433-445 Gore St

Other names: Hotel Reco, East Hotel

This building was constructed in 1912 at a time when Chinatown was expanding east of Main Street. Lee Kee owned the building, and was one of Chinatown’s leading merchants.

Architect Samuel Buttrey Birds designed this and numerous other buildings in Vancouver, and others in Chinatown. Like much of Birds’s work, the building is stark and utilitarian.

The ground floor accommodated various businesses, such as H. Wong Agencies, which acted as an employment agency for the shingle mills – one of the common areas for employment for Chinese men.

The upper floors provided housing. The building was known first as the Hotel Reco and later as the East Hotel. Lee Kee’s decision to build rental accommodation was likely informed by the fact that Chinatown’s population expanded considerably between 1910 and 1920. The hotel rooms were likely designed to accommodate working class Chinese, mostly ‘married bachelors’, in small single rooms.

Source

Canada's Historic Places

More information

http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=2743&pid=0