Description of Historic Place

The four Victorian-era houses at 827, 837, 847, and 863 Hamilton Street are similarly-designed two-storey wood frame houses. 863, 837 and 847 Hamilton Street were built between 1893 and 1895, and 827 Hamilton Street was built in 1998. The houses are located in Vancouver’s Downtown South, an area adjacent to the Central Business District.

Heritage Value

The houses at 827-863 Hamilton Street are aesthetically valued for their typical Victorian design in the Queen Anne style and for their contribution to a cohesive streetscape. The houses are distinguished by their two-storey bays and fine ornamental detailing. The similarities of the houses, with nearly identical plans and a close spatial relationship between each building, contribute to a generally cohesive streetscape.

While the houses have incurred some physical changes over time, and were moved further back from the street during the consolidation and redevelopment of the site in 1990, the alterations speak to their viability and contribute to their historic significance. The houses were adapted to evolving commercial needs and converted to retail use in the 1990s. Of the four houses in this group, the Alex Gibson House at 847 Hamilton Street is the only house with all of its original decorative detailing intact. The house 827 Hamilton Street is a replica of the house that was built here in 1893.

The houses are of value as surviving examples of single-family residential development in a neighbourhood that predominantly consists of commercial structures and high-rise residential development. These houses are typical of the early residential property development that occurred in the city’s centre during the Victorian era. This cluster of houses is the only remaining grouping of houses that demonstrate Victorian-era development.

Source: City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of this grouping of four houses include:
- location in Vancouver’s Downtown South area
- common setback from the front of the lot and residential-character planting in the front yards that reflects the historic residential pattern of development
- two-storey residential form and balloon-frame construction
- the elements that illustrate the Queen Anne style of the houses, including the gable or hipped roofs, two-storey bays projecting from one side of the front elevation, dropped wooden siding, open front porch and upper balcony, and in some cases, decorative surface treatment, such as turned spindlework, ornamental balustrade details, and wooden shingles in the front gable
- the contribution of the houses to a generally consistent streetscape, illustrated by the common setback from the street, close spatial relationship of each house within the grouping, similar rectangular plan, residential form comprised of two storeys, and the overall consistent scale and massing