Description of Historic Place

The British Columbia Securities Building is a nine-storey brick, stone and glazed terra cotta commercial building, designed in the Chicago School style with tripartite facade articulation of a base, shaft and capital. The exterior and interior details reflect the Edwardian era use of Classical Revival ornamentation. Located at a prominent corner at the intersection of West Pender and Homer Streets within the context of other commercial buildings of similar age and scale, this building dominates its surroundings and is a landmark in the area.

Heritage Value

Built in 1911-12, the British Columbia Securities Building is valued as a commercial structure that characterized the drastic economic upswing in British Columbia immediately preceding the First World War. With the arrival of the Great Northern Railway, followed by the Canadian Northern Pacific and the extension of the British Columbia Electric Railway interurban line into the Fraser Valley, the city witnessed an unprecedented wave of land speculation and commercial development. Vancouver was touted as the 'Metropolis of Western Canada' as financial investment poured in. The boom lasted until 1913, when local, national, and international disasters precipitated an economic downturn, followed by the First World War, which saw ten percent of the province's population serve overseas.

The building is an excellent example of Chicago School exterior articulation, Beaux-Arts Planning, and Edwardian-era Classical Revival ornamentation. Jointly erected at the height of the western Canadian building boom for the use of British Canadian Securities Limited, agents for investments in natural resources, and the Dominion Trust Company, it epitomized the restrained and sophisticated Edwardian response to the Classical Revival styles. Typical of the buildings influenced by the Chicago School, it is articulated into three horizontal sections. Anchored with a stone base, the brick-clad shaft soars to a two-storey cap of terra cotta and overarching cornice. The interior is also of exceptional value, and retains almost all of its original plan, materials and decoration. The elaborate two-storey foyer and the banking hall with its highly ornamented cast plaster vaulting is an impressive reminder of the importance of these large financial institutions that drew investment into the booming local economy. The eighth and ninth floors were particularly well-appointed, and offered spectacular views to the north over Gastown to the North Shore. This opulence is an indication of wealth and success at a time when investment capital was pouring into the province.

This building is a striking example of the work of Henry Sandham Griffith (1865-1943), a prominent architect known for his varied practice designing a variety of buildings. Born in England, Griffith moved to British Columbia in 1907 and established successful offices in both Vancouver and Victoria during the western boom years. An early example of the use of reinforced concrete for high-rise construction, this landmark building was built by the Norton-Griffiths Steel Construction Company.

Source: City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the British Columbia Securities Building include its:
- location at the southwest corner of West Pender and Homer Streets, in an early commercial area of Vancouver among other commercial buildings
- contribution to the streetscape as part of an unbroken streetwall with continuous retail storefronts
- commercial form, scale, and massing, as exemplified by its nine-storey height (with lower level) and rectangular plan, with light well
- flat roof with horizontal raised parapet
- masonry construction, as expressed by the granite foundation, Bedford Indiana stone trim, pressed brick cladding, tan terra cotta on the upper storeys and common red brick rear and side walls
- Edwardian era commercial design incorporating tripartite exterior articulation, regular symmetrical window grid and Chicago windows at the base and capital levels
- high quality and craftsmanship of its Classically-inspired detailing, including its recurring running fret details, egg-and-dart mouldings, engaged columns framing the front entrance, pilasters and splayed keystone lintels on the base and terra cotta medallions at the capital
- additional exterior features, such as iron fire escapes and the side wall airshaft
- original windows disposed in a regular and symmetrical manner, such as such as double-hung one-over-one wooden-sash windows with terra cotta sills in the shaft, double-height metal clad wooden-sash Chicago windows with cast iron spandrels on the base and capital levels, and double-hung one-over-one wooden-sash windows in the light well, and double-hung three-over-three wooden-sash windows on the rear elevation
- interior elements, such as the banking hall with mezzanine offices, elaborate cast plaster vaulted ceiling, marble wainscot and original double-height Remington and Sherman Co. vault with original file boxes, upper level corridor walls incorporating frosted glass office partitions, and terrazzo floors, entrance foyer with coffered ceiling, terrazzo, tile and marble flooring and brass Cutler Mail chute, double return main foyer staircase with marble treads, and other interior features, including original radiators, oak window and door surrounds, bathrooms with porcelain tile floors and walls, slab marble stalls, and original sinks and toilets