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Martin and Robertson Warehouse

311 Water Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6B, Canada

Formally Recognized: 2003/01/14

Exterior historic view of the Martin and Robinson Warehouse; Parr and Fee, "Vancouver of Today Architecturally," 1900
Front elevation
Exterior view of the Martin and Robinson Warehouse; City of Vancouver, 2004
Front elevation
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Other Name(s)

Martin and Robertson Warehouse
Buscombe Building

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1898/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2005/03/10

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

The Martin and Robertson Warehouse is a six-storey plus lower level Romanesque Revival masonry structure, located on the north side of Water Street in the historic district of Gastown. Built in 1898, it was expanded with two additional stories in 1903.

Heritage Value

Gastown is the historic core of Vancouver, and is the city's earliest, most historic area of commercial buildings and warehouses. The Martin and Robertson Warehouse is representative of the importance of Gastown as the trans-shipment point between the terminus of the railway and Pacific shipping routes, and the consequent expansion of Vancouver into western Canada's predominant commercial centre in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As Vancouver prospered, substantial warehouses were built on piles on infilled water lots between Water Street and the Canadian Pacific Railway trestle. The massive cubic form, high density, large clear-span floor-plate and notable height of this structure are a clear indication of the extent and prosperity of wholesale trade during this period. Built in 1898 to accommodate the growing business of Martin and Robertson in outfitting Klondike gold seekers, the building was expanded with two additional stories in 1903, reflecting the steady growth of the local population and economy.

The value of the Martin and Robertson Warehouse also lies in the substantial nature of its architecture, which reflects the trend in Gastown at the very end of the nineteenth century toward the construction of more permanent and impressive structures that replaced earlier wooden buildings. It is also important as an early surviving example of the work of William Tinniswood Dalton (1854-1931), a prominent early local architect, who designed the original building, as well as the two storey addition. In 1889, Dalton had moved to Vancouver to open a branch office for C.O. Wickenden, and four years later opened his own office. The influence of his former employer is evident in the Romanesque Revival style of his early projects, including this building. This style had a powerful rhythm and unity of materials that conveyed corporate strength and security appropriate to Late Victorian sensibilities.

Source: City of Vancouver, Heritage Planning Street Files

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Martin and Robertson Warehouse include:
- location on the north side of Water Street, in close proximity to the waterfront of Burrard Inlet and the Canadian Pacific Railway yard
- siting on the property lines, with no setbacks at front and sides; originally with loading bays at rear
- form, scale and massing, including its large floor-plate, six-storey plus lower level height, flat roof and rectangular floor plan
- smaller central bay on front facade, originally used as the entry, with wider flanking bays
- Romanesque Revival style, as exhibited in the powerful rhythm of the design and the unity of materials and details such as the arch-and-spandrel windows, rough-dressed stonework and decorative patterned brickwork
- rectangular front facade window openings on second, fourth, fifth and sixth storeys; round arched windows on the third floor
- masonry construction: patterned red brick front facade; common red brick side and rear walls; and rough-dressed sandstone used for upper floor string courses and sills and lintels at ground floor
- rectangular ground floor openings with massive sandstone headers; alternating bands of brick and sandstone courses on the ground floor columns; and sandstone capitals
- distinctive front facade fenestration: windows in a mixture of single, double and triple assembly which varies by floor both vertically and horizontally; double-hung 1-over-1 wood-sash on the second to fourth floors and double-hung 2-over-2 wood-sash windows on the top two floors
- rear facade fenestration with a mixture of 3-over-3 and 2-over-2 double-hung wood-sash set in segmental arched openings
- heavy timber frame internal structure

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)

1903/01/01 to 1903/01/01

Theme - Category and Type

Developing Economies
Trade and Commerce

Function - Category and Type

Current

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

Historic

Commerce / Commercial Services
Warehouse

Architect / Designer

W.T. Dalton

Builder

Theodore "Granite" Horro

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

City of Vancouver, Heritage Planning Street Files

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

DhRs-248

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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