
In the 1860’s, Marpole was first settled by non-natives, and was originally named after Harry Eburne, the area’s first storekeeper and postmaster. “Eburne Station” at the time, was separated from the rest of the city by the vast area of forest around it.
In the 20th century, Eburne station was growing due to the construction of the Vancouver Lulu Island Railway, as well as the B.C Electric Interurban train line. People began to realize the industrial potential that this riverfront was offering, and slowly but surely many industrial companies were moving to the area. By 1916, Eburne station was renamed after Canadian Pacific Railway General Superintendent Richard Marpole. By 1929, Marpole was now becoming one of Vancouver’s major industrial centres.
There are still a large number of heritage buildings that remain in Marpole, such as the Lloyd George School, Abbeyfield House, as well as Firehall No. 22.After the fire department had outgrown the building, they renovated the interior to turn it into Marpole Place, a neighbourhood house and a centre for senior citizens.