Mount Pleasant could be considered Vanocuver's first suburb.
Gastown was the central neighbourhood of the growing city at the time Vancouver was founded in 1886 and buildings spread out around it. Mount Pleasant, named after an area in Ireland, drew settlers a bit further from other parts of the town, though, as it was on the road to New Westminster.
Westminster Road was an essential piece of infrastructure to Vancouver, as New West was the larger city. It's still around, too, but it's been renamed to Kingsway.
Mount Pleasant grew around the southern side of the bridge that was built over False Creek. At the time False Creek was much larger, with a huge mud flat covering much of the area where Science World and the railway are now.
Notably, there was a famous creek that ran through Mount Pleasant. Now covered, Brewery Creek was essential to the early beer production around Vancouver as several breweries operated using its water. The name still exists in a couple of spots in Mount Pleasant.
In 1900 the first streetcar arrived in the neighbourhood, as the network spread out from the city's core. At the time, cars weren't a thing, so transportation was by horse, on a boat, or by rail.
Roads were dirt in Mount Pleasant, but sidewalks were wooden in some places. Mud was an issue for anything with wheels.
