Events

Heritage Discovery Day

Know a house in Vancouver that would be a great fit for an upcoming tour? Help us find heritage sites to feature by suggesting a site below!

Suggest a site

Heritage Discovery Day offers a chance to take a peek inside a curated selection of heritage properties to discover the stories behind their architecture, design and history. A self-guided tour since 2003, it is a wonderful way to explore Vancouver’s diverse neighbourhoods, as well as connect with local businesses and community organizations.

Heritage Discovery Day 2027 will take place on Saturday, June 5th and feature the neighbourhoods of Hastings-Sunrise and Grandview-Woodland! If you know a site or heritage home in those areas that would be a great fit for the upcoming tour, please fill out our site submission form.

Heritage Discovery Day 2026

From historic homes and adaptive reuse projects to community landmarks and hidden architectural gems, on Saturday, June 6th, we welcomed hundreds of visitors to explore the stories, people, and places that have shaped Mount Pleasant and Riley Park. 

Nine heritage sites were featured during the Heritage Discovery Day, representing a wide range of housing styles and adaptive re-use – from a 1910 Craftsman to a distinctive Riley Park residence that blends Mid-Century Modernist roots with the layout and design that later defined the Vancouver Special. A number of additional sites of interest and Places that Matter in the neighbourhoods were featured in the guidebook.

Over 165 dedicated volunteers were on hand to guide visitors through each site and showcase the unique features, answer questions, and help visitors navigate between the tour stops. We are so appreciative of their support and dedication, as well as the generosity of our owners and site stewards, who allow us to step inside so many incredible properties every year.

In addition to our presenting sponsor, Equitable Real Estate Investment Corp Ltd., we would also like to thank our site sponsor – Odlum Brown – as well as our friend sponsors – Extraordinary League Contracting and Collis Verdicchio Real Estate. We would also like to say a thank you to our event photographers, Martin Knowles and Ritvika S, as well as our in-kind sponsors, the City of Vancouver Archives, Elysian Coffee Roasters, and Glory Juice.

I just wanted to say how much my daughter and I enjoyed the tour this year – we love wandering the streets of Strathcona – and loved touring just one area of the city rather than driving from neighbourhood to neighbourhood.

We took transit to Science World and walked to the start of the tour, so better from an environmental perspective too.

I hope you will be able to do something similar next year!

Past Heritage Discovery Day Guidebooks

2026
2025
2024
2023

Shannon Estates during the 2017 Heritage House Tour. Credit: Martin Knowles Photo/Media

2017 Heritage House Tour at Shannon Estates. Credit Martin Knowles Photo/Media

From Heritage House Tour 2019: "This Edwardian-style house was built in 1911 by John Bell along with its two neighbours facing Willow Street. "

From Heritage House Tour 2019: "This large Edwardian home was built by John and Edith Beaton."

The Downs Residence was designed by renowned architect Barry Downs for his own family and is an especially fine example of a West Coast Modern home.

From Heritage House Tour 2019: "A Swiss chalet style Craftsman bungalow of 1910 designed by Gamble and Knapp, features river stone in the garden, leaded-glass windows, half-timbered gables, big brackets and eaves. "

This large half-timbered home, sheltered within its lush street-side garden, started out as a revenue property for a well-known local boat builder. It was built as three units in the former garden of the 1912 house next door, which was later demolished for an apartment building.

From Heritage House Tour 2019: "This large Victorian home was built by George Weeks for his family when the West End was the young city’s fashionable residential neighbourhood. It is now the Diamond Centre for Living and part of Barclay Heritage Square. "

From Heritage House Tour 2019: "This house, built in 1929 by self-employed contractor William Earland, reflects more prosperous times and the taste beginning to form in the late 1920s for Storybookstyle architecture, supplanting the popular Craftsman Style and earlier boxy house forms."

One of the more remote early estates in Vancouver is now Crofton House School in the southwestern corner of the city.

From Heritage House Tour 2019: "As the Dunbar neighbourhood developed in the 1930s with a distinctly modest flavour compared with adjoining Kerrisdale, building contractor Mikkel Nielsen built a one-storey bungalow using the typical five-room floor plan of living room, dining room and kitchen across from two bedrooms and a bathroom."

Past Heritage House Tour Guidebooks

Prior to 2020, the Heritage House Tour was held annually and featured heritage homes spread throughout Vancouver. In 2021 and 2022, the Heritage House Tour was offered virtually due to COVID restrictions on large events. Through a series of curated video tours, an exclusive web portal, and live events, we explored six heritage properties spread across Vancouver each year.  Participants were able to experience the compelling stories, past and present, of early architects, builders and residents as well as recent restorations and how these distinct spaces have been adapted for modern living. The tour returned in-person as the re-imagined Heritage Discovery Day in 2023 in Strathcona with a new focus on neighbourhoods and community, drawing inspiration from past house tours, as well as the Neighbourhood Heritage Tours, Mid-Century Modern House Tours, Vancouver Special House Tours and Laneway House Tours.

2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006

Celebrating the Heritage House Tour

The Heritage House Tour has taken place on the first weekend in June since 2003. Enjoy highlights of some of the great spaces we’ve featured in recent years and what makes the tour special with the video below.

Do you or someone you know live in a house that may be a good fit for a future tour? We are always searching for great examples of heritage or character homes to open on our tours. If you’d like to know more, or have your home considered for inclusion on a future tour, please fill out a site submission form or reach out to Sarah, our Director of Education.