Fairview is centrally located in Vancouver. Next to downtown, it runs from 16^th Avenue to Burrard Street. It is named by the Canadian Pacific Rail Land Commissioner in 1886 because of its breathtaking view of the North Shore Mountains.  

Many important buildings are located in Fairview. The Vancouver City Hall is located on its eastern boarder. It also has Vancouver General Hospital on Broadway with the BC Cancer Research center and the BC Centre for Disease Control nearby.

It’s two main shopping districts are City Square Mall and Granville Island, a popular tourist attraction.

Granville Island was created in 1916 by dredging up False Creek and building it into an existing sand bar. It has a local public market where people can get fresh seafood, produce and meat.

There are 275 businesses on the Island that employs more than 2,500 people. Aside from the public market, there is a marina, a boutique hotel, a community centre, and several theatres that perform both amateur and professional shows.

Granville island is also home to several festivals including the Vancouver Writers’ Festival, the offbeat Fringe Festival and the International Children’s Festival.

The Emily Carr University of Art and Design is also located on Granville Island. The university is named after the local arts Emily Carr who created much of her art from the inspiration of the Pacific Westcoast First Nations people.

The Fairview area used to be a rain forest with a variety of wildlife and old growth forest until the 1860s when settlers opened up lumber mills to harvest the trees. It was quickly developed into a commercial and residential district.

The government granted the area to the Canadian Pacific Railway to help develop and expand Vancouver.

Today Fairview is one of the most desired and liveable neighbourhoods in Vancouver.