Description of Historic Place

Built circa 1880, the Ham S. Wah Chinese Laundry is a three-storey, brick, Italianate commercial building. It is a corner building situated on the northeast corner of Sydney and Leinster streets on the eastern boundary of King Square in Saint John.

Heritage Value

The Ham S. Wah Chinese Laundry is designated a Local Historic Place for its association with the grocery industry of Saint John and for its early use as a Chinese laundry.

The Ham S. Wah Chinese Laundry is a nice example of the Italianate style in an urban setting constructed for commercial use. In many commercial Italianate brick buildings, the primary characteristics lie in the elaborate brickwork. This building has a denticulated roof-line cornice with a succession of roman arches with corbels. Many decorative brick bands extend throughout the façade in symmetrical pattern. The bays in the storefront are divided by cast iron pilasters and have wooden base panels.

The building's prime commercial location on the edge of King's Square saw frequent changes in occupants. Two types of business were frequently found there, both significant in the history of Saint John. The grocery industry in Saint John was described as follows in 1875: "The vast increase in manufacturing, and the change which has taken place in the manner of living among the agriculturists within a generation, have caused the importation of groceries to increase with great rapidity, and some Saint John houses, with customers all along the Bay Shore, on the St. Croix, to the head waters of the St. John, and the North Shore Counties, do a vast business". A grocer in the late 19th Century would sell imported and domestically-produced staples such as sugar, flour, and pickles, and the grocery industry at the time also responded to an increase in family consumption of packaged goods. The grocery store at this building saw a succession of proprietors serving families in the area as well as "jobbing", or delivering to outlying areas.

The building is also significant because of its former use as a Chinese laundry. Although little is known about this particular establishment, this building illustrates the existence of this trade in Saint John, as in other cities across North America. After the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885, which was largely constructed by Chinese labour, many of the Chinese workers began to move east and look for other opportunities. Canada responded with systemic discrimination. No other ethnic group in Canada's history has been the subject of so many laws restricting its immigration or the activities of its people in Canada. As a result, options for people of Chinese descent were severely limited. The hand laundry business proved to be virtually the only available economic niche in many places across North America. The hot, difficult daily work of the hand laundry included washing, ironing, pressing, packaging and delivering of clothes, as well as chopping wood.

Source: Planning and Development Department – City of Saint John

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of this Italianate corner commercial building include:
- three-storey rectangular massing;
- brick exterior walls;
- window placement and proportions;
- ornate denticulated cornice with corbels and arcade of blind Roman arches;
- recessed segmented arch openings with voussoirs;
- pilasters at the corners of the buildings;
- triglyph bands connecting window entablatures on 2nd and 3rd storeys;
- recessed spandrels between 2nd and 3rd storey windows;
- band of dog-toothed brickwork connecting sills of 2nd and 3rd storey window openings.

The character-defining elements of the storefront includes:
- wood base panels under bulkheads;
- fluted cast iron pilasters dividing large storefront windows and lateral entrance;
- flat frieze for enterprise name.