Photography by Leonard Whistler

Howie Avenue - Coquitlam BC, Canada

Howie Avenue is in the Austin Heights area of Coquitlam BC, Canada. The 3-block avenue from Gatensbury Street to Blue Mountain Street has mostly 3-story apartment blocks built in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Around 1974, while I was in grade 9 and 10, I had a paper route delivering the now defunct Columbian Newspaper in this area. My paper route number was #224. I had 30 customers and made 30 Canadian dollars per month delivering the paper 6 times a week. In 1983, I rented my first apartment on Howie Avenue and paid 300 Canadian dollars monthly for a 1-bedroom apartment. Rents today in 2025 are about 2,000 Canadian dollars.

Below is an aerial video of Howie Avenue, which I made using a DJI Mavic Air 2 drone. The view is looking east from Blue Mountain Street to Gatensbury Street.

Howie Avenue - Coquitlam BC, Canada