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First Rogers Block

303 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6B, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1986/09/23

Exterior view of the First Rogers Block, c. 1895; Walker/Eveleigh Family
Oblique view, far left
Exterior view of the First Rogers Block; City of Vancouver, 2005
Front elevation
No Image

Other Name(s)

First Rogers Block
Rogers Block
301-307 West Hastings Street

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1894/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2007/08/17

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

The First Rogers Block is a three-storey plus lower level red brick building with stone trim, located on a moderate slope on the north side of West Hastings Street directly south of historic Victory Square Park, the site of Vancouver's first courthouse. The First Rogers Block was built for retail purposes with large display windows on the ground floor and offices above. To the east, the monumental Dominion Building now dwarfs the First Rogers Block.

Heritage Value

This building is significant for its direct association with Jonathan Rogers (1865-1945), a prominent Vancouver developer, contractor and financier. This was one of the first major projects undertaken by Rogers and named after himself. He had arrived on the first passenger train to Vancouver in 1887, and attended the first sale of Canadian Pacific Railway lots.

Despite initial speculative interest in Vancouver, there was a drastic economic slump in the mid-1890s, and many local merchants talked of leaving the struggling young city. At a public meeting in 1894, Rogers declared that the poor conditions were world-wide, and expressed his faith in the future of Vancouver. He announced his intentions to stay and invest in its future by starting construction on this masonry building on Hastings Street. It was said that his courageous show of faith at this meeting marked the turning point for many who decided to stay. Rogers's optimism was justified just a few years later when prospectors poured into the city to outfit themselves for the trip north to the Klondike gold rush, allowing him to build the second half of this building in 1898 and several other projects in the area. He rode the crest of the great western boom, culminating in his construction of the landmark Rogers Block on Granville Street, 1911-13. Highly respected in the community, Rogers was chair of the Vancouver Parks Board for nine years, an early promoter of comprehensive town planning and one of the founders of the Vancouver Art Gallery.

The First Rogers Bock is an important component of the early retail and commercial fabric that made West Hastings Streets one of the most prominent commercial streets in the early history of Vancouver. Rogers chose a site near the Vancouver Courthouse, which was then being expanded with a large new addition facing Hastings Street. The promotion of land sales in this district as an alternative to the original Granville Townsite provided additional stimulation to the commercial development of this area.

Furthermore, the heritage value of the First Rogers Block lies in its picturesque Late Victorian commercial architecture that was an exuberant expression of Vancouver’s commercial vitality and confidence. The design of the 1894 section, with its distinctive mixture of red brick with inset patterned courses and alternating bands of rough-dressed sandstone trim, can be attributed to architect William Blackmore (1842-1904), who established his office in the building when completed. Regular fenestration and generous glazing was achieved by the use of cast-iron mullions. When he commissioned the expansion of the structure, Rogers hired architects John E. Parr (1856-1923) and Thomas A. Fee (1860-1929), recently established in Vancouver. Their successful partnership that would have a profound effect on the look of Edwardian Vancouver. Despite the change in architects, the addition was seamlessly blended with the original construction, although a close inspection reveals that the two halves of the structure are not the same width, slightly altering the window proportions.

Source: City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the First Rogers Block include its:
- siting in an area of historic commercial buildings on Hastings Street
- contribution to the streetscape as part of an unbroken streetwall with continuous retail storefronts
- commercial form, scale and massing, as expressed by its three-storey plus basement height, rectangular plan and cubic massing
- flat roof with raised front parapet
- masonry construction, including the rubble-stone foundation, red brick front facade, rough-dressed sandstone coursing and sills, dogtooth-patterned brick spandrels, corbelled cornice, common red brick side and rear walls, and four original corbelled chimneys on the side walls
- exterior features such, as the front sheet metal cornice and cast iron decorative mullions between the windows on the top two storeys of the front facade
- regular fenestration

Recognition

Jurisdiction

British Columbia

Recognition Authority

City of Vancouver

Recognition Statute

Vancouver Charter, s.582

Recognition Type

Community Heritage Register

Recognition Date

1986/09/23

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Developing Economies
Trade and Commerce

Function - Category and Type

Current

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

Historic

Commerce / Commercial Services
Office or Office Building

Architect / Designer

William Blackmore

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

DhRs-554

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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