Description of Historic Place

The Coronation Block is a two-storey plus basement brick-clad commercial structure with apartments on the second floor, located in the Lower Lonsdale area of North Vancouver.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Coronation 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.

The Coronation Block is of value for its association with the North Vancouver Land and Improvement Company Ltd. and the Mahon brothers, who played a major role in developing the City. The building was commissioned by the Company, which, by the mid-1890s, owned over half the lots available for settlement in North Vancouver. The Company was founded in 1891 by John Mahon, who recognized the potential for development on the North Shore and began to pre-empt land. His brother, Edward, was the company president for forty-five years and a member of the committee instrumental in incorporating the City of North Vancouver in 1907. Mahon Street and Mahon Park have been named in his honour.

This building is also significant as a surviving design by architect William Frederick Gardiner (1884-1951), a prominent Vancouver architect known for his commercial and institutional work.

Source: Heritage Planning Files, City of North Vancouver

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Coronation Block include its:
- cubic form, horizontal scale and symmetrical massing
- location at the streetline, with no setback
- flat roof with raised parapets
- tan brick cladding, with common red brick cladding on other facades
- brick quoins on second floor front facade
- tall ground floor retail frontage with metal cornice above
- brick pilasters on first storey topped by decorative capitals
- symmetrically placed projecting bay windows on the street facade, with cornice above
- symmetrical fenestration with four window openings on the front facade between the bay windows