Mount Crown Block
109 East 1st Street, North Vancouver, British Columbia, V7L, Canada
Formally Recognized:
1995/07/10
Other Name(s)
n/a
Links and documents
Construction Date(s)
1911/01/01
Listed on the Canadian Register:
2005/02/25
Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The Mount Crown Block is a three-storey plus basement Edwardian era brick clad commercial and residential building, located near the waterfront in Lower Lonsdale in the City of North Vancouver.
Heritage Value
The heritage value of the Mount Crown Block is associated with its location in Lower Lonsdale, the commercial core of North Vancouver, and the earliest, most historic area of commercial buildings on the North Shore of Burrard Inlet. Lower Lonsdale grew explosively from the turn of the twentieth century until the general financial depression in 1913 halted the ambitious construction of the previous years. The streetcar, ferry to Vancouver and the Pacific Great Eastern railway converged at the south foot of Lonsdale Avenue, the major transportation hub on the North Shore. The area represents a formative period in B.C.'s economy, driven at the time by major industries including logging and shipbuilding.
Built in 1911, the Mount Crown Block is valued as one of the prominent buildings from the boom era in the City of North Vancouver. Built for C.A. Lett and Son, at the time of its construction the Mount Crown Block was one of the largest apartment buildings in the city. The first floor of the brick and pressed metal clad building housed two retail shops, to provide commercial space for businesses seeking to locate in the active Lower Lonsdale area. Eighteen apartments on the two upper floors provided housing for the large number of workers needed to support burgeoning commercial trade and the shipbuilding industry.
The Mount Crown Block is valuable for its association with its architects Dalton and Eveleigh, one of Vancouver's pre-eminent firms known for their high quality commercial, institutional and residential buildings, including many apartment buildings and hotels. There is also value in its association with contractors Baynes and Horie, well-known builders who prospered as the Lower Mainland developed in the boom years prior to the First World War.
Source: Heritage Planning Files, City of North Vancouver
Character-Defining Elements
Key elements that define the heritage character of the Mount Crown Block include its:
- relationship to other commercial buildings in Lower Lonsdale
- location at the streetline, with no setback
- boxy form and symmetrical massing, with a central entry to the upper floors
- flat roof with raised parapets
- brick cladding, detailed with decorative inset brick panels on the third storey of the front facade
- projecting two-storey bays at front marking the residential floors
- multi-paned, double-hung 8-over-1 wooden-sash windows
Recognition
Jurisdiction
British Columbia
Recognition Authority
Local Governments (BC)
Recognition Statute
Local Government Act, s.954
Recognition Type
Community Heritage Register
Recognition Date
1995/07/10
Historical Information
Significant Date(s)
n/a
Theme - Category and Type
- Developing Economies
- Trade and Commerce
Function - Category and Type
Current
- Commerce / Commercial Services
- Office or Office Building
- Residence
- Multiple Dwelling
Historic
Architect / Designer
Dalton and Eveleigh
Builder
Baynes and Horie
Additional Information
Location of Supporting Documentation
Heritage Planning Files, City of North Vancouver
Cross-Reference to Collection
Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier
DhRs-395
Status
Published
Related Places
n/a