Before the Redevelopment: Remembering Jewish Oakridge
Today, Oakridge is one of the largest redevelopment projects in Canadian history. Tower cranes fill the skyline, familiar landmarks have disappeared, and an entirely new community is taking shape.
Yet while the physical landscape is changing, Oakridge remains one of the institutional hearts of Jewish life in British Columbia. The Jewish Community Centre, King David High School, Vancouver Talmud Torah, Lubavitch Centre, Louis Brier Home & Hospital, Weinberg Residence, Peretz Centre, and the synagogues along the Oak Street corridor continue to serve thousands of people every week.
Our online exhibit, Oakridge, explores how this remarkable neighbourhood became a centre of Jewish life in Vancouver—and how its legacy continues today.
Beginning in the 1950s, as Vancouver expanded southward, young Jewish families were drawn to Oakridge’s new homes, schools, shopping centre, and growing sense of opportunity. As more families arrived, community institutions grew alongside them. The Jewish Community Centre, synagogues, schools, youth organizations, social services, and local businesses helped establish the Oak Street corridor as one of the defining centres of Jewish communal life in British Columbia.
For many, Oakridge was much more than a neighbourhood.
It was where children walked to the JCC after school. Where teenagers met friends at the original Oakridge Centre. Where families celebrated milestones, volunteered with community organizations, and built lifelong friendships.
Through dozens of oral history interviews, the exhibit captures memories that are deeply personal while reflecting a shared experience of belonging, optimism, and community.
Today, while Jewish families live throughout Metro Vancouver, Oakridge continues to play a central role in Jewish communal life. The neighbourhood is changing once again, but the institutions, relationships, and traditions that have shaped generations continue to thrive.
As our city evolves, preserving these stories becomes even more important.
Buildings change.
Neighbourhoods evolve.
Communities grow.
Yet the stories of the people who built them deserve to endure.
That’s why the Jewish Museum & Archives of BC exists.
As part of our 2026 Annual Campaign – Preserving Our Stories. Connecting Our Future., we’re proud to share stories like these that connect our past with our present and remind us that preserving history isn’t only about looking back—it’s about understanding the communities that continue to shape our future.
We invite you to explore the Oakridge exhibit and discover a chapter of Vancouver’s history that continues to resonate today.
Explore the exhibit:
https://jewishmuseum.ca/exhibits/oakridge/
