Commercial Block

211 Columbia Street consists of a two-storey brick-and-stone commercial building built in two phases in 1893 and 1905-1908.
Named the ‘Commercial Block’, it was initially divided into three sections, each of which featured an electric elevator, the first elevators to be installed in the City.

The southern part of the building, comprised of nine bays, was designed by architect William Blackmore and constructed by Hunter Brothers Construction and J. Rogers in 1893.

William Blackmore designed many of Vancouver’s early commercial blocks, as well as houses, churches, and other public buildings. James and Thomas Hunter built numerous homes and smaller commercial blocks in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, helping to shape Vancouver’s built environment.

The later three-storey addition to the north, comprised of four bays, was most likely built between 1905 and 1908.

Source

Canada's Historic Places

More information

http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=2808&pid=0