nelson's heritage buildings - kootenay...

2013-04-26 12:22 PMNelson Walking Tour: © Welwood & Fraser

of 10http://kootenay-lake.ca/lakeside/Nelson/heritage/NelsonsHeritageBuildings.html

Created by R.J. (Ron) Welwood & Alistair Fraser,with diagrams courtesy Robert Inwood, this ©material is based upon content from:kootenay-lake.ca

Architects When a name is known, it appearsin a box in the caption following the building’sdate and address. Architects known to havedesigned early local buildings: Henry Cane,Alexander Carrie, George Dillon Curtis, AlexanderCharles Ewart, Arthur E. Hodgins, James A.Macdonald, Francis M Rattenbury, W. GeorgeTaylor.

Walking Tour ofNelson’s Heritage Buildings

With over 350 designated heritage buildings and a populationof about ten thousand, a walk through Nelson opens awindow on an earlier time.

Many of those buildings are residential, but the town alsoboasts good early commercial and institutional structures.Several dozen of these are illustrated below. Visitors browsingNelson’s modern shop windows are often unaware of thegrander building above. To see the facade, cross the streetand look up.

All the buildings, below, were opened during a thirty yearperiod from 1895 to 1924. They are an easy walk from one toanother, being either along, or within a block of Nelson’smain commercial street: Baker. Some relevant architecturalideas:

High Victorian architectural stylesCommercial High Victorian generally took two forms inNelson. Queen Anne Commercial is characterized by baywindows, decorative brick work, asymmetricalcomposition and the use of towers for decorativepurposes. Italianate Commercial features a bold andelaborate cornice at the roof line, a series of archedwindows and an indented central entranceway with largedisplay windows on the ground floor.

Late Victorian architectural stylesThis period of architecture revived a wide range of historic styles. The Ecole des BeauxArts in Paris upheld Greek and Roman Classical styles. The Chateau style is a revival ofthe French castle of the fourteenth and fifteen centuries. This style incorporated steeplypitched roofs, towers and conical caps and dormer windows. A later style of commercialbuilding was based on the Chicago School of Architecture which returned to the grid workpattern of facade organization with subdued decorative features.

Architectural historyNelson, located in the heart of the Kootenay region insoutheastern British Columbia, is within sixtykilometers of the international border. A city of manycontrasts, it has mainly been influenced by north–southtrends in architecture with some commercial buildingsthat are more typical of those in San Francisco, Seattleand Spokane than those in eastern Canada. The ornate and grandiose High Victorian stylewas introduced to Nelson by a transient, fortune seeking population but modified by theconservative English settler. Even during construction, it was an architectural style thatwas twenty to thirty years behind the times.

A Nelson map showing the location of these buildings is found on the next page, and a diagramillustrating architectural features is on the tenth and final page.



A map of building locations

Information in the boxes dateaddress

architect(s)



1902502 Vernon St.

1. Post office & Customs House Spokane pink brick and Kaslo marbleprovide an interesting andpicturesque mixture of textures and patterns tothis building. Locals were furious when theconstruction contracts for this Chateau–stylestructure were awarded to Eastern Canadian firms.This building has also served as a Museum, 1955–59; City Hall, 1960–2005 and since 2006 asTouchstones Nelson: Museum of Art and History.

1926Vernon St. median

2. Houston Memorial Nelson’s first mayor, John TruthHouston, established Nelson’s firstnewspaper, The Miner, in 1890. Two years later hesold it and started The Tribune. Houstondeveloped the Province’s first hydroelectric planton Cottonwood Creek (February 1896), which helater sold to the city much to the objection of thetaxpayers. Note the horse trough behind themonument.

1909320 Ward St.Rattenbury

3. Court House F.M. Rattenbury, noted architect ofBritish Columbia’s Parliament Buildingsand Empress Hotel in Victoria,designed this building that cost $109,145.88. It isa fine example of Beaux Arts Chateau stylearchitecture with its high–pitched roof, tower withconical cap, gables and paired windows. Ironically,in February 1909, men from the gaol werecommandeered to "hurry things into shape" forCounty Court sittings.



1900403 Vernon St.Ewart, Carrie

4. Land Registry Office This High Victorian building usedfire–retardant materials retractableheavy metal shutters and a metal firedoor to protect the main entrance. It wascommissioned by J. Fred Hume, a Nelson hotelier,member of the B.C. Legislature and Minister ofMines.

1911, 1920303 Vernon St.

Carrie

5. McDonald Jam Factory A two–storey frame structure wasbuilt as a jam factory in 1911 with astone warehouse added in 1920. Thedesign included two–foot thick granite walls toserve as the street’s retaining wall. The owner,James Albert McDonald declared that his jamshould be “absolutely pure and free of falsecolouring, glucose and other cheap substitutes.”The Jam Factory received Nelson’s first HeritageBuilding of the Year awarded in 1980.

1899298 Baker St.Rattenbury

6. Bank Of Montreal At the time of its construction thisbuilding was considered one of thefinest commercial buildings in theinterior of British Columbia. This High Victorianbuilding with Italian influences creates anatmosphere of stability, security and permanence.Note the high parapet, the varied use of arches,the intricate brickwork and the terracotta inlayswith the Bank’s insignia.



1895280 Baker St.

1899266 Baker St.

Hodgins

7. (left) Hamilton Powder Co. This small structure is a well designedand preserved single–storey QueenAnne commercial building with its archedentranceway and windows, as well as a decorativecornice. The building was sold in 1911 to CanadianExplosives Ltd. and in 1927 to Canadian IndustriesLtd. (C.I.L.) 8. (right) London & B.C. Goldfields Co The Nelson Daily News, Nelson’slongest published newspaper,purchased this building in 1908 andoccupied it until July 2010.Stylistically, this is a Late Victorian building withits dentil–patterned parapet which rises well abovethe roofline, pilasters and curved lintels.

c.1897340 Baker St.

c.1895338 Baker St.

9. (left) J.M. Ludwig Leathergoods Built for William Goepel, actinggovernment agent and inspector ofprovincial government offices, this building wassoon used as a hardware, clothing and mining–supply store. It is the only remaining woodenframe building on Baker Street with a mansardroof. Note its simple but decorative shinglepattern. 10. (right) Bellamy’s Grocery Little is known about this woodenstructure except that it operated as agrocery store until 1972. This building is typicalboomtown architecture with a bracketed cornicethat gives an illusion of grandeur. Note thecarpenter’s detailed sunburst motif and thedecorative cedar shingles. The Bellamy andadjacent Ludwig structure received Nelson’sHeritage Building of the Year awarded in 1983.

1914378 Baker St.

1897364–370 Baker St.

11. (left). Maglio Block This Late Victorian style building isconstructed with coursed rusticatedblocks. The decorative designs of the cornice andthe puzzling use of keystones on flat lintels clearlywere used to make the building appear moreimpressive. The attractive, random stone firewallon the side probably was intended to be hidden byan adjoining structure. 12. (right) McKillop Building This Early Victorian style buildingwas constructed for AlexanderMcKillop, a mineral assayer and one–timealderman. The corniced parapet includes finialsand decorative brick panels. Note the SpokaneIron Foundry stamp on the central column.



1912371–377 Baker St.

Ewart, Carrie

13. McCulloch Block This granite building is in the LateVictorian–Edwardian style. Noticethe lintels, sills and cornice. By1912, the decorative appearance of commercialbuildings, as illustrated by this facade, was givingway to more functional designs.

1897421–431 Baker St.

14. Mara–Barnard Block Built for F.S. Barnard and J.A.Mara, this structure was one ofthe Province’s earliest branches of the Royal Bankof Canada. This elaborate High Victorian stylebuilding’s second storey bay windows are the onlyones remaining in the City’s commercial district.

1904441–449 Baker St.

15. Standard Furniture Store This Queen Anne commercialbuilding was constructed withlocally fired brick. Historical accounts suggest thatthis building was originally a furniture store wherethe owners also ran an undertaking business. Aswith many furniture stores of the day, coffins wereconstructed on the premises. The right side of thisbuilding, once occupied by Eli Sutcliff’sbarbershop, later became a cigar emporium.



1907459 Baker St.

16. Bank of Commerce Faced with Kootenay marble thisbuilding with its four Ionic pilastersand street–level lintels shows the influence of theBeaux Arts Classical style. With the Bank of BritishColumbia’s 1901 takeover, Nelson had one of thefirst Bank of Commerce branches in the Province.Reflecting its optimism and confidence in the City,the Bank built this branch in 1907.

1897446 Baker St.Ewart, Carrie

1900, 1929, 1953402 Baker St.

17. (left). Lawrence’s Hardware This building was the first three–storey structure on Baker Street. Notethe highly decorative brickworkfacade, arched windows and a high parapet. Thecornice projects so far from the parapet that itrequired the support of cast–iron modillions. 18. (right) Hudson’s Bay Co. The interior of this ClassicalRevival brick edifice featuredsolid oak fittings and maple floors. This emporiumsold groceries, liquor, dry goods, clothing, etc. formany years. Its massive liquor cellar was probablythe largest in southern British Columbia. Additionswere made in 1929 and 1953. It was adapted forreuse as a multi purpose complex in 1982.

1901488–498 Baker St.

Ewart, Carrie

19. K.W.C. Block Merchants, Kirkpatrick, Wilson andClements, paid $10,500 for thelots. Designed and built in oneyear, it long remained the largest mercantile blockin Nelson. At street level, one of the City’s finestgrocery stores offered delicacies from afar. Theturret, once typical of many corner buildings, isthe only one remaining on Baker Street. Archesover the windows on the third storey, decorativebrick work and pilasters tie the structural elementstogether.



1899560 Baker St.Rattenbury,

Hodgins, Carrie

20. Burns Building Designed for millionaire cattle king,Patrick Burns, this building served asthe Kootenay headquarters for the P.Burns Co. and housed one of themost comprehensive butcher shops in Canada.Note the stylized foliage in the imported terracottapanels above the bracketed cornice. Over theentranceway is the date stone with an obviousreference to Burns’ business.

1898571–579 Baker St.

21. Aberdeen Block Athough built for mine managerand hardware store owner,George F. Beer who later became a Nelsonalderman, this building acquired its present nameby 1900. The second–storey facade of this QueenAnne building includes connecting low windowarches as well as a parapet designed to include aplain centre panel flanked by more elaboratetextured brickwork.

1899601–607 Baker St.

Hodgins

22. Houston Block John Houston commissionedarchitect A.E. Hodgins to designand construct this Victorian block.Originally housing a bank, this building stillcontains two large concrete walk–in vaults. Noticethe double arched entrance with its columns oflocally quarried marble. The Houston Blockreceived Nelson’s Heritage Building of the Yearawarded for 1982.



1909639–641 Baker St.

Carrie

23. Eagles Hall The Fraternal Order of the Eagles,Nelson Aerie, was the twenty–second to be formed in NorthAmerica and the fourth in Canada. Built of brickand trimmed with local granite, this structureexhibits late Victorian Utilitarianism. While theground floor originally housed one of the finest drygoods and ladies’ wear stores in the Province, theupstairs meeting hall served and continues toserve the membership.

1920561 Josephine St.

Carrie

24. City Garage This granite building was erectedas a service station about the sametime as the automobile wasbecoming popular. The arched doorway in thecentre of the Josephine Street facade provides acontrast to the general square look of the building.

1897606 Victoria St.

25. City of Nelson Gaol Nelson’s first stone building wasconstructed as the city gaol (thesection farthest from Josephine Street). Twoadditions (1902, 1929) including the lockup servedas a storeroom and central offices for electricaldistribution to the streetcar system, businessesand residences. The majority of these buildingswere adapted for reuse by Kootenay School of theArts including second level additions in 1996 and2007.




Carrie

26. Kerr’s Apartments Once the best–preservedearly apartment block inthe interior of BC, thisbuilding was designed in the RichardsonianRomanesque style and constructed with granitequarried on site. The building, named after EdwardKerr, was considered to be luxurious and modernwith conveniences such as electric light, steamheat and gas cooking stoves. Near the top of theexterior’s west wall were charcoal markspurportedly a reminder of the adjacent OperaHouse fire in April 1935. A fire gutted this buildingin January 2011; its stone walls were demolishedin June 2011.


27. Capitol Theater This unpretentious structure wasbuilt as the Central Garage. In 1927,Nelson contractor, A.H. Green, commissionedVancouver architects to redesign it into an ArtDeco theatre, which was officially opened onSeptember 5, 1927 at a cost of $75,000. Afterserving as a movie house and catering to liveperformances for many years, the building slowlydeteriorated. It was sporadically used untilrestored and reopened as a fine 426–seat theatrein 1988.

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