The Homer

Built in 1909 by Edward Hobson, this apartment block replaced a house built only four years earlier. In the height of Vancouver’s Edwardian building boom, the shift from houses to a denser mix of apartments and commercial activity had begun.

The first storefront use was a dye works, and later a steam cleaner and an ice delivery service until 1923. It then became a corner store – a confectionary and the Smythe Cash Grocery. In 1952 The Smithe Coffee Bar opened, later known as the Homer Café, a local dining landmark.

The Homer Building, with its prominent corner bays, retains its historic uses as rental apartments on the upper floors and storefront retail. The restoration of its original windows, grand staircase, signature domed roofs and metal clad cornice and exterior was completed in 2010.

Source

City of Vancouver Heritage Plaque