Description of Historic Place

Hoggan's Store is a two-storey, Edwardian style building located in a neighbourhood just north of the downtown core. The historic place is confined to the building footprint.

Heritage Value

Built in 1914, Hoggan's Store is a handsome, very good example of a vernacular Edwardian Commercial style building. This restrained, symmetrical style was very popular after the exuberant eclecticism of the Victorian era. The building is substantially intact.

Hoggan's Store is significant because it was, for many years, the only commercial building in Newcastle Townsite. Its presence is a tangible reminder that this area was, from its initial development in the early 1900s to the 1960s, a prestigious, almost exclusively residential neighbourhood. Today, although the neighbourhood is a mix of commercial buildings, apartment buildings and single-family houses, the surviving early residences and this building are evidence of the original character of the area.

Due to its corner lot location, Hoggan's Store has a prominent street presence and is a highly visible neighbourhood landmark.

Source: City of Nanaimo, Development Services Department, file #6800-20-H01-02/404 Stewart Avenue

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements of Hoggan's Store include:

-all of the elements of Edwardian Commercial style as expressed in the simple form and massing, symmetrical façade, overall restrained appearance, brick cladding, wooden sash windows, stained glass transom panels in the upper floor arched windows, pressed metal cornice, the cast iron columns, and the recessed storefront with obscure leaded glass panels.

-the building's corner location on the main neighbourhood thoroughfare within a grouping of historic buildings.