Description of Historic Place

The Callister Block is a three-storey late Victorian Italianate commercial structure, on West Cordova Street, in Vancouver's historic Gastown district. It is part of an important historic commercial streetscape.

Heritage Value

The value of the Callister Block lies in its historic relationship with this area and the economy of early Vancouver, and in its physical relationship to the historic streetscape. In the late nineteenth century, this area of Vancouver was the centre of commerce and industry. Within a radius of two to three blocks, almost every hotel, café, store and bar catered to itinerant resource industry workers, business travelers to the area, as well as to city residents. This building and those like it in the area were built for the specific purpose of providing retail goods to a largely male population.

The Callister Block, which housed Sehl Furniture, is typical of the two- and three-storey late nineteenth-century Italianate style structures built for the many firms that serviced the growing population of the area. Its relationship to the surrounding neighbourhood and to adjacent buildings as part of the evolving streetscape defines in part its historic value. Storefront windows on the street level displayed the latest in quality home furnishings, made and sold on site. Built in 1891, the Callister Block was from its earliest days home to established and prominent furniture-making firms owned by Jacob Sehl, James Hastie, and P. Erskine. They combined forces in that year to form the company of Sehl-Hastie-Erskine Furniture Co. Ltd. By 1898 the furniture business had been supplanted by a dry goods and clothing store, evidence of the transitional nature of the neighbourhood commerce. James Stark’s dry goods business continued to operate here until the business, which had by then taken in his two sons, moved to Hastings Street in 1909. More like a department store, it was described as 'a large and well-appointed establishment, splendidly equipped in its various departments.'

Also of interest was the presence of the Apostolic Faith Mission from 1913 until around 1935. The building was purchased by the Army & Navy Store for storage in 1960.

Source: City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program

Character-Defining Elements

Elements which define the heritage character of the Callister Block include:
- its relationship to the neighbourhood as part of the historic streetscape
- form, scale and massing
- characteristics of late Victorian Italianate commercial architecture including: heavy cornice with central entablature, division into four vertical bays which contain one vertical sash window, except the west bay which contains two; lintels over windows of segmented stone, and rusticated stone sills, and ground floor retail shop windows with support to building above provided by cast iron columns