Local First Nations members have been aware of the Grandview–Woodland area for many years, and referred to the area along Burrard Inlet by the word for cedar trees in their language. A small cove created by a stream running into the inlet became a focal point for early development; the first building was a brewery, followed by sawmills using the forests of the area. The land along Burrard Inlet was valued by speculators after the Gold Rush, and was the location of the Canadian Pacific Railway when it was built in the 1880s. Around that time, the sawmill owners clearcut the entire Grandview–Woodland area, and the construction of the Interurban train line to New Westminster, British Columbia in 1891 spurred the construction of a new community in the area. One legend indicates that the name Grand View was first expressed on a sign hung by a homeowner next to the Interurban stop near the Commercial Drive-1st Avenue intersection.