Description of Historic Place

The S & W Apartment block is a two-storey Edwardian style building located on the main street of one of Nanaimo's oldest neighbourhoods. The historic place is confined to the building footprint.

Heritage Value

The S & W Apartment Block, Nanaimo's first known apartment building, is significant because it represents the introduction of a new housing form in the city. Until its construction, housing forms consisted of single-family homes, boarding houses, dormitories or hotels. The construction of this commercial building with its self-contained apartment units on the second floor spurred the development of similar buildings in the area and signaled Nanaimo's move towards more sophisticated, urban building options. The stores and apartments remain in full use.

Built in 1910, The S & W Apartment Block is a very good example of an Edwardian era apartment- type commercial building. It's restrained appearance and simple massing set the tone for the architectural aesthetic in this neighbourhood and the form of the street's development as a commercial strip. The building remains substantially intact.

The S & W Apartment Block is located at a prominent intersection and is part of a grouping of historic buildings in this neighbourhood.

Source: City of Nanaimo, Development Services Department, file #6800-20-H01-02/403 Fitzwilliam Street

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements of the S & W Apartment Block include:

-all the elements of the Edwardian Commercial style including the simple form and massing, the restrained appearance, the paired projecting bays on the front facade, the original narrow beveled siding on the upper level and the narrow cornice with paired decorative brackets.

-the location at a prominent intersection within a grouping of historic buildings.