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Time Traveller: North Vancouver's Wagon Ho! restaurant a novelty architecture classic

The Big Ho! burger was one of the favourites at this short-lived Marine Drive diner
Wagon Ho restaurant

This photo shows the Wagon Ho! drive-in restaurant, which was located on the southwest corner of Marine Drive and Pemberton Avenue in North Vancouver. The western-themed restaurant opened in August 1969, and like the Old Dutch Mill service station, it was another great example of novelty architecture in North Shore history.  

In the newspaper advertising feature about the opening, the Wagon Ho! boasted about their ability to cook hamburgers – with names like The Maverick, The Dude, and The Big Ho! – in 60 seconds with the chain`s “new type of high-temperature oven.” 

Less than two years later, the two Wagon Ho! outlets (North Van and Surrey) had closed and their operations were taken over by the other new kid on the hamburger block, the successful McDonald’s chain. 

Visit the MONOVA website for more information about the history of the North Shore and to learn about MONOVA: Museum of North Vancouver opening in Fall 2021.

Currently, MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver at 3203 Institute Road in Lynn Valley is open by appointment only. Contact: archives@monova.ca

Navigate culture on the North Shore by using the North Shore Culture Compass.