Description of Historic Place

The Rowcliffe Block is a small two-storey brick commercial building, built at 272 Bernard Avenue in 1908, in Kelowna's downtown commercial area.

Heritage Value

The significance of the Rowcliffe Block is derived from its association with the early produce packinghouse industry in Kelowna, and from the series of alterations and occupants that reflect the evolution of building form and land use in the downtown area.

The building has historical value for its close association with George Rowcliffe and Thomas Lawson, both significant members of the early Kelowna business community. Rowcliffe arrived in Kelowna from Manitoba in 1898, and a year later he and his brother-in-law, Thomas Lawson, opened a general store (Lawson, Rowcliffe & Co.). They also packed and shipped local produce to the prairies, being among the first to do so. In 1905, Rowcliffe took over the fruit-packing operation and sold his interest in the store to Lawson.

This historic place, which was built by Rowcliffe to house his fruit-packing business in 1908, possesses architectural value as a relatively early masonry building in the downtown area. By 1911 Rowcliffe had added a second storey, which initially accommodated a beautician (Miss D.E. Simpson), a dentist (Dr. R. Mathison), and a civil engineer (W.T. Ashbridge). The building was soon too small for the expanding fruit business, as many newly-planted orchards came into production. In 1912, 'in order to cope with the enormous crop soon to be marketed', Rowcliffe built an 'up-to-date' packing-house further north, by the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks. The original location had been convenient to the steamer wharf for shipping; the new location indicates that trains had superseded boats as the primary means of moving freight. Rowcliffe and his twin brother John later shifted to the canning business, the Rowcliffe Canning Company, which operated until 1964.

The transformations of 1908 and 1911 represent the changes in land use, typical for downtown Kelowna, from the industrial to the retail sector, and subsequently to the service sector, particularly food services, which gradually became dominant in the area generally. After the Rowcliffe fruit-packing business moved, realtors' offices occupied the east half of the lower floor and the west half housed a billiard hall. By 1929 the lower floor was occupied by the Traveller's Cafe. By 1945 it was the New Moon Cafe (Wong Dick proprietor). In 1962 the restaurant was owned by Sing Wong, and Sing's Restaurant was a fixture of Bernard Avenue until the 1980s. Nishi's Japanese Restaurant currently occupies the building.

The renovations over the years have changed or hidden many original materials and finishes. The original red brick front elevation remains beneath a later veneer.

Source: City of Kelowna, Planning Department, File No. 6800-02

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Rowcliffe Block include:
- The west party wall brick elevation, which reveals the original red brick
- The massing and proportions of the facade and its windows, likely unchanged from the original
- The similarity in form and massing to the adjacent buildings