Description du lieu patrimonial

152 West Hastings Street is a three-storey masonry Edwardian commercial building on West Hastings Street in Vancouver, half a block from Victory Square.

Valeur patrimoniale

The value of 152 West Hastings Street lies in its location near the centre of commerce in the early twentieth century. From about 1907 on, construction of prestige office and bank buildings occurred at an unprecedented pace in Vancouver. The structures which arose during the period - the Dominion Bank Building, the Carter-Cotton Building, the Rogers Building and others - were of a new scale and design. Despite outward appearances of earlier design, they were among the most advanced buildings of their time. They used steel girders and concrete in their structural systems.

Built for the Rogers family in two stages and by two different architectural firms: John Edmeston Parr and Thomas Arthur Fee in 1901 and Edward Evans Blackmore and William Blackmore in 1904, this building has been used for a variety of small businesses. The first tenants were a bicycle dealer and Barr and Anderson, plumbers. A harness firm moved into the second stage when it was completed. In 1913, the harness firm was replaced by the Trocadero Grill, which would occupy the space for decades. The Vancouver Fancy Sausage Company was another long-term tenant. Both catered to the local residents in nearby hotels, as well as the customers of the other retail businesses in the area.

In 1939, E. Chrystal & Co. changed the east half of the facade to match that on the west; the cornice on the west half was removed as well and replaced with a single continuous cornice. The building reflects the change in public taste from the highly decorated facades of the late Victorian era to the more refined ornament of the Edwardian. Its lack of ornament, the symmetrical facade, and refined detail present a contrast to the more highly decorated structures along the rest of the West Hastings Street strip.

Source: City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program

Éléments caractéristiques

The character-defining elements of 152 West Hastings Street include:
- rectangular form and massing, with a scale in keeping with the streetscape
- its functional relationship with other buildings within the Hastings Street strip and adjoining neighbourhoods
- built right to the lot line with no setbacks
- presence of retail shops on the main floor
- characteristics of the Edwardian commercial style, including symmetry, pattern of fenestration, including paired arched windows on the third storey, and rusticated sandstone bands