The 866 West 2nd Avenue Gurdwara in Kitsilano holds a landmark place in Canadian Sikh history as the country’s first purpose-built gurdwara. Constructed in 1908 for the Khalsa Diwan Society and designed by William Henry Archer, it served a community of roughly 2,000 people for over six decades. Far more than a place of worship, it was the social, political, cultural, and economic heart of early Sikh life in Canada hosting religious gatherings, revolutionary and political meetings, and deeply personal moments like weddings, births, and funerals. Sold in 1970 to fund the construction of the Ross Street Gurdwara, its profound influence on the community it shaped continues to resonate to this day.