Description of Historic Place

Built on a north sloping site, the BC Telephone Company Exchange is a one and one-half storey vernacular wood-frame structure that stands in a grouping of similar small-scale mixed-use buildings along Clarke Street, the original commercial and retail centre of Port Moody.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of BC Telephone Company Exchange is associated with the early twentieth century development of downtown Port Moody, the historic area of commercial and institutional buildings located near the conjunction of the railway and the working waterfront. The consistent and distinctive built form of the area dates from the time when Port Moody was developing rapidly as a mill town and Clarke Street was its commercial centre. This building is an important component of the Clarke Street historic grouping.

Purpose-built in 1917 as the local telephone exchange at a time when the city's population had grown to about 1,500, this structure was an indication of the rapid expansion of the telephone network throughout the region. The introduction of telephone service heralded a major change in peoples' lives by enabling greater contact with the outside world, signifying the maturation of the community and confidence in the future. Port Moody and New Westminster had telephone lines as early as 1883, but the construction of this exchange reflected the consolidation of local service within one company. The date of wartime construction was unusual, and demonstrated the growing importance of technological communication in the face of global events.

The Exchange represents the rapid expansion of the BC Telephone Company, a monolithic enterprise that was developing a provincial network of telephone services at the time. The design of the exchange was likely provided by the Building Department of the BC Telephone Company. As was common at the time for local telephone exchanges, it was designed with an office in the front and a suite of rooms in the rear, used as living quarters by the operator and their family. The building was designed to be residential in scale and appearance, compatible with its surrounding context.

Source: City of Port Moody Heritage Planning Files

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the BC Telephone Company Exchange include its:
- location within the historic commercial core on Clarke Street, amongst other structures of similar form and scale clustered near the rail line;
- setback from the street consistent with adjacent residential properties;
- residential form, scale and massing as exemplified by its rectangular plan and one and one-half storey height;
- moderate pitch front gabled roof with broad projecting eaves;
- wood-frame construction as expressed by wooden clapboard siding with cornerboards;
- dual entries, with what was originally a commercial entry at the front and a separate residential entry at the side;
- double-hung 1-over-1 wooden-sash windows, including a double-assembly unit in the front gable;
- central brick chimney; and
- concrete retaining wall at the front of the lot.