Description of Historic Place

The historic place at 21 East Hastings Street is a two-storey Edwardian commercial structure on the north side of East Hastings Street, on the southern fringe of the historic Gastown district in Vancouver.

Heritage Value

The value of 21 East Hastings Street lies in the historic relationship between this area and the economy of early Vancouver. It is associated with Gastown's history in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century as a mixed-use district and the centre for Vancouver's trade and manufacturing. When the City of Vancouver became the western terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway and the eastern terminus of the trans-Pacific shipment of goods in 1887, the hub of this intercontinental and international commercial activity was Gastown.

Built in 1914 by Gray Brothers for Mrs. Cole Dawson to house Henry D. Rae's clothing store, this is an example of the type of structures that were constructed to house the many firms that serviced the growing population of the area. Display windows on the main floor diplayed the latest in quality town wear or work clothes offered for sale to the constantly changing population of loggers and other resource industry workers. By 1916, the building was a retail shoe store; by 1935, it was the site of a shoe manufacturing business - a use which continued until the late twentieth century.

Its value also lies in the modest architecture; the building was built for a specific retail purpose and was not intended as a masterpiece of architectural design. The Edwardian design speaks to the change in public taste from the extensive ornamentation of the Victorian era to a more restrained form in the early years of the twentieth century.

Source: City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of 21 East Hastings Street include:
- the relationship between this building and its neighbours within the historic Gastown district
- external characteristics of the Edwardian style, including symmetrical design, brick construction, stone trim, heavy sheet metal cornice, and pattern of fenestration
- built to the property line with no setback
- ornamental brick work over the second storey window bays
- main floor storefronts