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200 East Pender Street

200 East Pender Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6A, Canada

Formally Recognized: 2003/01/14

Exterior view of 200 East Pender Street; City of Vancouver, 2008
Corner view from northwest
Exterior view of 200 East Pender Street; City of Vancouver, 2008
Pender Street facade
No Image

Other Name(s)

n/a

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1895/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2008/12/01

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

Located in Vancouver’s historic Chinatown, at the southeast corner of Main and Pender Street, this two-storey red brick commercial building, with its main elevation facing Main Street, has shops on the ground floor and professional offices above. The oldest part of the building, located at the corner, was constructed in 1895. An addition was made to the east, along Pender Street, in 1907.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of 200 East Pender Street is found in the way its history reflects and informs our understanding of the history of Vancouver's Chinatown, including the development of Main Street and the shifting boundaries of Chinatown. Heritage value is also found in the architecture.

Construction in 1895 of the front half of this building, facing Main Street, was part of the first wave of development along Main Street, south of Hasting Street. As Vancouver grew after 1886, Main Street (then known as Westminster Avenue) became one of its principal arterial roads. The building reflects this development. The early construction date and the continuing use for commercial purposes reflects Vancouver's historical geography and forms part of the heritage value.

The red brick exterior, tall and narrow arched windows, and vestigial angled entry at the corner are typical of commercial architecture of the time. Built by James Borland, possibly in association with James Ironside (who built the adjoining structure at 506-10 Main Street), the building represents the role that local investors played in shaping Vancouver. At the time of its construction, Borland was employed as a plasterer. Like many others in the building trades he went on a career as a small-scale developer and ‘building agent'. In 1907, Borland extended the building east along Pender Street to the lane. This reflected the general intensification of commercial development in the area in the decade before World War I, a product of Vancouver’s development boom of the time.

The history of use and ownership provides insights into the neighbourhood. The ground floor has been consistently used for shops, including several drug stores. As Chinatown's boundaries shifted and extended south and east, across Main Street, along Pender, and into adjacent streets in the 1910s, the tenants shifted to Chinese from non-Chinese. While some tenants came and went, others, including the Mon Sun Barbershop (more than seventy years) and the King Hong Co. Chop Suey House remained for long periods. These long associations reflect the enduring importance of Chinatown to the Chinese community as a place where services and familiar foods could be procured.

The upper floors have been used for lodging rooms, professional offices, and the meeting rooms of a Chinese musical society. Among the early professional tenants was Dr. J. Scott Conklin, remembered as a 'noted B.C. Medical pioneer'. The shifting pattern and mix of uses is typical of the area.

The change in ownership also reflected the expansion of Chinatown. Title was transferred from the Borlands to Gook Yin Pon and Won Chew in 1919. This Chinese identity was given physical expression first in signage and then, in the 1970s, with the addition of 'Chinese' elements to the building, particularly the tiled roofs. These changes reflect the designation of Chinatown as a historic area in 1971, and were a product of efforts, by the community and municipal planners, to foster the Chinese character of the area through design guidelines and heritage conservation.

Source: City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of 200 East Pender Street include:
- Location at the southeast corner of Main and East Pender Streets
- Part of a coherent late Victorian commercial streetscape, with similar buildings adjacent and nearby
- Use of the full site
- Entries off both Main and Pender Streets
- Features typical of architecture of the time, including the red brick, the tall windows, the segmental arches over the windows, the use of awnings, the setback entries, the two storeys, and the angled entry from the corner
- The division of the ground floor into small retail spaces
- The separate entry from the street to the upper floors and the mixture of uses of the upper floors over time
- The overlay of Chinese architectural elements, including signs, the tile roofs, the use of red paint, and the Chinese symbols on the building

Recognition

Jurisdiction

British Columbia

Recognition Authority

City of Vancouver

Recognition Statute

Vancouver Charter, s.593

Recognition Type

Heritage Designation

Recognition Date

2003/01/14

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

1907/01/01 to 1907/01/01

Theme - Category and Type

Developing Economies
Trade and Commerce

Function - Category and Type

Current

Historic

Commerce / Commercial Services
Eating or Drinking Establishment
Commerce / Commercial Services
Shop or Wholesale Establishment
Commerce / Commercial Services
Office or Office Building

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

DhRs-170

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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