Description of Historic Place

The Arco Hotel is a tall, narrow, elegantly detailed six-storey high, two-bay wide brick building comprised of a restaurant at street level and accommodations above. Built in 1912, it stands as a landmark building mid-block on the 100-block of West Pender Street, on the border between Vancouver’s historic Chinatown district and the Downtown Eastside.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Arco Hotel lies in its architecture and its history of use. It was built for John Walker in 1912 to designs by Braunton & Leibert, architects of numerous commercial and industrial buildings, including the Astoria Hotel and the Allen Building. It is an elegant exercise in the Edwardian commercial style, with an ornamented base and cap sandwiching a relatively plain central portion. The tall proportions are emphasized by the use of bay windows. The side and rear elevations, in contrast, are simple and unadorned, perhaps in anticipation of similarly tall buildings being erected on either side.

The original use of the building, typical of the area, is as retail on the ground floor and lodging rooms, presumably for single men, on the upper storeys. Originally called Patricia Lodge, it has been known as the Arco Hotel for more than sixty years. The present restaurant, 2 Jays Café, has been here at least since 1970.

The building, which occupies the entire lot, is constructed of brick bearing walls, spanned by steel beams over the ground floor and wood beams above. The recessed light well along the east side allows natural light to reach every room.

Source: City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Arco Hotel include:
- Tall, conspicuous landmark occupying the full lot on this block of West Pender Street
- Narrow proportions
- Tan brick cladding
- Architectural features of the front elevation, including the strong pressed-metal cornice with dentils at the top, secondary cornices over the ground and second floors, decorative panels with swags on the second floor, and bay windows with original one-over-one wood sash
- Separate doors to the ground-floor restaurant and the rooms above
- Recessed light well with wood sash windows along the east elevation
- Simple brick treatment of the side and rear elevations
- Fire escape on the rear elevation
- Continuing retail (restaurant) use on the ground floor and lodging rooms on the upper floors