Book excerpt: North Vancouver occupies one of the world's most scenic urban settings. Lonsdale Avenue, running from the waters of Burrard Inlet to the mountains of the Coast Range, is the community's de facto main street. In early 1903, Alfred St. George Hamersley purchased a substantial parcel of land from Henry Heywood Lonsdale and James Pemberton Fell's Lonsdale Estate. Hamersley's property, called the Town of Lonsdale, later became the town site of North Vancouver. In North Vancouver's early years, Lonsdale Avenue was the spine along which the community developed. Lonsdale is still North Vancouver's most important street and acts as the main artery for commercial, political, and social life. Through rare vintage photographs illustrating how people lived, played, and worked, North Vancouver's Lonsdale Neighbourhood explores the community's fascinating history.