86-90 E Pender St.

This building once served as the terminus of the Vancouver, Westminster and Yukon Railway (VW & Y), first linking Vancouver with Seattle in 1904. The Great Northern Railway, an American railway company, absorbed the VW& Y in 1908 and took over the building. They stayed until 1919 when the company found space was too limited and acquired terminal rights for a new location at the east end of False Creek.

In 2003, interior and exterior alternations were made for a new building owner: Multivan Broadcast Corporation (Channel M). Changes included replacement of glazing and ground level entrances, the addition of three satellite antennae, and the incorporation of Chinese characters in the address and entrance signs. In 2010, the radio station moved to different location and Vancouver Film School moved in where it remains.

This site is part of the Chinatown Historic Area, HA-1 in the City of Vancouver’s zoning bylaw. It is included in the Vancouver Heritage Register as a recognized part of the historic neighbourhood. Other similar municipally protected sites within a Historic Area are marked on the map with an O instead of the usual Heritage Register categories of A, B, or C. Some of these sites may be newer construction but are nonetheless still protected. For more information on the bylaw that governs the Chinatown Historic Area see: https://bylaws.vancouver.ca/zoning/zoning-by-law-district-schedule-ha-1-1a.pdf

Source

Railroading a Renegade: Great Northern Ousts John Hendry in Vancouver, City of Vancouver Heritage Register File, History of Canadian Broadcasting, Van Map

More information

http://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/bcstudies/article/viewFile/629/672