ABC Jewellery & Loan

When I first arrived in Vancouver in the late 1980's it seemed like Pawn Shops were everywhere in the city. Granville Street and East Hastings Street seemed to have most of them. But times have changed and today there are probably only about a dozen or so left scattered around town. That's why I figured I'd better get a shot of ABC Jewelllery & Loan at 937 Davie Street when I was downtown back in 2014. I think this is the only pawn shop on Davie Street.

The building located near Burrard Street is quite old and dates from 1925. Over the years it has been home to numerous businesses none of them very notable. For many years during the 1930's there was a listing for a FJ Auterson. In 1940 it was home to The Sample Hat Shop and in 1955 there was a Mrs. GA Brambley Dressmaker.

But there were some interesting places close by! During the 1940's and 1950's a building across the street was home to Paramount Film Services at 960 Davie. Next door at 970 was Warner Brothers Pictures Distributors. But a directory listing for 1940 has an S Thomson Photographer at 916 Davie just down the street. This of course could only be THE Stuart Thomson who was an early professional photographer who captured the city in it's developing years. Thanks to him we have thousands and thousands of images of a Vancouver that largely doesn't exist anymore. You can see more of Thomson's images and find out more about him at his page on the Vancouver Archives website.

Today the block of old buildings at Burrard and Davie are probably living on borrowed time. Most of the block is actually made up of a parking lot. So With the crazy price of real estate in Vancouver these days that simply won't do! I'm sure developers somewhere are planning a much larger building for the corner. This Street View from 2016 confirms the lot has indeed sold but it could be a few more years before the old buildings finally come down making the old pawn shop just another memory.