Stingray2004
Jul 14, 2009, 5:34 PM
GOVERNMENT OF CANADA CELEBRATES THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF GASTOWN HISTORIC DISTRICT
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, July 14, 2009--The Honourable Jim Prentice, Canada’s Environment Minister and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, today celebrated the national historic significance of Gastown Historic District, which he designated a National Historic Site of Canada, on the recommendation of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
“The designation of Vancouver’s Gastown recognizes the role of this special place in shaping the economy and development of western Canada,” said Minister Prentice. “The remarkable collection of architecturally significant buildings is an exceptional and early example of an urban historic district created by civic involvement in the heritage conservation movement.”
Gastown Historic District is an intact urban area of business and commercial buildings dating largely from 1886 to 1914. The area presents, an early Western Canadian city core and the growth of the Western Canadian economy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
“The buildings in Gastown Historic District are handsome, strikingly harmonious in their materials, scale and architectural detailing, collectively splendid examples of Victorian and Edwardian commercial architecture,” said the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade, Minister for the Asia Pacific Gateway and Regional Minister for the Province of British Columbia. “I am delighted to know that, through this designation, future generations will have the opportunity to enjoy them as part of Vancouver’s urban landscape and an integral part of the city’s vibrant tourism industry.”
"Gastown is the birthplace of Vancouver, and our citizens have been instrumental in ensuring that it could be preserved for future generations to enjoy,” said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. “It's gratifying to see that all of the work put in to revitalization and preservation measures is now being recognized nationally with this designation.”
In 1867, Captain John “Gassy Jack” Deighton persuaded some mill workers to build him a saloon on the south side of Burrard Inlet. From such modest beginnings, “Gastown”, as it came to be known, grew into the City of Vancouver.
Parks Canada works to ensure that Canada’s historic and natural heritage is presented and protected for the enjoyment, education, appreciation and inspired discovery of all Canadians, today and in the future.
http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/cp-nr/release_e.asp?id=1368&andor1=nr
Gastown Historic District National Historic Site of Canada
Gastown Historic District is an intact urban area of business and commercial buildings dating for the most part from 1886 to 1914, representing, through the visual qualities of the buildings, an early Western Canadian city core and the economic flowering of the Western Canadian economy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The District is an exceptional group of commercial buildings that displays, as a whole, the architectural styles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is a rare, harmonious group of buildings in terms of materials, scale and architectural detailing. As an early legally protected historic district, Gastown illustrates the activist heritage movement that emerged in Canada’s urban centres in the years around 1970, and the creation of local organizations intent on protecting the historic fabric of cities and reorienting urban redevelopment.
In 1867, Captain John “Gassy Jack” Deighton persuaded some mill workers to build him a saloon on the south side of Burrard Inlet. From such modest beginnings “Gastown”, as it came to be known, grew, in a location once frequented by large seasonal populations of Squamish and Musqueam. The earliest years of economic growth here were fuelled principally by the lumber industry, but two formative events changed Gastown forever. In 1884 the Canadian Pacific Railway announcement that it would extend its tracks to this area made it a target for speculative investment. And in 1886 a major fire cleared out ramshackle buildings, which made way for rapid development.
The Gastown buildings appeared within a relatively short span of time (1886-1914), responsive to the rapid economic growth characteristic of Western Canada in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These buildings are handsome indeed, strikingly harmonious in their materials, scale and architectural detailing, collectively splendid examples of Victorian and Edwardian commercial architecture. The few skyscrapers that were added in the early 20th century are innovative works of engineering for the time.
The Gastown area fell into decline during much of the 20th century and its buildings degraded into flophouses or were simply left vacant. Large-scale demolitions were proposed, which drew a speedy reaction from the many who wanted to save the area. Beginning in the late 1960s, Gastown once again became a popular destination and the area revitalized rapidly. One by one, individual buildings were rehabilitated for new uses. Finally Gastown (and Chinatown to the east) was designated a provincial historic area, making this an exceptional and early example of an urban historic district that was created by civic involvement in the heritage conservation movement. This signalled a new understanding in Canada that urban renewal did not necessarily mean the destruction of earlier urban fabric.
http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/cp-nr/release_e.asp?bgid=1152&andor1=bg
I wonder what the implications of this designation will be upon redevelopment/heritage preservation.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, July 14, 2009--The Honourable Jim Prentice, Canada’s Environment Minister and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, today celebrated the national historic significance of Gastown Historic District, which he designated a National Historic Site of Canada, on the recommendation of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
“The designation of Vancouver’s Gastown recognizes the role of this special place in shaping the economy and development of western Canada,” said Minister Prentice. “The remarkable collection of architecturally significant buildings is an exceptional and early example of an urban historic district created by civic involvement in the heritage conservation movement.”
Gastown Historic District is an intact urban area of business and commercial buildings dating largely from 1886 to 1914. The area presents, an early Western Canadian city core and the growth of the Western Canadian economy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
“The buildings in Gastown Historic District are handsome, strikingly harmonious in their materials, scale and architectural detailing, collectively splendid examples of Victorian and Edwardian commercial architecture,” said the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade, Minister for the Asia Pacific Gateway and Regional Minister for the Province of British Columbia. “I am delighted to know that, through this designation, future generations will have the opportunity to enjoy them as part of Vancouver’s urban landscape and an integral part of the city’s vibrant tourism industry.”
"Gastown is the birthplace of Vancouver, and our citizens have been instrumental in ensuring that it could be preserved for future generations to enjoy,” said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. “It's gratifying to see that all of the work put in to revitalization and preservation measures is now being recognized nationally with this designation.”
In 1867, Captain John “Gassy Jack” Deighton persuaded some mill workers to build him a saloon on the south side of Burrard Inlet. From such modest beginnings, “Gastown”, as it came to be known, grew into the City of Vancouver.
Parks Canada works to ensure that Canada’s historic and natural heritage is presented and protected for the enjoyment, education, appreciation and inspired discovery of all Canadians, today and in the future.
http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/cp-nr/release_e.asp?id=1368&andor1=nr
Gastown Historic District National Historic Site of Canada
Gastown Historic District is an intact urban area of business and commercial buildings dating for the most part from 1886 to 1914, representing, through the visual qualities of the buildings, an early Western Canadian city core and the economic flowering of the Western Canadian economy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The District is an exceptional group of commercial buildings that displays, as a whole, the architectural styles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is a rare, harmonious group of buildings in terms of materials, scale and architectural detailing. As an early legally protected historic district, Gastown illustrates the activist heritage movement that emerged in Canada’s urban centres in the years around 1970, and the creation of local organizations intent on protecting the historic fabric of cities and reorienting urban redevelopment.
In 1867, Captain John “Gassy Jack” Deighton persuaded some mill workers to build him a saloon on the south side of Burrard Inlet. From such modest beginnings “Gastown”, as it came to be known, grew, in a location once frequented by large seasonal populations of Squamish and Musqueam. The earliest years of economic growth here were fuelled principally by the lumber industry, but two formative events changed Gastown forever. In 1884 the Canadian Pacific Railway announcement that it would extend its tracks to this area made it a target for speculative investment. And in 1886 a major fire cleared out ramshackle buildings, which made way for rapid development.
The Gastown buildings appeared within a relatively short span of time (1886-1914), responsive to the rapid economic growth characteristic of Western Canada in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These buildings are handsome indeed, strikingly harmonious in their materials, scale and architectural detailing, collectively splendid examples of Victorian and Edwardian commercial architecture. The few skyscrapers that were added in the early 20th century are innovative works of engineering for the time.
The Gastown area fell into decline during much of the 20th century and its buildings degraded into flophouses or were simply left vacant. Large-scale demolitions were proposed, which drew a speedy reaction from the many who wanted to save the area. Beginning in the late 1960s, Gastown once again became a popular destination and the area revitalized rapidly. One by one, individual buildings were rehabilitated for new uses. Finally Gastown (and Chinatown to the east) was designated a provincial historic area, making this an exceptional and early example of an urban historic district that was created by civic involvement in the heritage conservation movement. This signalled a new understanding in Canada that urban renewal did not necessarily mean the destruction of earlier urban fabric.
http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/cp-nr/release_e.asp?bgid=1152&andor1=bg
I wonder what the implications of this designation will be upon redevelopment/heritage preservation.