Labour, Rooming Houses and Hotels

This unimposing building at Dunsmuir and Homer has more importance than it may seem. Currently it is known as the 411 Seniors Centre but originally when it was built in 1911 - 1912 as the Vancouver Labour Temple.

The Vancouver and District Labour Council was established in 1889 and was integral in advancing the economic and social welfare of workers in Vancouver. The Vancouver Labour Temple Company supported labour unions, backed labour candidates in political elections and took action against racism and sexism.

Well known and prolific architect,Thomas Hooper, designed this building in the Chicago style. There is a tri-partite proportioning of the building's form with brick cladding on the main body of the building which distiguishes it from the stone clad base.

The building seems to be one of stature with the stateliness of the entrance space and detailing as well as the classical columns on the first floor.


The other day I woke to a slight dusty of snow. Nothing like these picture which I took earlier in the winter of 2010.

No, this time the snow disappeared quickly and we were left with the green that we are used to. One of the advantages of living in an area where it rains a lot.

Built in 1890 this is the Jones Block also known as the Henshaw Building. It part of a triangular block that connects Water Street with West Cordova Street and is connected with the McConnell Block , 350-364 Water Street.

One of Vancouver's most prolific architects, Noble Stonestreet Hoffar, designed this modest structure. This structure is typical of the buildings built to house offices for the smaller businesses that were needed due to the related commercial activities of the area.

The Jones Block shows the difficulty builders and architects were having with acquiring building materials and financing. There are eccentric differences in the detailing between the two halves of the structure which was typical of the haphazard method of building during Vancouver's early years. (Now I am studying the photos to see if I can see the differences. Can you?)

Here is a building that has had many names since it was built in 1909. Fortin Building,  Fortin Hotel, Rob Roy Hotel and the Travellers Hotel.

This fine example of Edwardian era styling has historic value for a few reasons not the least is its association with the architectural firm Grant and Henderson.  George William Grant and Alexander Ernest Henderson showed great versatility by styling everything from Arts and Crafts styled residences to institutional, industrial and commercial buildings.

(the 1893 you see here refers to an earlier structure.)

In the early twentieth century Vancouver had a lot of seasonal population and this is an example of the types of rooming houses that sprung up around town. Especially in this area. Loggers, fishermen and those in other seasonal resource trades needed short and long term housing. the upper floors were for rooms to rent and the lower could be for more commercial services.

Originally the Fortin shared a party wall with a building to the west, The Sullivan Block which was designed in 1896 by John Edmeston Parr (Parr and Fee whom I have written on a few times) When the Sullivan Block was demolished the wall, the front structural pier with its granite blocks, brick and cornice detailing were left.

You can see a bit of it here. This granite is different from the rest of the building.

This is the Arlington Hotel or the Arlington Rooms or the Arlington Block at 302 West Cordova. Built in 1887 the design of this  commercial building is credited to the prominent architect N.S. Hoffar. Owned by Dr. James Whetham this late Victorian Italianate style structure was typical of many residential/commercial buildings erected at this time.

This three storey brick structure with fourteen foot ceilings originally only had a depth of 66 feet since it followed the British tradition of allowing for courtyard space at the back. In 1909 a printing wing was built in that space for Thomson Brothers, booksellers.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

TAGS:Vancouver, Karen Magill, Parr and Fee, Arlington Hotel,N.S. Hoffar,Fortin Hotel,Victorian,history,

Parr and Fee

Today I want to tell you about two architects in Vancouver's history and you may remember seeing their names numerous times in previous blog entries.

John Edmeston Parr was born in 1856 in London England and came to Vancouver in 1896. Son of Samuel Parr, a London architect, John Parr first opened a solo practice but a year later he partnered with Samuel Maclure for two years before joining forces with Thomas Arthur Fee.

Thomas Arthur Fee was born in Drummond County, Quebec in 1860. He learned how to be an architect by studying under Minneapolis architect Harry Wild Jones. Fee contracted polio as a child and spent the rest of his life wearing leg braces.

Together Parr and Fee are responsible for many of Vancouver's heritage buildings. The three photos I have shown you so far are from the Glen Brae House which was built in 1910 for lumber magnate William Lamont Tait. It has a ballroom on the third floor with a floor underlaid with seaweed.

Vancouver has listed this as a heritage building and it is now a hospice for children - Canuck Place.

Here's another house designed by Parr and Fee, this one on West 12 Avenue and built in 1909. By the looks of it has now been divided into rooms or units to rent.

Doesn't the domed tower look familiar? It was a trademark of theirs apparently.

Presently this is called the Moda Hotel but when it opened in 1908 it was called the Dufferin Hotel after a former Governor General of Canada, Lord Dufferin.

Back then the hotel's main clientele was Canadian Pacific Rail workers and travelers. I would like to mention that according to Wikipedia the hotel was built in 1910 but the Moda Hotel website states it opened in 1908. So that is the date I will stick with here.

This massive building on Dunsmuir was constructed in 1908 and opened as the Dunsmuir Hotel. During World War II it served as barracks and later it was home to the Salvation Army.

When the Salvation Army moved in 2003 this building became the Dunsmuir International Village Student Housing - a home for international students coming here to learn English.

1911 saw the Hotel Barron make its appearance on Granville Street in Vancouver. Now it is the Comfort Inn.

This building dates back to the start of the Parr and Fee partnership - it was built in 1899. Originally this was the McDowell, Atkins & Watson Company Building but now, as you can see, it is the Cambie Hostel.

This is just a sample of the structures that Parr and Fee designed. In 1912 the partnership dissolved with Parr forming a new company with John Mackenzie and John Charles Day - Parr, Mackenzie & Day - which operated until 1918.

Fee left architecture to pursue other interests. He vocally opposed Canada's involvement in World War I and gained more notoriety for promoting the idea of British Columbia joining the United States.

John Edmeston Parr passed away in 1923 and Thomas Arthur Fee followed in 1929. But they left their mark on this city and helped to shape it.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

TAGS:Vancouver, Karen Magill, Thomas Arthur Fee, John Edmeston Fee,Cambie Hostel,Moda Hotel,Canuck Place,history,

Back Where It Started

I spent today lazing around - trying to restore my energy after my long walk on Monday and the one I took yesterday. But don't worry, I have gone into my files and I am going to revisit Gastown and show you some more of the older buildings there.

The Byrnes Block is at 2 Water Street. Designed by Elmer H. Fisher it was among the first of the brick structures built in Vancouver after the great fire of 1886. Former Barkerville Sheriff and Victoria Real Estate speculator George Byrnes had it built near Gassy Jack Deighton's second saloon which was torn down three years later to make room for the expanding streets.

See the row of chimneys? The block was also home to the Alhambra Hotel one of the fancier in the area at the time. Each room had it's own hot water and a stove or fireplace. Quite ritzy for that time period.

Not far from the Byrnes Block is the Robinson Block, built in 1889 for a Jewish immigrant from Russia, Zebulon Franks.  Franks supply store catered to loggers, fishers and miner travelling around the province. When Franks died the business continued as Y. Franks Appliances which went on to become one of Vancouver's longest operating businesses.

Next to the Robinson Block is the Kane Building built in 1906. Owner Jacob Sam Kane used this structure for both commercial and industrial uses. In 1942 it served the homeless and unemployed as the Beulah Rescue Mission.

The stonework on the second floor is actually precast concrete blocks made to resemble stone. Both the Kane Building and the Robinson Block were rehabilitated in 2006.

Across the street from the previous two structures is what was formerly the 3rd Malkin Warehouse.  A wholesale grocer and general merchant, William Harold Malkin, built three warehouses on Water Street in eight years to keep up with his growning business. The W.H. Malkin Co. made a lot of money off of mining boom in the Kootenays and the Klondike Gold Rush.

The western half of the building was constructed in 1907 and the eastern in 1912. The style with the simple facade and heavy cornice is indictive of the architects Parr and Fee.

This rather unremarkable buiding is located at 68 Water Street - the former home of Louis and Emma Gold's Gold House Hotel built in 1886.  Vancouver's first hotel district was between Carrall and Cambie Streets on the south side of Water Street. That was because during high tide the north side would often be under water. Fortunately the Canadian Pacific Railway filled the area in in the 1890s and took care of that problem.

On this site once stood the Regina Hotel - the only building in Gastown that wasn't destroyed in the great fire of 1886. A small group of men were trapped inside as the fire raged outside and buildings around them actually exploded from the heat. They managed to not only save their lives but the hotel as well. Ten years later the Regina was demolished and replaced by the Edward Hotel, this steel and iron structure that would be more fire resistant.
I hope you find the beauty around you. It is there, you just have to look for it.

TAGS:Vancouver, Karen Magill, Parr and Fee, Byrnes Block,Gastown,Gold Hotel,walk,history,