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,

Banks and Grills

Walking along Pender Street today I glanced to my right and was delighted to see that there was a place I could take photos of this building for the blog.

Built in 1913 this Beaux-Arts Style building was built by the architectural firm Somervell and Putnam for the Montreal based Merchants Bank. The address is 1 West Hastings - now it is known as Pigeon Square and where many of the homeless from the area hang out. When the Merchants Bank moved from its location of 337 Carrall Street in 1913, the business community had began moving westward towards the Granville Street area which makes this location surprising. Especially when you look at the ornateness of the structure.

This temple bank was inspired by the bank structures in Eastern North America. It was built with a steel frame that would permit another four to seven floors to be added to the existing three. However, since the migration of the centre of commerce continued those additional storeys were not needed.

At 152 Hastings Street is the Trocadero Building, a three storey masonry Edwardian commercial style building that was built in 1901.

This was built for the Rogers family in two stages but two different architectural firms: John Edmeston Parr and Thomas Arthur Fee in 1901 then Edward Evans Blackmore and William Blackmore in 1904.

The first tenants in this building were the plumbers, Barr and Anderson, and a bicycle dealer. When the second stage of the building was completed a harness firm moved in. They left in 1913 and were replaced by the Trocadero Grill who resided there for decades.The Vancouver Sausage Company was another long term tenant.

E.Chrystal and Co. did some renovations in 1939. They removed the cornice on the west side and replaced it with a single continuous cornice. Not only were they trying to match the east side of the building with the west side but were also changing the style from the overly embellished  style of the late Victorian era to the more reserved Edwardian style.

The Bank of British Columbia building at the corner of Richards and Hastings Street is an example of the Victorian Italianate style. Built in 1889 to 1891 this somewhat sophisticated style was used to convey an image of prosperity and permanence for commercial buildings in the late Victorian era.

This particular building is a truly elegant version of this style. There is varied articulation of window cases, sill and plat courses, and rusticated ground floor pilasters.

Architect Thomas Charles Sorby and builder George C. Mesher pulled out all the stops for this building. The vaults are elaborate - giving the bank a reputation for being burglar proof - and the interior featured Minton tile floors and glass dividing walls between the banking hall offices.

This building, which has been known as the Rush Building, is a significant surviving representation of the architect's work. The fact that such a prominent builder such as Mesher worked on this building is indicitive of the more sophisticated conditions that did exist at the time.

I don't know if I have covered this next building. I checked and couldn't find it on my list so I am going to show you it now.

Mason's Duplex was built in 1899 by real estate company owner John Mason. He was building other homes in the Mount Pleasant area when he built this one for himself. Crafted in the Queen Anne style with a large bay window and decorative woodwork in the gable end. For the majority of the time that Mason lived here the other half was occupied by George Lasberg. Lasberg was a bartender at the Carter House on Water Street, one of Gastown's original watering holes.

In the 1980s the duplex was raised to bring the original ground floor to street level. Due to the original hilly topography of Strathcona, the location of this house was below street level.

These next photos I took while walking along Pender Street. Or was it Georgia? I don't remember. I liked the effect created by years of the vines growing against the stucco.

You can't see it here but some of those veins are still attached to the buidling. Neat effect, don't you think?

I hope you find the beauty around you.

TAGS:Vancouver, Karen Magill, Mason's Duplex, Parr and Fee,Thomas Charles SorbyGeorge C. Mesher,Beaux Arts,history,

1901 and 1903: Good Years

Hello one and all. Did you have a great weekend? Mine didn't start off the greatest but I am pleased with how it progressed.

Today I am going to post a bunch of pictures and then some information on the city. Thanks to the website The History of Metropolitan Vancouver for helping me with the information.

Some of the photos I am showing you today are of interesting things I happen to see on my walks.

In 1884 huge knot free beams (112 feet by 28 inches or 34 m by 70 cm) left Burrard Inlet Sawmills bound for Beijing's Imperial Palace.

F.L. Carter-Cotton owned the paper The Advertiser, which was about a year old and on March 31, 1887, The Advertiser merged with another year old paper, the News.

These were taken through the window at a doctor's office.

Squatter Sam Greer - where Greer's Beach got its name (Greers Beach is now Kitsilano Beach) - shot the sheriff when the law officer came to evict him on September 26, 1891. Greer's act of defiance didn't help eithier since while the official was recuperating Greer and his family were removed, the buildings levelled and Greer jailed.

The founder of Roger's Sugar Refinery and his wife - Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Tingley. Rogers - had a housewarming party at their mansion Gabriola on Davie Street. The information I read states that there is a restaurant there now but the one mentioned is not listed so I will check on that one day.

King George V and Queen Mary were Vancouver's first Royal Visit on September 30, 1901. At that time they were still the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and the young city really showed off for them. The future ruler of England and his wife even got to watch "a forest giant being cut up" when they visited the Hastings Sawmill.

The future city of North Vancouver was booming as well in 1901. A census recorded 365 people living there and it was described in the British Columbia Directory as a suburban townsite.

A five-day steamer service that travelled from Seattle to Skagway - with a stop in Vancouver - was inaugerated in 1901. The Vancouver Board of Trade put pressure on to make sure this service was undertaken.

On January 6, 1903 the Vancouver Business College opened with four students.

On March 10, 1903 the old Ross McLaren mill in Port Coquitlam saw new life. The Fraser River Sawmills Company was formed on that day and operated out of the old mill. The Fraser River Sawmills Company would grow to become the largest shipper of lumber in the British Empire. 

April 15, 1903 was the day that Union activist Frank Rogers was shot and killed on a Vancouver Street. Although someone was arrested for this crime, the suspect was acquitted in court later and the murder was never solved.

Summer of 1903 was when a cable suspension bridge was extended across the Capilano Canyon and replaced an earlier, rougher version. This was the start of the first commercial attraction in North Vancouver. (Just in case you aren't aware I am speaking of the Capilano Suspension Bridge which is a major tourist attraction today. Now I would visit there and write the history but I am terrified of suspension bridges. Maybe someday though.)

I was walking along Robson Street on Saturday and happened upon this vehicle.

I wonder how he or she drives this?

On August 26, 1903 the Art, Historical and Scientific Association created the Vancouver Museum.

On October 1 of the same year a Mr. W.S. Holland heard a disturbance around 3 am. He looked out to see what appeared to be a large dog chasing his chickens. So Holland shot the intruder and then went back to bed. The next morning Holland went out to find not only a few dead chickens but also a big, dead timber wolf. Holland lived at the corner of Burnaby and Cardero Streets. Even back then that was in the city.

On October 8, 1903 at the St. James Hall in Vancouver, a social center for sailors - the first Mission to Seamen - was established.

On November 3 a plan was established to get rid of the pesky crows in Vancouver. Although a by-law banned the discharging of firearms in Stanley Park officials said they would look the other way that day as the park was closed to the city and numerous hunters came out to bag one of the creatures and get paid a bounty. The crow had the last laugh though. Today, near the Willingdon exit on Highway 1 in Burnaby, from about 5,000 to 8,000 crows gather every day as dusk falls.

On a reinforcement wall along Commercial Drive there is a series of mosaics set in the wall. This is one that I really like.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

TAGS:Vancouver, Karen Magill, B.T. Rogers, Gabriola,Fraser River Sawmills CompanyKing Edward V,Vancouver Museum,history,