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Vancouver Now & Then: A look at the past of the Granville Island Kids Market building

For nearly 40 years, the Kids Market has been a top destination at Granville Island
John Bentley - Vancouver Now & Then
granville-island-kids-market
The exterior of the building that's been the Granville Island Kids Market since 1984, as seen in 1918 and 2020John Bentley/Vancouver Now & Then and Vancouver Archives

The building that currently houses the Granville Island Kids Market used to be home to a business that manufactured white lead paint, a toxic substance used on the hulls of boats.

"Created in 1984, Kids Market transformed a hundred-year-old building that was originally a paint factory into a magical place for kids with expansive wood-beam ceilings, large windows and an airy market design," describes the Kids Market website.

"The Kids Market’s 25 shops, services and activities are located next to the pond at the entrance to Granville Island," notes the destination's history page.

Want to visit the Kids Market? Its official address is 1496 Cartwright St. 

Co-written by Lindsay William-Ross

granville-island-kids-market
The exterior of the building that's been the Granville Island Kids Market since 1984, as seen in 1918 and 2020. John Bentley/Vancouver Now & Then and Vancouver Archives

John Bentley is an architectural photographer who has photographed the inside and outside of thousands of buildings around Vancouver. Using images from the Vancouver Archives he offers a glimpse of the past and present on his site Vancouver Now & Then.