Yale Hotel

The Yale was originally called The Colonial Hotel. It was designed by Noble Stonestreet Hoffar, a prominent early Vancouver architect who also designed the Cordova Street side of the Army and Navy department store.

The hotel cost $9,000. Construction of the building began in 1888 and was completed in 1889. The hotel was among a very small number of structures to be built on Granville Street during Vancouver’s formative years. It catered to Canadian Pacific Railway workers.

In 1907, new owners changed the name to the Yale Hotel, and two years later tacked on an addition at the back.

In 1984, the Yale Hotel became a well-known blues locale. Over the years, a who’s who of local and international blues musicians have played there, such as John Lee Hooker, Jeff Healey and Colin James.

In 2015, the Yale hotel was renovated and reopened as a blue and country music venue, with a mechanical bull. The iconic neon sign of a blue saxophone remains, and the entrance has been moved to Drake St.

Source

Canada's Historic Places, Vancouver Sun Article November 12, 2015

More information

http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=10823&pid=0