Description of Historic Place

The North Vancouver Cartage Company building is a small, vernacular one-storey wood-frame commercial building, clad in drop siding, located near the waterfront in the Lower Lonsdale area of North Vancouver.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the North Vancouver Cartage Company building is associated with its location in Lower Lonsdale, the commercial core of North Vancouver, and the earliest, most historic area of commercial buildings on the North Shore of Burrard Inlet. Lower Lonsdale grew explosively from the turn of the twentieth century until the general financial depression in 1913 halted the ambitious construction of the previous years. The streetcar, ferry to Vancouver and the Pacific Great Eastern (PGE) railway converged at the south foot of Lonsdale Avenue, the major transportation hub on the North Shore. The area represents a formative period in B.C.'s economy, driven at the time by major industries such as logging and shipbuilding.

Built ca. 1908, the North Vancouver Cartage Company building is valued as a symbol of early commercial activity in North Vancouver. It served as the offices of the Company, while the horses used in the business were stabled on less expensive land on East 4th Street.

Source: Heritage Planning Files, City of North Vancouver

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the North Vancouver Cartage Company building include its:
- location near the south foot of Lonsdale Avenue, the transportation hub of the North Shore
- square floor plan, modest scale and regular massing
- pyramidal hipped roof with cedar shingle cladding
- offset front entry
- fenestration, with wood-sash windows
- double-bevelled lapped wood siding with cornerboards