Description of Historic Place

560 Beatty Street is a three-storey commercial structure located mid-block on Beatty Street, and filling the entire lot, in the Victory Square area of Vancouver’s eastern downtown district. It and its neighbours along the east side of Beatty Street are set at the edge of an escarpment, resulting in this building having a further two storeys below the Beatty Street level. These lower levels face the lane and what was once a railway spur line.

Heritage Value

560 Beatty Street has heritage value for being representative of wholesaling activities in this part of downtown Vancouver, demonstrating Vancouver’s important role as a distribution centre for products manufactured elsewhere. It also has value for its architecture.

Prosperity and settlement in the province in the first decade of the twentieth century meant that Vancouver quickly became the goods distribution centre of the province. By 1910 there was sufficient demand for good-quality warehouses and offices on the fringe of downtown Vancouver, which resulted in the Canadian Pacific Railway developing its land along Beatty Street. This building was built in 1908, while the majority of building along this block began around 1905, all with higher elevations on the lane/railway spur side, as a result of the escarpment. Several were expanded over time as business improved. The historic place illustrates the importance of the railway in the development of the City.

The present building has value as a representative warehouse of the Edwardian era. Like several others in the row, it is supported by a steel frame structure, with exterior brick walls that provided a measure of fire protection. The utilitarian exterior and interior are a clear indication of its original use. The blocky form, dense site coverage, and large clear-span floor plate are also representative of this kind of structure. The Beatty Street elevation has value for being typical of the Commercial Style, with its brick walls, metal cornice, flat window heads, and distinctive sills and lintels. The rear elevation repeats the motif of grouped windows, and is even plainer in treatment.

The building also has value for its associations with local and regional businesses and manufacturers. It was originally built as the base of Frederick Buscombe Co. Ltd., a local wholesale company specializing in houseware products. Its retail outlet was located at 15 West Hastings Street. The company purchased the property in 1906. Frederick Buscombe was a wealthy businessman and one-term mayor of Vancouver (1905-06).

Source: City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of 560 Beatty Street include:
- The prominent location within an important streetscape of similar masonry-clad warehouse structures
- The three-storey brick facade at the property line on Beatty Street and the five-storey elevation on the lower lane at the rear
- The straightforward massing with no setbacks
- The Commercial Style treatment of the Beatty Street elevation, whose features include white glazed brick, groups of four windows, recessed spandrels, corbelling above the windows, and the dentilled cornice at the top
- The second cornice over the ground floor
- The treatment of the ground-floor, including beaded mouldings around the windows and recessed doors
- The wood sash windows
- The red brick wall and groups of four windows at the rear
- The loading bay at the rear