Tuesday, January 19, 2010
St. Denis /Mountain Highway


Today this bright white house with its broad front port sits in Seylynn at 652 Mountain Highway.  It was built for $1000 by E.C. Cave in 1925. At that time it was listed as a commercial property. E. Cave lived there until at least 1931. the City Directories indicate that Irene and Arlo Barkley lived in the house from 1952 to the 1970's.  Arlo was a shipper at Burns and Co.  By 1980 Terry Green was the resident at 652 Mountain Highway.  Behind the house are two out buildings.  One looks like a little house with a door between two windows.  It even has a mailbox. The other building is a small one car garage. Both have entrances on Bruce Street.


Mountain Highway was not always called that. As Mountain Highway wove its way down from Lynn Valley, its name changed in Lynnmour to St. Denis. The City Directories list the Lynnmour Grocery which is the southern neighbor of 652 as being on St. Denis up to 1948.  In 1949 the address was listed at Mountain Highway.  However, remnants of St.Denis Avenue still exist on the east side of the Upper Levels Highway. The 2007 Greater Vancouver map book by MapArt Publishing  indicates that St. Denis Ave. is the northern end of East Keith Rd. and extends into Inter River Park.


It seems therefore that when E. C. Cave built the house it was on St. Denis and when the Barkley's lived there is was on Mountain Highway.  The house didn't move, only the address changed.


Researcher:  Thank you to Jim Lawrence.
Photo: Taken August 30, 2008.