Clifton Hotel

The Clifton Hotel was first listed as the Clifton Rooms in 1911. It was designed by the architectural partnership of Parr and Fee. The building is Edwardian Commercial, a style known for light-coloured facades, symmetry, and limited ornamentation. It was owned by the Donners, a Jewish family, until the 1940s and was one of many Jewish-owned businesses between Smithe and Drake

The Clifton Hotel is now a Single Room Occupancy (SRO) establishment. SRO hotels were an integral part of Granville Street’s growth. Many of the businesses on the street catered to the working-class residents who were in these rooms.

Currently, as with many issues facing deteriorating SRO heritage buildings, the necessary renovations and increased rental rates have created tension between a need for low cost housing, and the cost of maintaining/renovating the buildings.

Single Room Occupancy hotels were an integral part of Granville Street’s growth, as many of the businesses on the street catered to the working-class residents or these rooms. Currently, as with many issues facing deteriorating SRO heritage buildings, the necessary renovations and increased rental rates have created tension between a need for low cost housing, and the cost of maintaining/renovating.

Source

Vancouver Heritage Register, Georgia Straight Article, Jewish Museum and Archives, Historical and Heritage Assessment document for Vancouver Rapid Transit-Richmond Airport

More information

http://jewishmuseum.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/TheScribe2013.pdf