3876 SW Marine Dr

3876 SW Marine Drive may have been built in 1910, but first appears in building permit records in 1921 for repairs costing $2,300. Standing at one and a half storeys with a gabled roof and a central front porch, this home has a cottage-like appeal. The front porch features built-in wooden seating on each side. The exterior is made up of clapboard siding and a combination of square and decorative fish-scale shingles.

This home first appears in city directories in 1924 under resident Frederick W. Crawford, manager of Vancouver Tobacco. Later in the 20s and 30s, Miss May Crawford is listed as the sole resident. Following that, in 1945, William and Annie Mercer are listed as residents. At the time, William was caretaker at the Kerrisdale Theatre, which still stands today at 2136 West 41st but is no longer used as a theatre.

In the early 1900s, SW Marine Drive was mainly undeveloped. Situated just west of Olympic Street, this house is located close to the Musqueam Reserve lands and Pacific Spirit Regional Park. The Musqueam First Nations have inhabited this area for centuries, hunting and fishing off the shores of the entrance to the Fraser River.

Dunbar-Southlands is also home to a Southlands Riding Club, a community equestrian facility and several golf courses. As you follow SW Marine to Blenheim Street you enter an area vastly different from anywhere else in Vancouver with stables lining the streets south of Marine Drive. Continuing southeast along SW Marine Drive into Kerrisdale, numerous large historical estates such as Casa Mia, 2188 SW Marine, and Rio Vista still remain. These were once the stately homes of Vancouver’s elite, such as the rum-running Reifel brothers.

Source

Heritage Vancouver Building Permits Database, VPL British Columbia City Directories 1860-1955, VanMap