This is a pre-fabricated building made by the BC Mills Timber and Trading Company in New Westminster. It was sent to Mission by train and assembled as the Canadian Bank of Commerce, on Main Street in 1907. In 1947, the building was sold to the city for a dollar, and it was moved up to the intersection of Second and Welton, to become the public library. In 1972, the library relocated, leaving this building to become home to the Mission Museum and Archives.  The building was restored to its 1907 appearance in time for the 1992 centennial.

This building was erected by the provincial government in the 1940's and held living quarters, police offices, a courtroom, and a holding cell. It was originally used by the provincial police, later becoming headquarters for the RCMP and then the municipal police. The Motor Vehicle Branch also operated here until 1963. The building became property of the local government in 1964. The building was demolished and in the 1970's, Welton Towers apartments were built.

Water Commissioner Sam Smith applied to Mission Council to build a swimming hole at the corner of Second and Horne, where Lane's Creek fed into a mud pit. In 1949, two wading pools were put in place and a full sized swimming pool was completed by 1952. The public library moved to this site in 1994, and their parking lot now cover what was the old swimming hole.
 

Mission's armoury was wood frame, on a full concrete basement. Updated in the late 1940s, used by Mission's Westminster Regiment & the Army Cadets, the armoury held living quarters, a parade room, offices, an arms shop, mess halls and a rifle range. In addition to being a training place, the armoury was made available for public & community events.  During the flood of 1948, soldiers and sailors who came for relief efforts were billeted here. In 1965, the city bought the armoury for $3500 & reopened it in March 1966 as a recreational centre with a roller rink.

Elks Lodge No. 30 began in 1926 and has had a strong community presence since then, having originally had a hall on Main Street, The construction of the Elks Hall on Second Avenue began in March of 1957 and it officially opened on August 24th, 1957. Grand Exalted Ruler William J, Alton of Powell River officiated the opening ceremonies. In 1981, this hall was gutted by fire with an estimated $100,000 in damages, but it was repaired and the building continues to serve the Elks today.

The posted photograph is a view of the newly constructed bus terminal in Mission looking east towards Welton Avenue between First and Second Avenue. Opened on December 6th, 1950, the new depot was part of the BC Electric’s (known today as BC Hydro) “$365,00 program to establish new depots and expanded facilities in the principal centres of the Fraser Valley.” Over 200 people attended the opening of the bus depot which cost over $80,000 to build. Located on this site today are the offices and parking area for the District of Mission. 

House - In 1926, Mr. Percy Routledge and his family returned to Mission from Abbotsford and rented the Wardrop cottage on Horne Avenue. He soon built his own house on the same site, right beside the garage where he worked.

Garage - After operating the old Beckett Garage from 1920-1925, Percy Routledge sold this establishment to Haney Garage and decided to open his own. On the site where Tim Horton's stands today, he built a garage in 1927 and named it Routledge Motors Ltd. Routledge's operation expanded to ten employees in 1928, and he kept himself busy designing care, helping with the Fire Brigade and later becoming a Home Oil agent.

.

​

The new business was promoted as “...the most modern in Canada. All supplies come from Canadian manufacturers, and when possible, obtained through local outlets.”

Joe Tufteland and Ray Lisson - owners of Mission's "newest main street business" by holding a "two-for-one sale." The feature article in the local newspaper stated: "The 'Queen' is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily now; however, if demand warrants it, it will change hours." (SOURCE: Fraser Valley Record July 23, 1958)

Since its establishment, the Dairy Queen has relocated twice - once in the 1970’s to the other side of First Avenue where Elena’s Restaurant is today, and again in the late 1980’s to its present location at 32754 Lougheed Highway.

Mrs. Mary Ann Trethewey owned and operated this store, located on the East side of Horne Street. She sold to the Desbrisays in 1893, who ran it until they opened their own department store on Main Street. This building was then used to hold the Desbrisay's furniture stock.

A “Mission landmark business”, Pioneer Chrysler Jeep was opened in 1940 by Fred Newton and Tom Derrough. Initially the business sold gasoline and provided general mechanical maintenance and repair services. In 1954, the business expanded and became a Chrysler-Plymouth-Fargo dealer. For over five decades, the business was owned and successfully managed by members of the Derrough family. Today, Pioneer Chrysler Jeep is still on First Avenue and has the distinction of being BC’s oldest Chrysler dealership.

Built by Aja Lane and operated by Merrill Desbrisay, this was known as Desbrisay's Department Store. On May 4th, 1940, the Desbrisays sold their building to Valley Department Store Ltd, who continued operations here until the building was demolished in 1964. Since then the site has been used by gas stations; Pacific 66, and in the 1980's, Petro Canada. After a few year's closure in the late 1990's, Petro Canada bought the adjacent lot and reopened in 1999 with brand new facilities.

This was originally a one story building located on Main Street between Welton and Horne, where it served as the office for the Catherwood and Watson real estate firm. One year later, it also became Mission's first telephone exchange. In 1912, the building was raised and another story built underneath. Catherwood and Watson also sold insurance. In 1941, John Catherwood passed away and

his daughter, Edith Catherwood took over the business until she retired in 1962. The building was later torn down and a new one erected.

Clarence Lane and his brother, Aja, ran this store that Aja built. The store originally opened in April 1910 as The Palace Shop and carried men's clothing. Catering to train passengers who came in from the East to switch to the Southbound train, the shop had unusual business hours, opening from 6am until 11pm. The store later carried women's clothing and became famous for their hats. The name changed to Lane's Ltd. in 1922. The storefront had two separate entrances- ladies and mens. After Aja passed away in 1943, his son Merrill carried on the partnership with Clarence. After Clarence died in 1960, Merrill carried on the business for many years. The store was eventually torn down and a new one was built on the site.

This wood and stucco structure was built by A.B. Catherwood to replace the 1892 Masonic Temple (destroyed by fire), at a cost of about $10,000.00. Masonic lodges traditionally faced East and West, with the master's place in the East.  The North-South orientation of the Mission Lodge (Pacific Lodge #76) went against tradition and caused the loss of a few members.  But for the most part, the lodge has been a place of peace and goodwill. The building has been well maintained., although time and weather have worn off most of the decorative woodwork on the front.

For more than sixty years Save-on-Foods has been “one of the leading grocery stores in Mission.” Originally located on the north side of First Avenue under the name “Overwaitea (changed to current name in 1993),” the store has relocated five times – each time increasing its size and range of services for its customers. They moved to their present location at “The Junction Shopping Centre” in 1998. 
The posted photograph is of the new store which opened in June of 1954 on the south side of First Avenue which customers could also enter from Railway Street. 

On May 3rd, 1968 at 12:15PM the Hospital Auxiliary officially opened their “latest business venture” to raise funds – a thrift shop named “The Cottage” which was located “beside Tremblay Cleaners” on the south side of First Avenue directly across from the offices of the Fraser Valley Record newspaper.

Thomas Edward "Tommy" Cutler opened a livery stable on the North side of Main Street, with its main entrance in the back alley. He was there for ten years before moving across the street to the corner of Main and Welton,. His spacious new building spanned the width of the block and had its main entrance on Main Street, with his Clydesdale horses kept at the Railway Avenue entrance. The hay and coal were kept on a large raise platform at the main entrance, making it easier to load wagons. Because the front had two entrances, a wagon could drive in, load up at the platform, and then drive out the other door. The raised platform survived along with the building.

This building is located on the southwest corner of First and Welton. It was founded by Hope Alanson, who passed away in 1952. His son then ran the business until 1958, when it was sold to Mr. Jack Truscott, who ran the store as Alanson's Hardware 1958 Ltd.

It has changed hands many times, but the building was a hardware store for many years; Mission Hardware, Link Hardware, and finally Mission Home Hardware. After a recent head-to-toe renovation, the building is now home to the Alanson Collective, the Fraser Valley's only one-stop design, engineer, build collective! The group includes 4th Dimension Drafting & Design, Western Pacific Engineering, AR Interiors, Eleven Eleven Homes, Gold Edge Properties, and Sage Ventures.

The first mail in Mission was received by the St. Mary's Mission. Later, a Post Office was added to Plumridge's General Store. In 1935,a dedicated post office was built. This Post Office is an art deco style brick building that cost $13,000 to build. In 1955, the Post Office was renovated at an estimated cost of $91,641; expansions were made at the rear and west sides, but the original facing brick proved unavailable at the time. The builder's solution was to take bricks from the rear of the building and use these to construct the new front, which gave the building a consistent brick facing. In 1982, the entrance was restructured to allow wheelchair access.

This ten-room building was built by Charles Richard Crist.  The Lower floor was occupied by McCallum's Hardware from 1930-1960.  the upstairs consisted of offices for doctors and dentists, as well as two residential suites.  Mr. Crist retired in 1932 and passed away on May 7th, 1955. 

The first Canadian Bank of Commerce was located on Main Street, between James and Welton. In 1947, the building was moved to Second Avenue (which is now the Mission Museum) and a new brick building was built in its place. This bank operated as the Canadian Bank of Commerce until 1961, at which time, it amalgamated with The Imperial Bank of Commerce to Become the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).

Established by Reginald (Rex) Cox in 1925, Rex Cox Menswear has grown steadily from its modest beginnings on First Avenue to become a “thriving business in the downtown core” that is “renowned for their great customer service and high quality merchandise.”  When founder Rex Cox died in 1959, the management of the store was taken on by his nephew, Percy Buckle assisted by his son Ted. After Ted graduated from high school, he began working full-time at the store. When his dad retired in 1979 he and another young worker, Carlo Billinger, bought out the family business. The store has not only bucked the trend of mall shopping, but has bucked the trend towards specialization.

Mr. Smith bough Mission waterworks system in 1929 from the Canadian Bank of Commerce, who had bought it from Hori Windebank. Sam built the 25 x 80 foot building to house the waterworks office. He also branched out in to the plumbing business, as well as offering a full line of electrical fixtures. Mission's first lending library was also housed here until 1947. It has since housed a succession of businesses.

In April 1929, the District of Mission and the Village of Mission City jointly build the first municipal hall. This building was located on the north side of First Avenue, between the current Rex Cox Men's Wear and CIBC. In 1954, it was extensively renovated. In 1974, it was sold to private owners and a new municipal hall was built on Stave Lake Road. The Old Town Hall restaurant was opened on this site, followed by Dino' Restaurant, Stasia's Family Restaurant and Martin's Restaurant. 

Built by A. B. Catherwood, this building was owned and run by William J. Windebank as a plumbing and electrical supplies shop. He first opened up shop across the street in 1927, next to Billy the Shoe, them moved to this new building in 1936. Active in city life, Windebank was once mayor of the Village of Mission City and today has an elementary school named after him. He ran this plumbing shop until 1977, after which it was rebuilt by John Janzen to become a dance studio.

Dr. Otto Hougen, Mission's first dentist and Ron Fisher, his business partner, built the Hougen Block. The Pacific Stage Bus Depot was located on the bottom floor, at the back of the building. In the front eastern section, a restaurant that Betty Sewel ran serviced the bus station. Upstairs in the front of the building, Dr. Hougen's practice was on the east end, and Dr. W. H . McIntyre's practice was on the west end. Upstairs, at the back of the building were three apartments; the eastern one was Dr. Hougen's, the western was Mr. Fisher's and the middle one was rented out to teachers. The Huge Block currently houses shops on Main Street and residential apartments above.

David Spencer Limited (one of a Department Store chain) was managed by Vic Spencer Jr, son of Col. Victor Spencer. The Spencer family owned the Spencer's Department store chain, until December 1948, when the stores were sold to the T. Eaton Company. Eaton's closed the Mission store on August 23rd, 1976 and moved to the Seven Oaks Mall in Abbotsford. In the same year, the upper area become Mission Place Mall, which included Dino's Place restaurant. Pharmasave leased the Main Street store and was there until the early 2000's. Then Shoppers Drug Mart took over until August 2003, when it moved to the Mission Hills Shopping Centre.  

Built by J. Jones, the building was the second theatre opened by Fred Bannister. The viewing screen was at the front of the building to accommodate the steep slope of the land, and there was also a stage and an orchestra pit for theatrical productions. It cost $25,000 to build in 1927, and the first show held here sold out its 500 seats and had to turn away over 300 people. The building was sold to Odeon in 1945, and later demolished. A large brick needling was built on the site and has been host to a variety of tenants, including the Toronto Dominion Bank, a college and a sporting good store.

G. A. Abbott's store supplied hardware, farm implements, and feeds until it burned down in 1917. In 1924, a new building was erected for a garage, and later McRae's Feed Supply operated there for a number of years. At one time, Mr. Streeter, who also had the first radio station in the Fraser Valley, ran a Mission radio station from the back of this store. Since McRae's, the building has housed a variety of businesses, including a garage and a number of sporting goods shops. The interior has been totally remodelled with the coming and going of new owners. The facade of the building has also seen some change, including a large mural in the 1970's. 

The Abbott Block, originally belonged to Edward Abbott, who had a hardware store directly to the east. The Abbott Block is noted for being the first cement and steel building to be erected in Mission. There were storefronts on the Main Street and rooms upstairs that were rented by travelling salesmen. The salesmen liked to stay in the Abbott Block because there was a cafe in the store below and thus it was a convenient location to stop over. Mr. Lightbody opened Lightbody's Drugstore here in 1926, and remained at this location until his retirement in 1967. The Abbott block still houses stores and apartments.

The Goodchild Block was a sizeable building on three lots. The first building on the site burnt down and a new two-storey building was built in its place. Mildred McRae, whose grandfather owned the Abbott Block next door, remember that her father, Andy McRae, ruined his trench coat on the night of the fire, as he went out onto the Goodchild roof to close his own fire shutters. The Goodchild Block was rebuilt in 1948, with eleven bright new office rooms on the upper floor. 

Little is on file about J. Bell and the owners before Sydney Wilson bought this two-storey building with a barbershop on the ground level and a pool hall upstairs. An extension was built in 1926. This is the second oldest building on Main Street. The bay windows are indicative of San Francisco styling.

Did you know Prawn Garden has been around

since the 1960's?

Sydney Wilson purchased this lot from J. W. Horne in 1921, and built this building in 1926.  This adjoined Wilson's other building to the east, which was a barbershop with a pool hall on the second floor. Wilson and his business partner, Bud Peterson, operated the barbershop until Peterson took over in 1946, renaming it Bud's Barbershop. It was bought by Don Vadje in 1948 and operated as Don's Barbershop until 1971. Sold again in 1974, it became Style Rite Barbers, then the Urban Mouse Store, then The Sweet Spot and finally, the Mission BBQ Garden Cafe. 

The Fraser Valley Record was founded by Mr. J.A Bates in 1908 who had visions of providing news and events of the entire Fraser Valley from Port Moody to Hope. For the first 63 years, the Record had only three other owners: Mr. R.D. Cummings of Ashcroft; Lang Sands (1933-1961) and Liverpool Daily Post & Echo (Holdings Ltd.) who took ownership in January of 1962. Today, the newspaper is owned by the Black Press (1997) and has a new name—the Mission City Record—which was adopted in 1996 to reflect the name of the community it principally serves. 

Under the headline “Pantry tells its secret” the July 19th 1978 issue of the Fraser Valley Record featured an article on the new premises in downtown Mission for “The Pantry.” The business was opened in 1974 by Harold, formerly a heavy duty mechanic, and his wife Jenne Gregor to fill “a need for a health food store in Mission” in response to growing preference for natural foods, free from artificial additives or chemicals.

The Hargitt Block was built on this site in 1932, and housed such establishments as the Mission Druggist, the Bank of Montreal and a liquor store. Hargitt's Garage was further East on the Same side of the street. The Hargitt Block was extensively rebuilt in 1948, when the foundations were lifted to build a new basement. The new block had accommodations for two businesses, as well as residential rooms on the second floor. The Hargitt Block was demolished between 1977 and 1986. Since that time, the site and the two adjacent lots have remained empty.

This all-brick building was built by A. B. Catherwood as a replacement for Bowie's earlier wooden building next door. The bakery storefront was on the ground level and offices were on the second floor. The baking area was upstairs at the rear of the building, where a small elevator transported goods down to the store. After Mr. Bowie's death in 1931, his son Ian took over the business and operated it until 1947, when he sold it to Mr. and Mrs. Theo Kell, who operated the Bakerette. It is believed that when the bakery was moved downstairs, the original oven was enclosed by a brick wall, where it remains to this day. The area upstairs that used to be the bakery and office space is now a residential suite.

Alex Stephen had this building built for his drugstore, with an apartment above, after starting his business elsewhere around 1910.  Stephen's Drugstore was located to the east of Graham's Garage. In 1925, J. L. English bought the business from Stephen and gave the building a makeover, changing the street level windows and main floor. Mr. English ran the store as Rexall's Drug Store, until he retired in June of 1966.

Mr. Graham moved to Mission from Scotland in 1932. He was the Chairman of Mission's Board of Commissioners from 1936-1939. He owned a garage on the NE corner of Grand and Main Street, west of J. L. English's Rexall Drug Store. In 1950, the garage gave way to the Astor Theatre that was build on part of this site (later to be Mission City Cinema and then a book store). The rest of the site is vacant, save from a cement retaining wall.

Mr. James Plumridge first owned a general store on Railway Avenue, built in 1981, where he had a post office and a bakery. In 1912, he built another store above the first, facing on to Maim Street, with apartments above. In 1927, the first store burned down, leaving the one on Main Street. From that time, a number of businesses operated from this location, including a car dealership, Windebank's Electrical Store, Porter's Five to a Dollar Store, Harold's Sandwich Shop, Lundy's Restaurant and Smith's Cafe. In 1964, the site was sold to Mr. John Luers, who tore down everything, save for the floors and foundations. The building has since been home to a number of restaurants.

This was the third CPR station built in Mission.  The building was a pre-fabricated structure manufactured by B.C. Mills Timber & Trading Co. then shipped by train to Mission. The municipality designated this a Heritage Building in 1982, and in 1991, it was protected under the Federal Railway Heritage Protection Act. The station was closed down in January 1990, due to cuts in government funding, and while there were many plans to save the station, the building was destroyed in an arson fire in January of 1999.

The first hotel on this site was the Ontario House, built by J. Thretheway. In 1892, Hori Windebank took over and changed the name to the Bellevue. George A. Parrington took over in 1910, and added more rooms, a dining hall and a butchers shop. On December 11th, 1922, the hotel burnt down and was rebuilt n 1923 by M. Hitchen, who renamed it the Bellevue Lodge. New owners in the 1940''s decided to rebuilt, the building was torn down in January 1949, and on July 27th, the opening ceremonies for a new Bellevue Hotel were held. In 1954, a cocktail lounge opened, followed by a banquet hall, a dining room, a coffee shop, a store and then a beer & wine store in 1989. The Bellevue still stands today but is not open for business.

This building is a rough cement structure built in two parts, a two story structure on the East end and a four story structure with an art deco influence on the West end. The first lot for this site was purchased sometime before 1934, at  a price of $400, after which the proposed highway route had to change to avoid intersecting the new building. Home to the Legion Branch #57, it was expanded with a western addition in 1948. A fire caused $10,000 damage in 1986. At the end of 1988, the Legion sold this building and moved to smaller premises . The building was then re-opened as an antique mall, remaining as such until 2003, when it became a fitness centre. The building now houses a day care facility.

Hori Windebank built this building, made of hand cast blocks made onsite, using casting moulds that were ordered through the Sears catalogues. The building originally housed a meat market and hotel, and Hori also operated Mission's Water Power & Light Company in the basement. The first electric generator system in the Central Fraser Valley was here. Many changes have been made to the outward appearance and interior layout due to suffering two fires and changes in use. Over the years, it has housed a restaurant, the Central Hotel in the 1930's, and later the Thomas Motor Inn. 

The site for the new church was purchased from Mr. Tom Middleton, The church was opened on October 23rd, 1938, and was solemnly blessed and dedicated to St. Joseph by his Excellency Archbishop William M. Duke.

In the mid-seventies, the congregation decided that it needed more room, and in 1986, the building was closed. The congregation moved to a new church on Seventh Avenue. 

A. G. Griffin, a plumber and Cephas Abbot, a tinsmith, built this building. It was located on the northeast corner of Second and Grand, designed to be a business block, with a residential suite on the upper floor. Mr. Griffin himself stayed in the suite. Over the years, the business block held the Windebank plumbing business, Alans's Hardware and the Fred Thomas Photography Studio - the "Show Art studio," 1932-1935.  The building burnt down in 2002, and is now residential.

Aja Lane, co-proprietor of Lane's Ltd store. owned this home. The style is typical of a settler's home, though it was stuccoed in 1935. The Swansons lived here from 1987 to 1995, when  it was rezoned to a commercial property. Since that time, it has hosted a variety of businesses. Uncommon Thredz, The Schuh Boutique and then Evoke Wellness Centre.

This early twentieth century craftsman-style house was home to Joe Hargitt, a prominent Mission businessman and garage owner. The house was renovated and restored by Dr. Joe Germaine, and currently houses the Heritage Dental Centre.

In 1901, the first Anglican church was located on Main Street. In 1946, the church ran into financial troubles and sold the site to the Vancouver Mortgage Company. The building was then moved to a lot behind First Avenue before the church purchased the present site on the corner of Second Avenue and James Street.  This site was next to the Abbott/McRae berry field. The Olund brothers were contracted to build this church the following year, in 1947. The church was expanded to its present size in 1961 and in the 1990s, the bell tower and worship area were renovated.

This building stood on the northeast corner of James Street and Second Avenue. It began as the Methodist Church and in 1928, it became the United Church. In 1959, the United Church moved to a new premises on Grand Street and this one was torn down. This site on James Street was later home to the Centennial Library until 1994, when it moved to new premises.