Description of Historic Place

The Punjabi Market is a four-block long commercial streetscape on Vancouver's Main Street between 48th and 51st Avenues. It is home to a variety of South Asian businesses and services including restaurants, retail stores, medical and legal services and other amenities serving both the South Asian and general population.

Heritage Value

The Punjabi Market is significant for its historic, cultural and social values, particularly through the many businesses which collectively established the Punjabi Market, and for the cultural significance of the area as a nucleus for vibrant South Asian culture and community in B.C.

The Punjabi Market is considered one of the most significant cultural and social landmarks for the South Asian community in B.C. because it evokes the customs and traditions of South Asian Canadians, and for the high emotional and historical attachment of South Asian Canadians to this area of Vancouver which promotes and celebrates their traditional culture. Bhangra music, colourful clothing and jewelry and the aroma of South Asian foods and spices evoke a particular sense of place.

A vibrant and diverse space, the market is important for being not only a place for shopping, but a venue for cultural and community gatherings. The Market has cultural value as the focal point of the annual Diwali Festival and the Vaisakhi Parade celebrating the Punjabi New Year in April of each year.

The Punjabi Market has historical value for being, in part, the result of changes to federal immigration legislation. While the area was originally populated more than a century ago by immigrant South Asian labourers drawn to the lumber industry, the significance of the Punjabi Market as a cultural entity emerged after changes to immigration regulations in 1967.
The assessment of newcomers based on skills rather than ethnicity, along with the rise of multiculturalism as official federal government policy, resulted in a large expansion of South Asian settlement in South Vancouver. Newcomers were often culturally and linguistically diverse professionals. This new community became inextricably woven into Vancouver's cultural fabric, creating a catalyst for the expansion of the Punjabi Market as a cultural entity, with its predominantly Punjabi culture, businesses, shops and services.

By the 1980s, the Punjabi Market and its goods, restaurants and services were significant as a focal point for the province's South Asian community. As South Asian goods were difficult to find, people from all over B.C. made the Punjabi Market a destination for merchandise, services, culture and events, adding to the site's provincial significance. It became so well known that residents from other provinces and parts of the United States also made the journey to the market.

It is notable that, in 1993, the significance of the Punjabi Market as a singular cultural neighbourhood was recognized by the City of Vancouver with the installation of bilingual street signs in Punjabi and English. Today, the Punjabi Market includes housing, South Asian retail shops and restaurants, streetscape improvements and public art. It is important for its role in the continued celebration of the Punjabi community's contribution to the city and province.

Character-Defining Elements

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