Description du lieu patrimonial

The Burr Block is an asymmetrical four-storey red brick Victorian Romanesque Revival building, with sandstone accents and arched recessed windows. Located on the north side of Columbia Street, the main commercial street in New Westminster's historic downtown core, this prominent building is situated on the eastern edge of the historic downtown and is the city's second oldest surviving commercial structure.

Valeur patrimoniale

The heritage value of the Burr Block is directly associated with the earliest development of downtown New Westminster. The city grew through successive economic waves that followed its founding as the capital of the Mainland colony of British Columbia in 1859. This building represents the impact of the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), and marks a formative period in B.C.'s resource-based economy. The Burr Block is one of the oldest on Columbia Street, and is particularly significant for being one of two Columbia Street buildings that survived the Great Fire of 1898, the other being the adjacent Guichon Block. As such, it represents the scale and style of construction that occurred in the downtown prior to the fire, as the post-fire buildings were constructed rapidly and were generally reduced in scale and opulence in comparison to pre-fire buildings.

The Burr Block is valued for its association with the Burr family. The original owner of this structure was a school teacher turned property speculator named William Henry Burr (1827-1896). The Burr family remained active in New Westminster at the turn of the twentieth century and were known for their involvement in local real estate and commerce.

Constructed in 1892 at the height of the Victorian building and investment boom in New Westminster, the Burr Block is valued as an example of the Victorian Romanesque Revival style. It features extensive use of unglazed red brick and terra cotta ornament manufactured locally by the building's contractor, Thomas Hemborough, and the Archibald Brothers. The Burr Block is an example of the work of architect George William Grant (1852-1925), a prolific architect, who designed many of the buildings in downtown New Westminster before and after the Great Fire. Following the fire, he moved his office into the Burr Block, where he redesigned and restored the buildings that survived, and designed replacement blocks for those that were destroyed, much reduced in scale and opulence in comparison to pre-fire buildings.

Source: Heritage Planning Files, City of New Westminster

Éléments caractéristiques

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Burr Block include its:
- location on Columbia Street, part of a grouping of late Victorian and Edwardian era commercial buildings in historic downtown New Westminster
- siting on the property lines, with no setbacks
- asymmetrical, tripartite form, four-storey plus basement height, flat roof and cubic massing
- Romanesque style elements including unglazed terra cotta, round arches, and recessed windows
- facade articulation, such as the distinct asymmetrical side entry bay; round edged pilasters; small intact granite corbelled cornice; original spandrels in local cast terra cotta; dentils; ornamental cast-iron balustrade; granite sills; horizontal name plate on the top storey
- heavy timber-frame interior structure
- atrium with a skylight that extends down to the second floor