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http://www.historicplaces.ca/
Hotel
Metropole
320 Abbott Street, Vancouver, British Columbia
Other
Name(s)
Travellers Hotel
 Statement
of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The Hotel Metropole is a five-storey masonry commercial building
occupying part of the east side of the 300 block of Abbott Street,
with a secondary frontage on the mid-block alley, in the historic
Gastown district of downtown Vancouver. It is distinctive for
its two formal facades, on Abbott Street and the alley, and a
prominent projecting cornice.
Heritage
Value
Gastown is the historic core of Vancouver, and is the city's earliest,
most historic area of commercial buildings and warehouses. The
Gastown historic district retains a consistent and distinctive
built form that is a manifestation of successive economic waves
that occurred prior to the First World War. The area is recognized
as the birthplace of Vancouver, and was pivotal in the first twenty-five
years of the city's history and represents a formative period
in Canada's economic development. The Hotel Metropole is valued
as an early Gastown hotel, representative of the area's seasonal
population in the early twentieth century, as Vancouver emerged
as western Canada's predominant commercial centre. Hotels such
as this provided both short and long-term lodging, serving primarily
those who worked in the seasonal resource trades such as fishing
and logging. Many of these hotels served a combined function of
providing lodging on the upper floors, while commercial space
on the ground floor contributed to the lively street life in Gastown.
Built
in 1910, The Hotel Metropole is valued as an example of the classically
inspired architecture of the Edwardian era, illustrating how popular
styles were used by the hotel business to market a progressive
image. The exterior exhibits a classically-proportioned, tripartite
articulation, as reflected in the granite plinth, brick pilasters
at ground level, stone stringcourses, regular fenestration and
projecting metal cornice.
Originally,
this building was known as the Travellers Hotel; there was a Metropole
Hotel located across the street. When the original Metropole was
demolished in the mid-1920s to allow for the expansion of Woodward's
Department Store, the Travellers appropriated this venerable name.
In
the 1930s the original storefronts were altered with the insertion
of a series of Gothic-inspired entry doors and sidelights, reflecting
the traditional historicism that was again popular in the period
between the two world wars. These alterations marked a change
in attitude and liquor policy, when drinking establishments such
as this one turned inwards and no longer were allowed to have
open windows facing the street.
The
Hotel Metropole is further valued for its association with its
architect, W.T. Whiteway (1856-1940). Whiteway arrived in Vancouver
at the time of the Great Fire of 1886 and worked in Vancouver
from 1886 to 1887, then followed other building booms in the United
States and Canada before returning to Vancouver, where he became
one of the leading local architects. The contractor for the Hotel
Metropole was J.M. McLuckie, a pioneer Vancouver contractor who
became well-known for numerous commercial and residential commissions.
The hotel was an investment property that was originally owned
by Dr. Robert Clarke Boyle (1869-1926), a prominent physician
and surgeon in Vancouver and president of the Vancouver Medical
Association.
Image:Vancouver
Public Library:70711
Date:1939
Photographer / Studio: King Studio
Source:
City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program
Character-Defining Elements
Key elements that define the heritage character of the Hotel Metropole
include its:
- commercial form, scale and massing, as expressed by its five-storey
block form with no setbacks, a full basement and flat roof
- prominent corner location with two formal facades, with the
primary facade facing Abbott Street and a secondary facade facing
the service alley
- the historic mixed use of street level commercial space with
lodging on the upper floors
- original Edwardian era architectural elements, including: large
projecting sheet metal cornice on two facades; masonry construction
such as granite foundation, brick facade and stone string-courses
at each storey; and regular fenestration, with wooden sash windows
resembling the original double-hung sash
- elements relating to the 1930s alterations, including Gothic
pointed-arches and stained glass windows
- surviving interior details, such as the mosaic floor in the
interior ground floor
- basement-level areaway with glass prisms in the Abbott Street
sidewalk
Architect:
W.T. Whiteway
Builder: J.M. McLuckie |
