Heritage Discovery Day to focus on Kitsilano neighbourhood this year

Heritage Discovery Day, an annual self-guided walking tour that allows visitors to explore unique heritage properties around Vancouver, will showcase sites in the Kitsilano neighbourhood this year.

The tour will take place Saturday and will feature nine properties — seven private homes and two heritage community sites.

“Site number one, which we’re very proud to have on our tour this year, is the Hastings Mill store,” said Laura Carey, executive director of the Vancouver Heritage Foundation.

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The store is the oldest non-Indigenous building still standing in Vancouver and predates the city’s incorporation by almost 20 years, she says.

Another featured site is City Farmer Garden on Maple Street.

“They’re the precursor to the Arbutus Greenway in the sense that they had this really beautiful urban space that they were using for farming and for a lot of plant cultivation,” Carey said.

“They were doing that 36 years before the city had converted the Arbutus Greenway. So I think they were really visionaries for what sort of urban green spaces we could have.”

These sites and the private homes all showcase the area’s diverse history, architecture, and design.

Previous Heritage Discovery Days have not focused on specific neighbourhoods. For example, 2024’s tour featured sites in Arbutus Ridge, Kerrisdale, and Marpole.

The time to buy your tickets is running out; Thursday is the last day to register for the tour.