Description of Historic Place

Built circa 1850, the Soong Building is located at 69-71 Gore Street East in the heart of Perth's commercial district. This two-and-a-half-storey commercial sandstone building is an integral element of Perth's heritage streetscape, and is architecturally and historically significance.

The Soong Building has been recognized for its heritage value by the Town of Perth on 12 February 2002, By-law number 3423.

Heritage Value

The designer of the Soong Building is unknown however, the design is thought to be a collaborative effort on the part of the first owner, the Tay Navigation Company, and the contractor who built the structure. The Soong Building was constructed of locally quarried sandstone, laid up in a regularly coursed ashlar pattern and typical of early commercial buildings built in Perth during the 1850s. Many of these buildings were of stone construction, with a restrained style influenced by Scottish masons who built most of the early structures in Perth. The architectural style is typified as a vernacular commercial building. The building's name was derived from Howard and Doris Soong who operated Harry's Cafe at 69 Gore Street East from 1940 to 1985 and a Chinese style laundry in the other half. The Soong's were among the first Chinese-Canadian residents in Perth.

Sources: Town of Perth By-law 3423; Heritage Perth.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that define the Soong Building's heritage value include the:
- locally quarried sandstone, laid in a regularly coursed ashlar pattern
- symmetrical design with two storefronts facing Gore Street on the ground floor level and three symmetrical six-over-six windows on the second floor level
- orientation of the building overlooking Gore Street to the front and the Tay Basin to the rear, set in the heart of Perth's commercial district