80 East Pender Street
80 East Pender Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6A, Canada
Formally Recognized:
2003/01/14
Other Name(s)
n/a
Links and documents
n/a
Construction Date(s)
1911/01/01
Listed on the Canadian Register:
2007/07/30
Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The historic place at 80 East Pender Street is a Victorian Italianate two-storey brick building incorporating a store with accommodation above, on the south side of East Pender Street, the 'main street' of Vancouver's Chinatown.
Heritage Value
The building at 80 East Pender Street has value as a good example of the Victorian Italianate commercial style, unusual to Vancouver. The bay windows (restored in 1989), surmounted by concentric brick arches and perforated gables, show a high level of craftsmanship. The façade is representative of the variety of styles adopted for commercial buildings in the years around 1900.
Constructed in 1911 as a house with associated storage, the building also has value for its association with the American-owned Great Northern Railway. Its use after 1913 by the Great Northern Transfer Company reflects the development of the adjacent lots to the east by the GNR as the depot for its Vancouver line.
The presence of this building and its transportation-related tenant reflects the adjacent industrial uses and the marginality of Chinatown. It also speaks to the heterogeneous nature of the neighbourhood, which was predominantly, but not exclusively, Chinese.
Source: City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program
Character-Defining Elements
The character-defining elements of 80 East Pender Street include:
- Location on south side of Pender Street
- Lone architectural set-piece in a much modernized block
- Metal cornice shaped to suggest gables
- Pierced (perforated) parapet below the gables
- Articulated, concentric brick arches and pierced spandrels above the bay windows and the doors
- Decorative guilloche band
- Bay windows
- Label moulding over the storefront
- Symmetry of the facade, enhanced by the side doors
- Moulded brick panels beside the side doors
Recognition
Jurisdiction
British Columbia
Recognition Authority
City of Vancouver
Recognition Statute
Vancouver Charter, s.593
Recognition Type
Heritage Designation
Recognition Date
2003/01/14
Historical Information
Significant Date(s)
n/a
Theme - Category and Type
- Developing Economies
- Trade and Commerce
Function - Category and Type
Current
- Commerce / Commercial Services
- Shop or Wholesale Establishment
Historic
- Commerce / Commercial Services
- Office or Office Building
- Commerce / Commercial Services
- Warehouse
Architect / Designer
n/a
Builder
n/a
Additional Information
Location of Supporting Documentation
City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program
Cross-Reference to Collection
Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier
DhRs-137
Status
Published
Related Places
n/a