David Oppenheimer (entrepreneur)

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David Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer's statue at the entrance to Stanley Park

David Oppenheimer (born January 1, 1834 in Blieskastel , † December 31, 1897 in Vancouver ) was a German- Canadian businessman and politician. He was the second mayor of Vancouver from 1888 to 1891.

Coming from a Jewish merchant family, Oppenheimer emigrated to the United States in 1848 with almost all ten siblings . The Oppenheimers first settled in New Orleans , where David learned bookkeeping and worked in a department store. From 1851 he worked in California as a trader, realtor and innkeeper and probably moved on to Victoria on Vancouver Island in 1858 , where his brother Charles had founded a trading company.

As more and more people flocked to British Columbia because of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush and the Cariboo Gold Rush , the brothers built more stores inland to cater to the prospectors and settlers. In the 1870s the town of Yale was the seat of the company, which was also active in the real estate trade. David Oppenheimer was a key business partner of the Canadian Pacific Railway , which built a transcontinental railroad through the mountains in the 1880s. In 1885, the company's headquarters were relocated to the future terminus, a small village called Granville (now Vancouver). The brothers opened the city's first vegetable wholesaler in 1887.

David Oppenheimer was active in local politics and was elected mayor in December 1887. During his tenure, which lasted until 1891, he expanded the water supply, encouraged the settlement of industrial companies and gave the town numerous properties acquired by his family to build schools and parks. Oppenheimer was the host of the Governor General when he officially opened Stanley Park on September 27, 1888 . He also founded the Vancouver Electric Railway and Light Company , which built the first tram lines and produced electricity.

At the end of December 1891 Oppenheimer resigned from his office and devoted himself to his business activities. These almost led to his financial ruin. The Vancouver Electric Railway and Light Company was placed under receivership in 1893 and sold a year later. The British Columbia Electric Railway and later BC Hydro developed from the company . The vegetable wholesaler remained family-owned and still exists today under the name The Oppenheimer Group .

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