Description of Historic Place

The historic place at 5 West Hastings Street is a four-storey red brick Victorian Italianate commercial building located at the southern edge of Vancouver's historic Gastown district.

Heritage Value

The value of 5 West Hastings Street lies in the historic relationship between this area and the economy of early Vancouver. Built for mixed use, it typifies scores of residential/commercial buildings built in the late nineteenth century, when this area of Vancouver was the centre of commerce and industry. It was primarily populated by single men of working age, most of whom were employed in seasonal resource industries. This type of hotel was in high demand not only to house workers between jobs but also to accommodate travelers and businessmen.

The value also lies in the function and the architecture; the building was built both to provide housing and retail goods to the largely male population of resource industry workers and commercial travelers. Its design and construction are significant, as they reflect the last of the Victorian-era styles before the transition to the more restrained and functional Edwardian style, and to masonry and steel construction.

Source: City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of 5 West Hastings Street include:
- rectangular form and massing, that is of a consistent scale with the neighbouring properties
- its functional relationship with other historic structures on the block and within the Gastown historic district
- built to property line with no setbacks
- external details typical of late Victorian buildings, including ornamental brickwork, four arched, vertically-coupled recessed double-hung windows, rusticated stone stringcourse and sills, front elevation with unique decorative brickwork, including stepped brick dentil below cornice level, semi-circular circular arches over fourth-storey double-hung sash windows, and moulded brickwork under rusticated stone string course
- main floor storefront