Description of Historic Place

The Bank of Nova Scotia is a two-storey, masonry, temple-form commercial building, dominated by a segmental arch pediment. It is located mid-block, on the south side of West Hastings Street within the context of other commercial buildings of similar scale and age in central downtown Vancouver.

Heritage Value

Built in 1903-04, the Bank of Nova Scotia a fine example of temple bank architecture, significant as one of the earliest such buildings in the city. The building was originally designed with a smaller triangular central pediment and two-storey engaged columns framing the building. Maintaining the building's eclectic Neoclassical detailing, a segmental arch pediment was later chosen to replace the earlier triangular pediment. The classically influenced architectural styling chosen by the designers of the bank reflects the desire to project conservatism, permanence and security - particularly desirable characteristics for a financial institution.

The Bank of Nova Scotia serves as a tangible reminder of West Hasting Street's importance as a primary commercial corridor. Lined with substantial department stores, main branches of financial institutions and corporate offices, the presence of this building reflects this period of the street's history, when it was the financial, commercial and retail centre of the city before the central business district shifted several blocks westward.

The Bank of Nova Scotia is of value for its association with the prominent local architectural firm of Dalton and Eveleigh, headed by William T. Dalton (1854-1931) and Sydney M. Eveleigh (1870-1947). The partnership, formed in 1902, was responsible for the design, planning and supervision of numerous Vancouver buildings. Notably, the firm was responsible for Vancouver's first temple-form bank, the adjacent Royal Bank built in 1903, which was one of the first local buildings to abandon Victorian eclecticism and embrace the classicalism of the Edwardian era. The firm led the way in the establishment of the Classical Revival style popular during the Edwardian era in Vancouver, a style that became the standard idiom for commercial buildings before the First World War.

Source: City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Bank of Nova Scotia include its:
- mid-block location, built on a north sloping lot
- contribution to the streetscape as part of an unbroken streetwall
- commercial form, scale and massing, as expressed by its two-storey height and long, narrow, rectangular plan
- flat roof with raised parapets
- masonry construction with brick and stone facade elements
- Neoclassical-style detailing, including a dominant segmental arched pediment of sheet metal, with block modillion cornice and a deeply recessed tympanum, and stylized swags at the capitals of the end piers
- regular second-storey fenestration: recessed wood-frame casement windows with hinged hopper transom lights
- interior features, such as its original oak trimmed second-storey window casings, cast iron basement staircase with wooden rail and marble treads, terrazzo basement floor; and two basement vaults with white hexagonal tile floors and iron doors