Mountain View Cemetery + Manitou Painting
Hello friends! It’s been awhile since the last edition of the Riley Park Newsletter, but Vancouver in the summer is beautiful and I ended up spending most of my time outside.
This issue will have two stories. First, I wrote about the role that Mountain View Cemetery played in the development of the neighbourhood that we now call Riley Park (and a bit of a content warning for that article that it will mention the death of a child). Second, I will tell you all a bit about Thomas, the delightful owner of Manitou Painting Company, his history in the neighbourhood, and his adorable bunnies.
Mountain View Cemetery and the Development of Riley Park
When you read about the early history of Vancouver, you don’t hear much about the area that we now call “Riley Park.” While the area was technically part of South Vancouver, in the 19th century it still lay between the growing population centres of the municipalities of Vancouver and South Vancouver. But Mountain View Cemetery, which was built in an area that was imagined to be far outside of Vancouver in 1886/7, eventually led to significant connections between the two municipalities and, in turn, led to increasing development along the major streets that we now call Main and Fraser.
Mountain View Cemetery is Vancouver’s only official cemetery. Before it was built, the city’s dead were either taken to New West or buried on Deadman’s Island or at Brockton Point in what is now Stanley Park. When it opened in 1887, Mountain View Cemetery was in an extremely undeveloped section of South Vancouver, largely still forest. One man described the cemetery as “just a hole in the forest, about an acre, still in the rough, some stumps, no grass, no grave stones…. [Y]ou just turned off the road into a tiny clearing.”1 Stories from one of the earliest burials at the cemetery talked about how they needed to carry the coffin across felled logs in order to get into the cemetery grounds.
The difficulty of getting to the cemetery may have been a significant part of the impetus to improve transportation between Vancouver and South Vancouver. Coffins had to be loaded into wagons and often got stuck. According to a reporter for the Vancouver Daily Province, “The road to the cemetery was in terrible shape in those early days, and the hearses and funeral rigs often sunk down to the axles in mud.”2
We don’t know exactly when this photo was taken, but probably sometime in the early 1900s. It shows construction of the road at the intersection of Fraser and 33rd. You can definitely imagine that any heavy vehicle would get stuck in that mud!
One of the very first burials in the cemetery was a 10 month old baby boy named Caradoc Evans. His grave had been dug on the roadside, not properly inside the cemetery itself because it was still so hard to access. But his parents, Nellie and David, insisted that the small coffin be carried over the logs and into the cemetery’s ground. They dug a new grave on top of a ridge.
Roads connected South Vancouver to Vancouver and soon they were building streetcars.
This map from 1928 shows the development of streetcar lines in Vancouver from 1889-1928. By 1904, the streetcar had a “Cemetery Line” to 33rd in order to carry mourners to funerals (they changed the name to the “Mountain View Line” in 1908).
Streetcars led to more development! By 1909, the streetcar went to 49th and, by 1913, it went all the way to Maine Drive. Streetcars along the roads that are now Main, Fraser, and Victoria led to small shops opening along the route. Realtors then worked to sell land in new subdivisions along the street car lines, advertising an “easy commute to the city.” In 1910, lots in the area were advertised for $400.”3 (Imagine!)
These are two photos showing Main Street in about 1912. The first is looking north from the intersection of Main and 26th and the second shows streetcars at Main and 25th.
These photos are both from the “Matthews Collection” in the Vancouver Archive. The story of this collection is interesting too! Major J.S. Matthews arrived in Vancouver in 1898. He worked for Imperial Oil for about 20 years but also devoted himself to documenting the history of Vancouver. According to the Vancouver Archives, “after filling every nook and cranny of his home in Kitsilano, he began a prolonged campaign to find a permanent and more appropriate home for the voluminous and steadily growing collection of documents, photographs, and other memorabilia he had amassed.” He became the City Archivist for Vancouver in 1933 and served in that position until he died in 1970. You can explore the collection here.
Thomas and Manitou Painting
Thomas, the owner of Manitou Painting Company, dreams of being the painter for the Riley Park neighbourhood, adding colour everywhere he goes.
He founded Manitou Painting Company in 2021. It’s a small, one-man operation. He’s not trying to compete with larger companies but, instead, wants to be the Riley Park ‘neighbourhood’ painter, happy to do small jobs and touch ups.
Thomas has a long connection with our neighbourhood. He grew up in Riley Park: first near Main and 41st and went to Elementary school at Van Horne. His family later lived in a Vancouver Special at 36th and Prince Ed. He remembers playing foosball at the old Riley Park community centre (which was replaced by Hillcrest) and sledding in Queen Elizabeth Park. He played baseball in the Little Mountain League in Riley Park.
Thomas is also indigenous. He’s Ojibwe/Anishinaabe from back east, so he also considers himself a guest here on the lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Watuth nations. He’s had his own journey of learning about the Indigenous history of Canada and his own heritage, which has been aided by listening to audiobooks while he paints. (He recommends 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act as a basic intro for all Canadians!)
Thomas’ background in painting may almost be deeper than his roots in the neighbourhood. He sold Benjamin Moore paints for more than a decade before deciding that he wanted to start painting himself. He gained experience working in the field doing everything from painting shipping containers to finer finishes in multi-million dollar homes. For about 5-6 years, he apprenticed with a craftsman who did high-end projects.
All this experience gave Thomas a fundamental appreciation for the craftsmanship of painting. Painters are the finishing trade: they see the project to completion. He has respect for all facets of trade, but he loves seeing how people react to the transformation of their spaces.
You can see more of his work on his Instagram (@manitou_painting_company) and, while you’re there, you can appreciate his adorable bunnies: Waabooz (which means “rabbit” in Anishinaabe) and PuddleJumper.
If you’re interested in hiring Thomas, email him at thomas@manitoupainting.com or use the contact button on his website.
As always, thanks so much for subscribing! If you have something about Riley Park history that you’d like me to research or you’re a local business-owner who wants to be interviewed, please reach out! (And a reminder that, while this is a labour of love, I do also write newsletters professionally if that’s a service you need!)