Point Grey

For other uses, see Point Grey (disambiguation).

Point Grey (Halkomelem: ʔəlqsən^[1][2]) is a headland marking the southern entrance to English Bay and Burrard Inlet. The headland is the site of Wreck Beach, Tower Beach, Point Grey Beach and most notably, since 1925, on its top is the Point Grey Campus of the University of British Columbia.^[3]

During World War II Tower Beach was the site of submarine watchtowers and gun emplacements while the UBC campus was CFB Point Grey. The watchtower ruins still stand and the gun emplacements have been incorporated into the Museum of Anthropology at UBC.

The name Point Grey is often used as a short form for the Vancouver neighbourhood of West Point Grey. It was named by Captain Vancouver for his friend Captain George Grey. The Spaniards, a year earlier, had named it Punta de Langara in honour of Admiral Don Juan de Langara.^[4]: 99

Point Grey was also a shortened name for the Municipality of Point Grey, created in 1908 when it separated from the Municipality of South Vancouver. The municipality's eastern boundary south of 16th Avenue was Cambie Street, and Blanca Street was its eastern boundary north of 16th. Point Grey amalgamated with the City of Vancouver in 1929.^[5]

See also

• List of World War II-era fortifications on the British Columbia Coast

References

1. "sən̓aʔqʷ • Vancouver Heritage Foundation". Vancouver Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 22 November 2023. For example, trails radiated from sən̓aʔqʷ across ʔəlqsən (Point Grey) to our villages of c̓əsnaʔəm and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm on the North Arm of the stal̕əw̓ (now called the Fraser River).
2. "Musqueam art installation on campus". Indigenous Portal. University of British Columbia. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2023. Ten cast bronze pieces created by Musqueam artist Brent Sparrow, collectively known as ʔəlqsən (Point Grey), were recently installed on concrete pillars lining the walkway separating the UBC Bus Exchange from the new MacInnes Field.
3. R. Blair (2001) Our History from University of British Columbia
4. Akrigg, G.P.V.; Akrigg, Helen B. (1986), British Columbia Place Names (3rd, 1997 ed.), Vancouver: UBC Press, ISBN 0-7748-0636-2
5. "Item: MAP 80 – Plan of Point Grey Municipality". City of Vancouver Archives. 1927. Retrieved December 27, 2023.

49°16′15″N 123°15′44″W / 49.27083°N 123.26222°W / 49.27083; -123.26222 (Point Grey)