Woodward's building
Encyclopedia
Downtown Eastside
The Downtown Eastside is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is known as "Canada's poorest postal code"....
of Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The original portion of the building was constructed in 1903 for the Woodward's
Woodward's
Woodward's was the name of a department store chain which operated in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada for one hundred years, before its sale to the Hudson's Bay Company .-History:...
Department Store when that area of Cordova Street was the heart of Vancouver's retail shopping district. At one time this was the premiere shopping destination in Vancouver. The store was famous for its Christmas window displays and its basement Food Floor, and the "W" sign at the top of the building was a distinctive landmark on the Vancouver skyline. Since the bankruptcy of Woodward's in 1993 the building remained vacant except for a housing occupation in 2002 that initiated the redevelopment process. Redevelopment was seen by many as a key to revitalizing the Downtown Eastside, but the demolition of the structure in 2006 and redevelopment of the site has met with some local resistance from the existing residents of the neighborhood. The Woodward's redevelopment is now complete with many residents and businesses now in the buildings.
History
The building was built in 1903 by Charles Woodward as the second location for the Woodward's department store. Woodward's pioneered the concept of one-stop shopping; the store included a food floor which was at the time North America's largest supermarket, household items, men's and women's fashion, and provided cheque cashing, travel booking and other services. The store was well known for carrying a large variety of goods that were not available anywhere else. The store soon became a feature attraction in Vancouver, and it expanded over 12 separate phases to a final size of 12 storeys. It occupied approximately 2/3 of the city block. The popularity of Woodward's attracted many other businesses to the area. In 1944 the landmark "W" was installed on the top of the building on a 25 metre replica of the Eiffel TowerEiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
, replacing a pre-war searchlight-beacon which had until then been the building's hallmark. The beacon, which was visible at night from as far away as Abbotsford
Abbotsford, British Columbia
Abbotsford is a Canadian city located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, adjacent to Greater Vancouver. It is the fifth largest municipality in British Columbia, home to 123,864 people . Its Census Metropolitan Area, which includes the District of Mission, is the 23rd largest in Canada,...
and Mission
Mission, British Columbia
Mission, the core of which was formerly known as Mission City, is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is situated on the north bank of the Fraser River overlooking the City of Abbotsford and with that city is part of the Central Fraser Valley. Mission is the...
, was shut down at the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
because of its potential use as a landmark for aerial attacks.
Woodward's fortunes declined as customers gravitated to more suburban malls, but the Vancouver location was also greatly impacted by the transfer of the Eaton's
Eaton's
The T. Eaton Co. Limited was once Canada's largest department store retailer. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an Irish immigrant. Eaton's grew to become a retail and social institution in Canada, with stores across the country, buying offices across the globe, and a catalogue...
department store from its location at West Hastings and Richards (a few blocks away), to the uptown location of Pacific Centre
Pacific Centre
Pacific Centre is a shopping mall located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is operated by Cadillac Fairview Corporation. Based on the number of stores, many of which are underground, it is the largest mall in Downtown Vancouver with over 100 stores and services...
kitty-corner from The Bay
The Bay
The Bay is a chain of 91 department stores that operate across parts of Canada. It is the main brand of Hudson's Bay Company , North America's oldest company. It has its headquarters in the Simpson Tower in Toronto. In French, the chain is known as la Baie, short for "Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson"...
, which signalled the demise of West Hastings Street as the central retail district in the city. The deindustrialisation of the old city centre also meant the contracting of its staples industry and the working class nearby. The decline of this group of people and the area meant the lost of an important source of clients. Following deindustrialisation was the expansion of the quaternary sector of the post-industrial economy over at the West End, shifting major economic activities to the new city centre near Burrard and Georgia streets, further reducing Woodward's prominence. In the 1980s, Woodward's sold the food floor - long known for its quality and its line of unusual specialities - to Safeway
Safeway Inc.
Safeway Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, is North America's second largest supermarket chain after The Kroger Co., with, as of December 2010, 1,694 stores located throughout the western and central United States and western Canada. It also operates some stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern...
. The flagship food floor became an IGA
IGA (supermarkets)
IGA is a brand of grocery stores active in more than 30 countries. Contrasting with the chain store business model, IGA operates as a franchise through stores that are owned separately from the brand. Many of these stores operate in small town markets and belong to families that manage them...
store until the building closed as Safeway showed no interest in that location. During the same time, the area around the Woodward's building started to decline socially and economically. In 1993, Woodward's went bankrupt and closed its doors. Many of the store's suburban locations were sold to the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
for conversion to Zellers
Zellers
Zellers Inc. is Canada's second-largest chain of mass merchandise discount stores, with locations in communities across Canada. A subsidiary of the Hudson's Bay Company , it has 273 locations across the country....
and Bay
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
stores, but there was little interest in the historic downtown building. The closing of the Woodward's store precipitated an even more rapid decline in the area.
In fall 2002 a small group of community activists occupied the empty building for one week in a campaign to secure social housing from the Provincial government. After the police eviction a tent city was erected on the sidewalks around the building for another three months. The series of events is known as the Woodward's Squat, or "Woodsquat", which has been acknowledged for "setting in motion the eventual redevelopment of the landmark department store building".
New construction on the Woodward's site
In 1995 the building was acquired by Fama Holdings. The firm by using services of Brook Development Planning, Davidson Yuen Simpson and Foad RafiiFoad Rafii
Foad Rafii M.Arch. Architect AAA, MAIBC, MRAIC is a Canadian architect.In 2001, The Vancouver Sun in a headline article, named Foad Rafii as one of the 10 architects who shaped the Vancouver of today.-Education:...
Architects developed a plan to build private housing in the building. However, many of those in the neighbourhood strongly objected, as it was felt to be important that the project incorporate social housing. The provincial government of British Columbia decided to fund some social housing as part of the project, but Fama and the province could not come to an agreement, and the project died. The building stood largely vacant, except for the occasional film shoot.
In 2001 the province bought the building from Fama for $22 million. A variety of options were pursued to develop the building. In 2002 the building was occupied by an organized squat
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
that demanded that the building be developed into social housing. Eventually the city removed the squatters by force.
In 2003 the City of Vancouver led by Jim Green purchased the building from the province for $5 million, and began a public consultation process, asking the community what they wanted from the redevelopment. After a two stage competition between three developers in September 2004 the city selected Westbank Projects/Peterson Investment Group to develop and Gregory Henriquez
Gregory Henriquez
Gregory Henriquez is a Canadian architect, best known for the design of community-based mixed-use, institutional and social housing projects in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, Canada...
of Henriquez Partners Architects to lead the design of the new buildings, with Glotman Simpson as the Structural Engineers. The 400 million dollar project (almost one million square feet in size) includes 536 market housing units, 125 singles non-market housing units to be operated by PHS Community Services, 75 family non-market housing units to be operated by Affordable Housing Society, Nesters Food Store and London Drugs
London Drugs
London Drugs is a chain of Canadian retail stores with headquarters in Richmond, British Columbia. Its primary focus is on pharmaceuticals, electronics, housewares and cosmetics, with a limited selection of grocery items...
, TD Canada Trust
TD Canada Trust
TD Canada Trust is the personal, small business and commercial banking operation of the Toronto-Dominion Bank in Canada. TD Canada Trust offers a range of financial services and products to more than 10 million Canadian customers through more than 1,100 branches and 2,600 ATM Green Machines...
, The National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
and civic offices, a daycare, public atrium and plaza, and a new addition to the Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
downtown campus: the 130,000 sf School for Contemporary Arts. The oldest part of the complex (built 1903–1908) will be restored, and will serve as non-profit office and community space (31,500 sf), with tenants including W2 Community Media Arts
W2 Community Media Arts
The W2 Community Media Arts is a non-profit media arts organization in Vancouver, British Columbia located in the Downtown Eastside. The organization is developing a media arts organization in the new Woodward's building with Performance Space/Venue, Crossmedia Lab, community TV studio, FM radio...
. Construction began in winter of 2006, with substantial completion was scheduled for June 2010, but has been delayed due to complexity and was truly completed in September 2010.
The "W" neon sign
Neon sign
Neon signs are made using electrified, luminous tube lights that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting, which was first demonstrated in a modern form in December, 1910 by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show. While they are used worldwide, neon signs...
, which topped the building on the Eiffel Tower replica, was removed before the demolition and was replicated and re-installed on January 9, 2010. In 2008 the Vancouver artist Stan Douglas
Stan Douglas
Stan Douglas is an artist based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He has exhibited internationally, including Documenta IX, 1992, Documenta X, 1997, Documenta XI, 2002 and the Venice Biennale in 1990, 2001 and 2005...
completed a 30' by 50' image on glass depicting the Gastown Riots
Gastown Riots
The Gastown Riot, also known as "The Battle of Maple TreeSquare," occurred in Vancouver, Canada, on August 7, 1971.Following weeks of arrests by undercover drug squad members in...
of 1971. The over-sized photograph, together with a basketball hoop, has become the central focus within the atrium of the new Woodward's Redevelopment.
Original structure
The building grew over many years in incremental phases, so the structure varied in each phase of the building. The majority of the building was supported by concrete slabs and columns with only the original 1903-08 building using massive heavy timber construction from the old growth forestOld growth forest
An old-growth forest is a forest that has attained great age , and thereby exhibits unique ecological features. An old growth forest has also usually reached a climax community...
s that were available near Vancouver at the turn of the 20th century. Much of the square footage of the building was not retail space; mazes of stockrooms and offices comprised much of the building's space, outside the view of customers.
On the morning of September 30, 2006 all but the oldest original portion (1903-08 building) of the Woodward's structure was demolished with a "roll-over" implosion
Demolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
by Pacific Blasting which signaled the beginning of the construction of the new complex of buildings.
See also
- List of heritage buildings in Vancouver
- The Story of Woodward's - City of Vancouver Website - http://vancouver.ca/bps/realestate/woodwards/story.htm
- Woodward’s brings business — and vigour — back http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Woodward+brings+business+vigour+back/2501533/story.html
External links
- Article by Linda Baker - Woodwards in Architectural Record
- Woodsquat - Book on the housing occupation.
- YouTube - The implosion of the Woodward's Building.
- W2 Community Media Arts website
- Body Heat: The Story of the Woodward's Redevelopment - by Robert Enright, Gregory HenriquezGregory HenriquezGregory Henriquez is a Canadian architect, best known for the design of community-based mixed-use, institutional and social housing projects in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, Canada...
, Chris Macdonald, Alberto Perez-Gomez, Stan Douglas