Gastown
the Gastown is part of Vancouver .Interesting places in Gastown:
| Old Woodwards Building | Army and Navy Store | |
| Steamworks | The Wine Thief | |
| Vancouver Film School |
Top photos chosen by u all:
Byrnes Block - 1886
Made by Bob_2006
2 Water Street, Vancouver, BC. Description of Historic Place: The Byrnes Block is a two storey, Victorian Italianate commercial brick building, with a later addition to the south located across a narrow passageway. It is situated on Maple Tree Square at the irregular intersection of Alexander, Powell, Water and Carrall Streets in the historic district of Gastown. The Byrnes Block is one of the oldest buildings in Vancouver located on its original site. Heritage Value: Gastown is the historic core of Vancouver, and is the city's earliest, most historic area of commercial buildings and warehouses. The Gastown historic district retains a consistent and distinctive built form that is a manifestation of successive economic waves that followed the devastation of the Great Fire in 1886, the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1887, the Klondike Gold Rush and the western Canadian boom that occurred prior to the First World War. The Byrnes Block embodies the sudden influx in investment capital that flowed into Gastown based on the certainty of growth promised by the arrival of the transcontinental railway. This building, and the Ferguson Block located across the street, are among the oldest extant buildings in Vancouver that are still standing at their original location; only the relocated Hastings Mill Museum building is known to predate them. The Byrnes Block is valued as the site of the Alhambra Hotel, located on the upper floor, a representation of the area's seasonal population in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Hotels such as this provided both short and long-term lodging, serving primarily those who worked in the seasonal resource trades such as fishing and logging. Many of these hotels had combined functions of commercial services on the ground floor and lodging rooms on the upper floors, which contributed to the lively street life in Gastown. The Alhambra Hotel was opulent in its time, contrasted with the numerous cheap wooden hotels built in the area before and after the 1886 fire. As the city grew and building materials became more readily available after the arrival of the railway, it was quickly expanded in a series of additions until it reached its present form. Additionally, the Byrnes Block is valued for its architecture as a fine example of the Victorian Italianate style from the late nineteenth century. It was designed by architect Elmer H. Fisher (c.1844-c.1905), who followed development booms westward across the frontier, and in early 1886 was the first architect to advertise his services in Vancouver newspapers. This commission for George Byrnes demonstrates Fisher's mastery of the Victorian Italianate style. He was soon lured south to Seattle where he was instrumental in that city's post-fire rebuilding, and many of his buildings survive in Seattle's Pioneer Square area. One of the first rehabilitation projects to be undertaken as part of the renewal of Gastown as an historic district, today the Byrnes Block stands as one of the cornerstones of Maple Tree Square, the city's birthplace and first public urban space. Source: City of Vancouver, Heritage Planning Street Files Character-Defining Elements: The character-defining elements of the Byrnes Block include: - spatial relationship to other late Victorian and Edwardian era commercial buildings - location, adjacent to Maple Tree Square, in close proximity to the waterfront of Burrard Inlet and the Canadian Pacific Railway yard, with Trounce Alley to the south side - siting on the property lines, with no setbacks - form, scale and massing as exemplified in its trapezoidal floor plan, flat roof and two-storey height - grouping of separate structures, with the original block at the corner, the later addition in a separate block to the south across a narrow passageway, and an ancillary structure at the rear, with an open space between - distinctive roofline, with chimneys at regular intervals reflecting the individual fireplaces originally in each hotel room - elements of the Victorian Italianate style, such as the elaborate pedimented window hoods and surrounds on the second floor, projecting cornice with alternating large and small eave brackets, and an elaborate arched corner pediment - masonry construction, including painted brick cladding with flush-struck mortar joints on two main facades and common red brick cladding on rear facades - fenestration, including: large rectangular storefront windows on the ground floor enabled by the use of cast iron columns; elongated double-hung 1-over-1 wood-sash windows on the second floor of the two main facades; and double-hung 2-over-2 wood-sash windows on the rear facades set in segmental arched openings - early use of prefabricated building elements, such as cast iron columns and pressed metal cornices - chamfered corner with corner entry - granite threshold slabs at ground floor door sills Canada's Historic Places
McConnell Block - 1890
Made by Bob_2006
350 Water Street, Vancouver, BC. Description of Historic Place: The McConnell Block is a three storey plus lower level masonry commercial building, located in the historic district of Gastown, in a triangular block where Water Street joins West Cordova Street with frontages on both streets. It was built as a contiguous structure with the adjacent Jones Block. Heritage Value: Gastown is the historic core of Vancouver, and is the city's earliest, most historic area of commercial buildings and warehouses. The McConnell Block is representative of the importance of Gastown as the trans-shipment point between the terminus of the railway and Pacific shipping routes, and the consequent expansion of Vancouver into western Canada's predominant commercial centre in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This structure is a clear indication of the extent and prosperity of commercial trade during the earliest period of the city's development. After the arrival of the transcontinental railway, office spaces were required for businesses related to the commercial activities of the area, and in 1890, G.S. McConnell commissioned this building to fill this need. McConnell was a prominent local citizen, and later served a two year term as city alderman. The McConnell Block is also significant as an early design by architect Noble Stonestreet Hoffar (1843-1907). One of Vancouver's first architects, Hoffar made a considerable contribution to the evolution of the city in the period between 1886 and the mid-1890s with his design and construction of many of the city's largest and most substantial Victorian Italianate structures. The McConnell Block is a modest example of his work, built as a contiguous structure with the adjacent Jones Block. Its simple detailing, and the eccentric differences in detailing between the two halves of the structure, represents the vernacular, almost haphazard approach to construction in the first years of Vancouver's settlement, when building materials and financing were intermittently available. Source: City of Vancouver, Heritage Planning Street Files Character-Defining Elements: The character-defining elements of the McConnell Block include: - location on the south side of Water Street, in close proximity to the waterfront of Burrard Inlet and the Canadian Pacific Railway yard - siting on the property lines, with no setbacks - location on a trapezoidal lot, as a result of the irregular street layout of Gastown - double street frontage on Water Street and West Cordova Street, as a result of the narrowing depth of the wedge-shaped lot - modest form, scale and massing as exemplified by the three storey plus lower level height, flat roof and small footprint - simple vernacular detailing typical of the first years of construction in Vancouver - masonry construction: brick side walls; brick cladding on front facades with flush-struck mortar joints; massive granite sills on the south side; modest sandstone detailing; and simple corbelled brick cornice - fenestration, including: two round-arched double-hung 2-over-2 wood-sash windows at the second floor on both street frontages; four double-hung 1-over-1 wood-sash windows in segmental arched openings at the third floor on both street frontages; and large rectangular storefront windows at ground level on both frontages - iron I-beams with rosettes spanning the Cordova Street storefronts - prefabricated round cast iron columns at storefronts - surviving interior features such as original room layouts Canada's Historic Places
Hotel Winters - 1907
Made by Bob_2006
102 Water Street, Vancouver, BC. Description of Historic Place: The Hotel Winters is a massive four storey Edwardian era masonry hotel, located on the southwest corner of Water and Abbott Streets in the historic district of Gastown. Heritage Value: Gastown is the historic core of Vancouver, and is the city's earliest, most historic area of commercial buildings and warehouses. Built for Mrs. A.M. Winters in 1907, the Hotel Winters is valued as an early Gastown hotel, representative of the area's seasonal population in the early twentieth century, as Vancouver emerged as western Canada's predominant commercial centre. Hotels such as this provided both short and long-term lodging, serving primarily those who worked in the seasonal resource trades such as fishing and logging. Many of these hotels had combined functions of commercial services on the ground floor and lodging rooms on the upper floors, which contributed to the lively street life in Gastown. The massive size of this structure illustrates the city's rapid population growth at the time, and the increased pressure to accommodate seasonal workers at a time when the economy was booming. The Hotel Winters is valued as an excellent example of commercial design from the Edwardian era, demonstrating the local influence of the Chicago School. This is evident in the tripartite facade articulation, and illustrates how popular architectural styles were used by the hotel business to market a progressive image. At the time of its construction, the Hotel Winters was considered one of the better hotels in the city, and was furnished with every modern and up-to-date convenience, including telephones and hot running water. It was designed by one of the city's leading architects, William Tuff Whiteway (1856-1940), who also designed the Woodward's Department Store at Hastings and Abbott Streets (1903) and the World (Sun) Tower at Beatty and Pender Streets, once the tallest commercial building in the British Empire (1912). Source: City of Vancouver, Heritage Planning Street Files Character-Defining Elements: The character-defining elements of the Hotel Winters include: - prominent corner location, in close proximity to the waterfront of Burrard Inlet and the Canadian Pacific Railway yard - siting on the property lines, with no setbacks - spatial relationship to other late Victorian and Edwardian era commercial buildings - massive scale and cubic massing as expressed in its monolithic four-storey height, flat roof and rectangular plan - masonry construction: pressed red brick cladding on the front and east facades; common red brick cladding on the rear and west facades; rough-dressed sandstone lintels and sills; and massive granite threshold at entry - rectangular storefront openings with prefabricated cast iron ground floor columns, inscribed with maker's mark 'SMW NW BC' - original chamfered corner entry, with original wooden door surround, transoms and dentils - central entry on Abbott Street to the upper floors with brick columns and intricately carved sandstone capitals, original wooden door surround, transom and dentils - double-hung 1-over-1 wood-sash windows on upper floors - sheet metal cornice above storefronts - surviving original interior features such as mosaic tile floor at entry, stair balusters, wall paneling and other woodwork Canada's Historic Places
Secrets 2005-09-17 23
Made by jmv
I love this photo...I think because of the memories of drawing 'vanishing point' cityscapes in gradeschool...
Free
Made by salty_soul
www.aeriosa.com
Nearest places of interest:
| Old Woodwards Building Vancouver Film School Army and Navy Store International Village | Helijet Terminal Crab Park The Wine Thief Steamworks |
