The Story of Burkeville
As I mentioned, yesterday I drove out to the Vancouver Airport south terminal. As you head out that way, you pass the tiny community of Burkeville (here’s a map). I never hear anybody talk about this hamlet, so I did some research. I found this fascinating paragraph on its history:
Burkeville was laid out and built by the federal government during the Second World War to provide 328 houses for workers employed at the Boeing Aircraft plant. It was named for Stanley Burke, president of Boeing. The streets are named after airplane manufacturers. The plain, no-frills dwellings came in several standard sizes. Most have been altered to fit the needs of two generations of residents. After the War, Boeing sold the houses to returning veterans. The tightly-knit community, already encircled by airport uses, is currently threatened by the intended further expansion of roads and runways.” Ironically, the “plain, no-frills dwellings” were designed by McCarter and Nairne, who gave us the Marine Building. The name of the development was chosen in a competition among Boeing employees.
The entire community has about six streets, and flanked on one side by the airport runways and the other by a tributary of the Fraser River. Next time I’m out there, I must go early to stop and have a look.

May 26th, 2005 at 5:06 am
I live practically right next to Burkeville and I have to admit that I’ve only wandered in there once, during a stormy evening.
August 27th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Did you know that if you Google “Burkeville,” this entry is the second result and the first one that actually relates to the Burkeville in Richmond? I had to research it for work today and they don’t have any website or useful info, so thank you… you just saved me a big headache.