Description of Historic Place

The Western Canada Building is a symmetrical two-storey commercial building, distinguished by its coarse red brick facing, large windows, deeply recessed entry, eclectic sheet metal cornice and heavy cornice with dentils. It is located mid-block on the south side of West Pender Street, within the context of other commercial buildings of similar scale and age in central downtown Vancouver.

Heritage Value

Notable for its classical references and eclectic ornamentation, the Western Canada Building is valued for its architecture, that is largely unaltered, displaying a high degree of integrity. Built in 1914, this modest commercial structure is characteristic of buildings of the period for its use of large, evenly placed windows, and plain wall treatment topped with ornamental detail. Severely plain pilasters alluding to classical design frame each bay of this building, while the eclectic sheet metal cornice of classical block modillions adds to this reference but also displays Arts and Crafts references.

Owned by Western Canada Properties Ltd., this commercial structure was built for the Canadian Financiers Trust Company, giving the building significance for its role in the development of the Victory Square area as the financial and commercial centre of early twentieth-century Vancouver. Like the Canadian Financiers Trust Company, numerous financial houses, banks and firms established offices and headquarters in this area, making it Vancouver's central business district for many decades before the central business district shifted several block west to its current location.

The Western Canada Building is significant as a surviving early building by John Young McCarter, later a partner in McCarter and Nairne, a prominent architectural firm in the province from 1921 until 1982. The partnership of John Young McCarter (1886-1981) and George Colville Nairne (1884-1953) strove to promote BC industry and progressive technology.

Source: City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Western Canada Building include its:
- siting 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
- mid-block location on the south side of West Pender Street, built to the property line
- commercial form, scale and massing, as expressed by its two-storey height (with basement) and regular, rectangular plan
- flat roof with raised front parapet
- masonry construction with course red brick in Flemish bond, and stone sills and pilaster bases
- exterior details, such as its wooden panelled, recessed, front entry with attenuated brackets, marble and tiled floor, and plaster ceiling with moulding detailing; main doorway flanked by secondary ground level entrances, each with glazed doors, transom lights and sidelights; brick pilasters; eclectic roofline cornice with block modillion and Arts and Crafts details; corner chimney located in the northwest corner, at the rear of the building; and a lower level rear entry
- regular, symmetrical fenestration: first-storey, triple assembly, plate-glass windows with multi-pane, hinged, hopper transoms containing vertical muntins; console brackets at the top of first storey window mullions; and panelled spandrels between first and second storey windows