In the 1940s, the West End was becoming increasingly populated. In response, many West End homeowners built additions to allow for tenanting, or renovated their homes to allow for rental suites. Apartment buildings were taking the place of single family homes. As the population density of the area increased, it became clear to the Parks board that the West End needed more green space.

To that end, the City of Vancouver started buying properties in the 1950s, around what has now come to be called Mole Hill – then bureaucratically known as “Block 23, District lot 185″. The green space development started in earnest one block north, and over the next 2 decades the houses were razed in groups to create present day Nelson Park. The houses of “Block 23″ were the next to go, in the second stage of the park’s creation.

However the quick densification of the West End, which created the need for more green-space, was having an effect unforeseen by the Parks Board. The West End community began to regret the loss of neighborhood diversity to continual densification projects. At what point would the forest of apartment buildings obscure the character that once made the West End a diverse and interesting community?

The old homes of Block 23 also provided much needed affordable housing. The West End was becoming increasingly expensive. Vancouver has a shortfall of affordable housing generally; and the Parks Board proposal suggested tearing down affordable rental spaces in a city in need of such resources.

Several times through the late 70s and the 80s, the planned extension of Nelson Park was shelved due to public outcry; several times, the plans were pulled off the shelf and dusted off for reconsideration. As the years went by, it became increasingly clear that an intact block of Edwardian and Victorian houses was a precious and rare find in the rapidly growing city of Vancouver. The houses of Block 23 remember the late 1800s; they housed the laborers and working-folk who assisted in Vancouver’s birth. Mole Hill also housed young families who would later come to be premiere families of the Vancouver political and business scene – a Mayor, a School Superintendent, A hotel and fisheries baron. Many notables of the region got their start on the hill, which was an affordable backwater in the early days.

In the late 80s and early 90s, it became clear that the City and the Parks board were planning to go forward with the removal of the Mole Hill homes, scattered public outcry notwithstanding. City owned rental units sat vacant. Records of in camera meetings of the time show that the City had mandated the removal of many of the homes on the block.

Organized Advocacy

In response to the approaching threat of destruction, a group of committed activist tenants and other concerned members of the greater Vancouver community formed the Mole Hill Living Heritage Society. They named Mole Hill, giving it a distinct identity, recognizable as separate from the “Nelson Parksite”. Mole Hill sits on the highest point of the West End, truly being a community on a Hill: the original settlers to the area were then thought to be Henry and Elizabeth Mole. Hence the name “Mole Hill” – both historically and geographically descriptive.

Advocacy on behalf of the hill was multi-pronged, with smaller and larger actions. Some things – like naming the Hill, to provide it identity – seem small but have a big impact. Tenants planted and maintained their gardens, and poured care into their homes, to attract attention to the well worn beauties that were hiding in plain view.

Many actions were more intensive. Public education regarding the history of the hill was facilitated by informational boards in front of the homes, and handouts available to passers-by. There were protests at City Hall, and long afternoons on Davie St. where activists would engage other West End residents, soliciting signatures and providing history. Networking with other community groups was a key action; the “Friends of Mole Hill” was formed as an umbrella organization for the 30+ community focused organizations and individuals who cared about the future of Mole Hill. This group’s interest in preserving the hill was rooted in a mandate of community vision, with commitment to affordable housing, green-space and gardens, preservation of social history, preservation of heritage architecture, and commitment to use that supports the greater West End community.

A great boon to the struggle to preserve Mole Hill was the research done by Blair Petrie. He published a book containing his research entitled “Mole Hill Living Heritage.” The book explores the layered history of the homes on the hill, their first owners and builders, and their architectural details. The creation of such a document, honoring and providing voice to the history of Mole Hill, proved an effective tool in educating City Hall and the public alike. In 2004, the City of Vancouver gave Mr. Petrie a Heritage Award of Merit for the advocacy and research he did on behalf of the threatened and worn homes of Mole Hill.

As late as 1996, the City still planned on redeveloping Mole Hill to their existing vision of park space and possibly small amounts of residential redevelopment. The Mole Hill Living Heritage Society, and the Friends of Mole Hill, were presenting an alternative interpretation of the revitalization of the block; and eventually, the City came to appreciate the vision which was being presented – an eco-friendly, diverse, affordable, heritage, socially-aware, and mixed-residential environment that would be a boon to all of the West End. In 1999, the City committed to the Mole Hill vision; and gathering many partners into the Mole Hill fold, committed to 2 phases of reconstruction with a target date for completion in 2003.

“Never give up!!” Jane Jacobs to the Mole Hill Living Heritage Society in 1998.

The advocates for Mole Hill never did give up; and through their commitment, belief, and vision, the homes of Mole Hill were preserved and restored, in a responsible and socially mindful way.