Description of Historic Place

The Mission to Seafarers building is addressed 401 East Waterfront Road on Port Metro Vancouver land in the City of Vancouver. It marks the entrance to the port on East Waterfront Road and is located at the north foot of Dunlevy Avenue. The building is located between the present waterfront of the Vancouver harbour to the north and railway tracks to the south. It is within close proximity to the waterfront and dwarfed by the immense cranes of the port. The building is a one-and-a-half-storey prefabricated wood frame office built in 1905 and is surrounded by small-scale manicured landscaping.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Mission to Seafarers building lies in its aesthetic, cultural, and social values.

The aesthetic significance of the building lies in its Craftsman-influenced prefabricated construction, for its technical innovation, and as a showpiece for the series of prefabricated structures the B.C. Mills Timber and Trading Company manufactured between 1904 and 1910. B.C. Mills was the industry leader in prefabricated structures at the time, and houses, banks, schools, and churches were shipped to buyers all over Western Canada by rail or by barge. Designed by Edward Caton Mahoney, the technical innovation of this building rests in the use of insulated prefabricated panels which were linked together by moulded weather-tight joints and then bolted into place. Windows and doors were incorporated in the panels, which likewise slid together and were locked into position by morticed sills at both the floor and eaves. It was the inclusion of these moulded joints that marked the chief innovation of Mahoney’s system over other prefabricated or “knockdown” systems popular at the time, which were not as weather-resistant. This building was constructed as a general office, sales centre, and showpiece, featuring elaborate interiors and rooms paneled in a variety of different B.C. Mills wood products, including fir, hemlock, red cedar, and balsam. It is thought to be the most well-preserved specimen of Vancouver’s remaining B.C. Mills inventory.

The building is culturally valued for its association with the lumber industry on the waterfront. The building is a physical representation of the B.C. Mills Timber and Trading Company and was erected on the mill site in 1905. It was built on the site of a sawmill that began production in 1867 and then named the Hastings Saw Mill Co. in 1870 after Rear Admiral Honorable Hastings, Commander of the Royal Navy base in Esquimalt. In 1889, the Hastings Saw Mill Co. merged with the Royal City Planning Mills Company and was renamed the B.C. Mills Timber and Trading Company. Its association with the mill is important because it is part of the community that grew around it, and because it is the last building associated with the mill that remains in its original location.

The building is also valued because of its association with the industrial development of the waterfront. It evolved from lumber mill-related administration to marine-related administration in 1925, when the mill site was purchased by the Vancouver Harbour Commissioners. In 1930, on announcing the move of their headquarters into the building, the company’s monthly report stated: “The site on which the offices are located is one of historical value, for around it was built the City of Vancouver.” The building served as the headquarters of the Vancouver Harbour Commissioners from 1930-36, and then for the National Harbours Board from 1936-73. Its adaptability and strategic location made it useful for port administration during most of the mid-20th century.

The social significance of the Mission to Seafarers building lies in its association with the international Mission to Seafarers established in England by the Anglican Church in 1855 to “care for Seafarers from all around the world.” The mission operates in over 300 ports in 50 countries around the world. The Mission to Seafarers has had a mission in this building since 1973, and a chapter in Vancouver through the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster since 1903. The building was adapted to provide a lounge and other social spaces for seafarers and a chapel with services provided by Roman Catholic, Protestant and Anglican Chaplains. Sold for one dollar to the Mission to Seafarers in 1981, the building was painted in a distinctive blue colour that is internationally recognizable to seafarers as the colour of all Missions to Seafarer buildings around the world.

Source: City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program

Character-Defining Elements

The location of the Mission for Seafarers building is defined by its:

- location in situ on Vancouver’s waterfront between the water’s edge and the Canadian Pacific Railway lines
- longstanding role as the “entrance” or “gateway” to the sawmill and the port
- location at the north foot of Dunlevy Avenue
- location in a small park, featuring a cairn designed by Gerhart Class, installed in 1966, which commemorates the 100th anniversary of the first export of lumber to Australia

Key elements that define the B.C. Mills Timber and Trading Company prefabricated design of the building include its:

- one-and-a-half-storey prefabricated wood-frame construction built in a residential vernacular
- hipped roof with multiple dormer windows and decorative brackets under eaves
- extensive use of wood and contrast in textures, evidenced by the painted cedar shiplap siding on the first floor interrupted by vertical battens that cover the panel joints and shingles in the dormers
- construction of prefabricated panels linked together by moulded weather-tight joints and locked into position by morticed sills at both the floor and eaves
- double-hung sash windows with transom lights and drawn glass, often grouped in pairs, on first floor
- pairs of double-hung wood sash windows in dormers, framed by pairs of turned wood columns
- full front verandah that wraps around the building on north, west and south elevations
- turned wood columns of hollow construction on the verandah
- brick chimneys

Key elements that illustrate the building’s cultural value include its:

- form related to the lumber industry and evolving use related to the marine industry
- three-storey vault at the rear of the building (1905) for use by the B.C. Mills Timber and Trading Company, with another three-storey addition (1954) for use by the Vancouver Harbour Commissions. The addition was converted in 1960 to double as a nuclear fallout shelter following Emergency Measures Order requirements for the National Harbour Board
- iron railing on verandah that features the letters commemorating the four different owners of the building: BCMTT – B.C. Mills Timber and Trading Company; HSM – Hastings Saw Mill; VHC – Vancouver Harbour Commissioners; NHB – National Harbours Board

Key elements that embody the building’s social significance as the Mission to Seafarers include its:

- close proximity to Port of Vancouver shipping activities
- service to the shipping industry as a mission
- distinctive blue paint, associated with the current use of the building by the Mission to Seafarers
- stained glass transom light depicting a flying angel