Koret Lofts

Location: 55 East Cordova Street, Vancouver, V6A0A5

What is now known as the Koret Lofts building has quite the historical past. Like a mirror, it reflects the economical journey of Vancouver's past and remained standing to tell the tale today. The loft was designed by Vancouver architect Edward Evans Blackmore. Blackmore was known at the time for his other projects like the first Pantages Theatre. Located next to the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks, this massive warehouse was initially built on the corner of East Cordova and Columbia St. in 1906 to support Robert Purves McLennan and Edward John McFeely’s hardware and building supplies import company. The Nova Scotian McLennan and the Ontario native McFeely were lucky in the early stages of their big investment to build this massive 7 lot building that spans over 150 000 square ft. During the Great Vancouver Fire, almost all the buildings under construction had burnt down with the exception of their warehouse framework. It had still been wet from floating in a raft, which gave them time to think of covering it with corrugated iron. This in turn was apart of the catalyst-building frenzy that ensued following the great fire and is a prime sample of warehouse commercial construction, and a shining exemplification of Vancouvers late nineteenth and earth twentieth-century push into the substantial regrowth of the West. Thanks to the Canadian Pacific Railway, they were able to distribute goods and supplies across the country for years to come. It wasn’t until the 1960’s when the firm was acquired by Acklands, an industrial supplies company that manufactured throughout Canada. Eventually, they were bought by a sportswear manufacturer know as Koret of California. At this time, the building’s lower floor was used as a regional distribution warehouse, and the upper stories were used for typical Vancouver art studios and film productions. Its final conversion occurred in 2004 when the building became a residential loft and now known as the ‘Koret Lofts’.

References

McLennan and McFeely Building. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2020, from https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=1174

McLennan and McFeely – East Cordova Street. (2019, April 15). Retrieved November 27, 2020, from https://changingvancouver.wordpress.com/2013/10/25/mclennan-and-mcfeely-east-cordova-street/