Description of Historic Place

The McLuckie Warehouse is a five storey plus lower level masonry building, located on the north side of Water Street in the historic area of Gastown. The site slopes to the north; Water Street marked the edge of the original waterfront, and the lot was infilled to allow construction.

Heritage Value

Gastown is the historic core of Vancouver, and is the city's earliest, most historic area of commercial buildings and warehouses. The McLuckie Warehouse 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 early twentieth century. The massive cubic form, high density, large clear-span floor-plate and notable height of this structure are a clear indication of the extent and prosperity of wholesale trade during this period.

Architecturally, the McLuckie Warehouse is significant for its vernacular commercial style. Built in 1901-02, it represents a transitional period in Vancouver architecture, from the Romanesque Revival style to the classical influences of the Edwardian era. It is also of value for its association with local landowner and builder John Macfarlane McLuckie (1860-1927), who owned a number of properties on the north side of Water Street, and constructed many of the large warehouses in the area. As there was little available land left in Gastown at the time, the north side of Water Street, originally the waterfront, was rapidly being filled in to allow construction of these large-floor plate warehouses between the street and the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) trestle. Loading bays at the lower level faced the railway tracks, which allowed goods to be off-loaded directly from trains. The first tenant of this building was the wholesale grocery firm of W.H. Malkin and Co., whose occupancy of five successively larger warehouses on Water Street within a decade are evidence of the great pre-World War One economic boom in Gastown.

Source: City of Vancouver, Heritage Planning Street Files

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the the McLuckie Warehouse include:
- location on the north side of Water Street, in close proximity to the waterfront of Burrard Inlet and the CPR yard
- siting on the front and side property lines, with no setbacks
- form, scale and massing, including the large floor plate, five storey plus lower level height, flat roof and rectangular floor plan
- masonry construction: brick front, side and rear walls; two rough-dressed sandstone columns flanking the storefronts; sandstone lintels; and corbelled brick cornice
- fenestration: double-assembly double-hung 1-over-1 wood-sash windows, divided by vertical fluted mullions, on the front facade upper floors; and rear facade segmental-arched window openings, with double-assembly double-hung 1-over-1 wood-sash windows
- three prefabricated cast iron columns at the ground level, with 'Ross and Howard, Vancouver' maker's stamp
- iron I-beam lintels with rosettes above the rectangular storefront openings and above the fifth floor windows
- heavy timber frame internal structure, visible throughout the interior