Folkart Interiors

When it comes to funky old storefronts Folkart Interiors at 3720 West 10th Avenue near Alma Street is clearly a winner. There aren't very many shops that still bring their wares out onto the sidewalk anymore. It's also nice to see a store without their windows filled with ugly security bars. When I first photographed the place back in 2015 the little strip of three storefronts was for sale. Now in 2017 it looks like nothing has changed too much but maybe rents might have gone up.

The building dates from 1925 and the store was originally home to West Point Hardware. The space next door at 3730 was a location for Piggly Wiggly Grocery which was the first self service grocery store chain in Vancouver. You can read more about Piggly Wiggly at Miss604's Blog. I found an old photo in the Vancouver Public Library historical photo collection showing West 10th Avenue back in 1939 (VPL 25001). The storefront that is now Folkart Interiors is behind the old cars. By this time Safeway had taken over the Piggly Wiggly next door. A look with Street View finds not too much has changed on this strip of West 10th for a good long time. Let's hope it stays that way!