Goodbye to all this

Whatever replaces it hopefully will celebrate vancouver photography, perhaps from a design perspective and advance pedestrian street commerce as well.

It’s going to be a five storey office and retail building, incorporating the retained heritage facade of the Power Block, but replacing the 1922 Farmer Building (with the optical store and small scale retail along Robson). The retail will be on two floors, and the design by Musson Cattell Mackey matches a lot of the more recent Granville Street retail infill, like the Capitol6 replacement across the street, with a lot of glazing.

The canopy that you seem unenthusiastic about is actually the original – if you check the Vancouver Public Library photograph from 1923 (VPL 21497) you’ll see the original storefront and canopy.

As this project is being built under the existing zoning there’s little that could be done to retain a building currently not on the Heritage Register, although a majority of the Heritage Commission were opposed to its demolition.

We’ll have an image of what’s proposed just as soon as the architect or the agents for the replacement project publish one.

I for one morn the loss of a building like this. Yes, it may not be the most dazzling building in the city, but it is very reminiscent of old Vancouver. And old buildings like this usually have a wonderful mix of eclectic stores – the eye glass store with great windows at every holiday, the cheap donairs, used clothing, diamonds, pipe shop – you name it. It’s buildings like this made Granville great yesterday and today.

Unfortunately the new building will probably have a Starbucks and a Nike store – not a lot new or interesting about that. I do hope that I get to eat those words, but that is what the new infrastructure usually brings.

It’s unfortunate that this is what is being re-developed. Just cross the street and see that empty facade that’s the side of the Sears building. That really ought to have something done with it since it’s a big empty space that doesn’t even incorporate any street art or anything and isn’t particularly interesting. Thumbs down to more glass dominated buildings even if they’re on a small and ‘pedestrian friendly’ scale.

Look what was lurking behind the building, a painted wall sign, for the Capitol Theatre, hidden for 90 years!

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Ghost+signs+from+Vancouver+past+spring+haunt+still/6198993/story.html