Ferries & Piers & Small Bridges

     One of the main aspects of West Vancouver’s early transportation was the ferry system. After its small beginnings with Navvy Jacks by-request ferry, another operation was started in 1868 by local resident Captain James van Bramer with a small boat called the Sea Foam. The original ferries were not the epitome of comfortable travel as most of the boats were designed for a different purpose, tugboats.

     It was not until 1909 that the first scheduled ferry service began running across the Burrard Inlet. It was West Vancouver Pioneer, John Lawson, along with business partners William Thompson, Robert Macpherson and John Sinclair who created this service with a company called the West Vancouver Transportation Company. The first ship was a 35-passenger boat called the West Vancouver, which ran between the 17^th St. dock and Columbia St. in Vancouver. The ferry fleet was expanded in later years to run between the Vancouver Wharf, English Bay, Hollyburn, the Great Northern Cannery, and Caulfeild. These ferries were directly responsible for the growth in the Hollyburn and Dundarave areas and the development of businesses around the 14^th, 17^th, and 25^th streets. This ferry service continued to thrive even after the construction of the Lions Gate Bridge up until 1947.