Renfrew–Collingwood

Renfrew–Collingwood
Neighbourhood
Location of Renfrew-Collingwood in Vancouver.
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
City	Vancouver
Population (2011)
• Total	50,500

Renfrew–Collingwood is a large neighbourhood that lies on the eastern side of Vancouver, Canada, on its boundary with Burnaby and encompassing an area that was one of the earlier developed regions of the city. It is a diverse area that includes a substantial business community in several areas, as well as some of the fastest-growing residential sectors of Vancouver. In 2011, the neighbourhood had a population of 50,500, 38.4% of whom claim Chinese as their first language.

Renfrew–Collingwood is a large city neighbourhood, with an area of 8.2 km², that is bordered by Broadway to the north, East 41st Avenue to the south, Nanaimo Street to the west, and Boundary Road to the east. Kingsway runs through the southern part of the neighbourhood. Grandview Highway runs through the middle of Renfrew–Collingwood, carrying much of the traffic entering Vancouver from the Trans-Canada Highway during morning and evening rush hour. While much of the natural features of the area have been changed by recent development, portions of Still Creek continue to run through the area, which is built on rolling hills. The southeast corner of Renfrew–Collingwood near the intersection of Boundary Road is adjacent to Swangard Stadium and the northwest corner of Central Park.

In 1861, Colonel Richard Moody made the first modern attempt to break through the thick forests that covered the areas now known as Renfrew–Collingwood, building a military trail on the route of an ancient First Nations trail that led from New Westminster to English Bay. He then claimed 1.14 km² of land in the heart of the area, where the Collingwood commercial area now exists. The first settler in the area was George Wales, who moved to the area in 1878 and settled on an area bordered by Wales Street, Kingsway and East 45th Avenue.