REPORT TO COUNCIL

GASTOWN HISTORIC AREA PLANNING COMMITTEE

January 17, 2001

RECOMMENDATION

1. Gastown

Historic District of National Significance

The Gastown Historic Area Planning Committee, at its meeting on December 20, 2000, agreed to request Council to forward an official letter to the National Historic Site Committee seeking official National Historic Site status for Gastown.

BACKGROUND

Gastown vividly illustrates the transformation, between 1887 and 1914, of the City of Vancouver from a struggling colony into western Canada's largest centre of commercial activity. This historic commercial district represents the evolving dominance in commerce and finance at the high point of the western economic boom that predated the First World War. The preservation of Gastown has maintained a distinctive and tangible legacy of a formative period in Canada's economic and physical development.

The history of Gastown is the history of the arrival of the transcontinental railway on the west coast of Canada. The Canadian Pacific Railway is of great significance to the history of the Canadian nation. By physically joining both sides of the continent, a link was forged that allowed the connection of once separate colonies. The railway was a promise made to entice British Columbia into Confederation in 1871. Once established, the CPR allowed the free movement of goods and people throughout the country, and provided the means to reach international markets.

In 1887 the city of Vancouver became the western terminus of the CPR, and the eastern terminus for the trans-Pacific shipment of goods. Vancouver's natural harbour became Canad's main Pacific Ocean port, connecting the west coast of Canada to the world. The hub of this international. and intercontinental commercial activity was Gastown. Established in 1870 as the old Granville townsite, Gastown is the birthplace of the City of Vancouver. In 1971, in recognition of its historic value, the Province, at the request of City Council, designated Gastown and the adjacent area of Chinatown as historic areas.

Gastown has a consistent and distinctive architecture that provides a unified historic physical environment. The area's buildings are defined by a common Late Victorian and Edwardian commercial vernacular that illustrates the main development period of 1887 to 1914. Someof these buildings are distinguished examples (such as the Hotel Europe) while many others provide historic context. The consistent masonry expression is a result of one of the city's first building bylaws, that required the use of fireproof construction -- a response to the destruction of the city during the Great Fire of 1886.

The area also has a series of important urban open spaces -- including Maple Tree Square (the city's first public gathering place) and the diagonal rail right-of-way that was later used as the route of the BC Electric Interurban Line. The street pattern is also a distinguishing feature. Granville Townsite was the first part of the city to be surveyed (1870),and is oriented to the original line of the waterfront; later surveys follow different alignments; the result is a radial pattern that breaks the traditional grid layout seen throughout the rest of the city. This is manifested in the closed street vistas, and in wedge-shaped lots that fostered the development of landmark 'flatiron' buildings distinctive to the area. After designation occurred in 1971, an extensive street beautification was undertaken. This was the first Canadian area-wide upgrading initiative for the purpose of heritage conservation, and still frames the historic tone of the area.

Within the boundaries of Gastown we can find:

· a distinctive and recognizably historic group of buildings that comprise a harmonious representation of western Canada's boom era.
· Historic open spaces
· Historic infrastructure
· An early example of historic district conservation and beautification

Gastown appears to fit all the criteria necessary to be considered for National Historic Site Designation.

Therefore, as a result of these considerations, the Gastown Historic Area Planning Committee

RECOMMENDS

THAT Vancouver City Council formally request the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada to evaluate Gastown's potential for being declared an Historic District of national significance.

(Signed) "Sue Bennett"

Sue Bennett, Chair

Gastown Historic Area Planning Committee

COMMENTS OF THE DIRECTOR OF CURRENT PLANNING:

Staff support efforts to affirm the heritage value of Gastown and have discussed the possibility of National Historic Site status with GHAPC and Parks Canada in a preliminary way. At this time designation as a National Historic Site is primarily commemorative in effect and does notcarry any regulatory obligations or constraints. Identification as a National Historic Site may offer funding opportunities from the Federal Government in future, although the practical potential of this is very unclear. Existing National Historic Sites in Vancouver include Stanley Park, the Orpheum Theatre, and the Vancouver Art Gallery.

The request for National Historic Site status for Gastown may well be complimentary to the work currently underway in the development of the Gastown Heritage Management Plan (GHMP). The implications of this request, however, should be carefully reviewed in the context of the GHMP work and in regard to other City authorities and responsibilities.

Therefore, the Director of Current Planning

RECOMMENDS

THAT the report from the Gastown Historic Area Planning Committee be referred to the Gastown Heritage Management Plan consultant team so that this recommendation can be assessed together with the other initiatives that will be brought forward for Gastown.

CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS

The City Manager RECOMMENDS the foregoing recommendation of the Director of Current Planning be approved.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver