Woodward's Building
This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2011) |
Woodward's Building | |
---|---|
Structural Expressionism | |
Location | 128 West Cordova Street Vancouver, British Columbia |
Coordinates | 49°16′56.2″N 123°6′26.5″W / 49.282278°N 123.107361°W |
Opened | 1903 |
Demolished | 30 September 2006 |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 12 |
Floor area | 113,549 m2 (1,222,230 sq ft) (pre-2006) |
The Woodward's Building is a historic building in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The original portion of the building was constructed in 1903 for the Woodward's Department Store when that area of Cordova Street was the heart of Vancouver's retail shopping district. At one time, this was the premier 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 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. The redevelopment was seen by many as a key to revitalizing the Downtown Eastside. Still, the demolition of the structure in 2006 and redevelopment of the site have been met with much local resistance from the neighbourhood's existing residents. Woodward's redevelopment is complete, with many residents and businesses in the buildings.[1]
History
Early history
The building was built in 1903 by Charles A. 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 at the time North America's most prominent supermarket, household items, and men's and women's fashion. In addition, it provided cheque cashing, travel booking and other services. The store was well known for carrying many goods not available anywhere else. The store soon became a feature attraction in Vancouver, expanding 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.
The building grew over many years in incremental phases, so the structure varied in each building stage. Concrete slabs supported most of the building and columns, with only the original 1903–08 building using massive heavy timber construction from the
In 1944, the landmark "W" was installed on the top of the building on a 25-metre replica of the Eiffel Tower, 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 and Mission, was shut down at the beginning of World War II because of its potential use as a landmark for aerial attacks.
Decline
In the 1980s, Woodward's sold the food floor – long known for its quality and its line of unusual specialties – to
In 1993, Woodward's went
Redevelopment
Early proposals
In 1995 the building was acquired by Fama Holdings. By using the services of Brook Development Planning, Davidson Yuen Simpson and
In the fall of 2002, a small group of community activists
Community-led redevelopment
In 2003, the City of Vancouver, led by City Council member
On the morning of 30 September 2006, all but the oldest original portion (1903–08 building) of the Woodward's structure was demolished with a "roll-over" implosion by Pacific Blasting, which signalled the beginning of the construction of the new complex of buildings.
Results
The development permit for construction was issued on January 26, 2007, and while substantial completion was scheduled for June 2010, delays pushed that completion date back to September 2010.[6]
The "W"
-
Outdoor plaza, 2018
-
Indoor plaza, 2015
See also
References
- ^ "Woodwards District".
- ^ "the City of Vancouver".
- ^ City of Vancouver Real Estate Services (May 13, 2011). "The Story of Woodward's". Vancouver.ca. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
- ^ Doug Ward, “Anti-Olympic protesters get their game on,” The Vancouver Sun (29 January 2010)
- ^ "City of Vancouver News Release: SFU's School for the Contemporary Arts joins Woodward's development". vancouver.ca. Archived from the original on 2005-03-21.
- ^ City of Vancouver Real Estate Services (May 13, 2011). "The Future of Woodward's". Vancouver.ca. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
- ^ "Canada.Com | Homepage | Canada.Com".
- ^ "Photos & video: Woodward's W sign returns to Vancouver skyline". 9 January 2010.
External links
- Article by Linda Baker - Woodwards in Architectural Record
- Woodsquat Archived 2011-07-24 at the Wayback Machine - Book on the housing occupation.
- YouTube - The implosion of the Woodward's Building.
- W2 Community Media Arts website Archived 2009-11-07 at the Wayback Machine
- Body Heat: The Story of the Woodward's Redevelopment Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine - by Robert Enright, Gregory Henriquez, Chris Macdonald, Alberto Perez-Gomez, Stan Douglas