34-36 Powell St

This building is a good example of the Edwardian Commercial industrial and warehouse buildings that were characteristic of development in this part of Gastown, and represents the upgrade and adaptation of buildings of this kind in the 1990s.

After its construction in 1913, the building stood empty for several years, likely indicating an over-supply of speculatively built structures of this kind.

The original occupant, Toronto-based saw manufacturer Henry Disston and Sons Ltd., used it as a branch office, factory, warehouse, and repair shop. In the mid-1920s the building also accommodated D.M. Doherty Ltd., manufacturers’ agents. By the 1950s the prime occupant was still a wholesaler, but had shifted from resource industries to drug distributor Barham & Sands. By 1975, the building housed Pacific Supply Co. Ltd., a sporting goods importer and a karate institute. In the late 1980s, an art gallery was introduced on the ground floor.

In 1993-95 the building was rehabilitated and adapted (by Acton Johnson Ostry Architects) to accommodate an acting school and repertory theatre on the ground floor and residential units on the upper floors.
Seismic upgrading and new exit stairways upgraded the building to meet current safety codes.

Source

Canadas Historic Places

More information

http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=7876&pid=0