Bonaventure Apartments

The Bonaventure Apartments, located along Comox Street in the West End neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, is a four-storey, H-shaped plan masonry apartment building featuring Edwardian-era Classical architecture.

Constructed in 1911, the Bonaventure Apartments is valued as one of the early apartment buildings in Vancouver's West End neighbourhood, and is an example of the denser, multi-family housing constructed during Vancouver's early twentieth century development boom. The building is also significant for its association with original owner and local contractor James Young and for its Classical Edwardian architecture, as designed by William P. White.

The West End began to develop as a residential neighbourhood in the late 1880s. The area was popular due to its proximity to downtown, yet was far enough from the working harbour and industrial activity so that its primarily well-off residents could enjoy a tranquil domestic life. As the city grew beyond its industrial beginnings, Burrard Street began to emerge as the primary north south axis of downtown Vancouver, home to a variety of early institutions, including Christ Church Cathedral (built 1894), First Baptist Church (built 1910) and St. Paul's Hospital (Centre Block, built 1912-13). The Bonaventure Apartments was constructed in 1911, just off Burrard Street in a central location which boasted convenience and accessibility for its inhabitants; the building later became a not-for-profit housing site for those living with HIV/AIDS. The Bonaventure Apartments remains significant as a representation of the first major wave of multi-family housing development in the West End.

Local contractor James Young commissioned construction of the Bonaventure Apartments. Originally from Bonaventure, Quebec, Young arrived in Vancouver in 1889, whereupon he became one of the early builders in the newly incorporated city, constructing many business and apartment blocks. Among his most noteworthy contributions to Vancouver was the Odd Fellows' Hall, the Hotel Regent, and the Pantages Theatre. Upon his retirement in 1911, Young developed this building, which he named after his hometown. Young resided in the Bonaventure Apartments until his death in 1914. The building remains a tangible connection to one of Vancouver's early builders.

The Bonaventure Apartments was designed by Seattle-based architect William P. White, who was also active in Vancouver during its Edwardian-era boom. In Vancouver, he was responsible for the design of nearly a dozen buildings downtown, including the Englesea Lodge (built 1911) and his best-known project, the Sylvia Apartments (later called the Sylvia Hotel, built 1911-1912). The design of the Bonaventure Apartments reflects a refined approach to the preferred architecture of the Edwardian era. Structures built during this time typically expressed a more subdued style, as compared to the buildings of the more flamboyant Victorian era. The Classical design of the building is reflected in its prominent cornice with stepped parapet above, large iron brackets, formal entrance with terracotta columns, embellished masonry construction, and whimsical detailing. The Bonaventure Apartments is a valuable and sophisticated representation of the Edwardian era character of the West End.

The elements that define the heritage character of the Bonaventure Apartments are its:

- location along Comox Street in the West End neighbourhood of Vancouver;

- main floor set close to grade, accessed by a short flight of steps;

- shallow setback from Comox Street;

- continuous residential use since 1911;

- multi-family residential form, scale and massing as expressed by its H-shaped plan, fivebay width, four-storey height, flat roof, and full basement;

- masonry construction with: Flemish garden bond brick patterning with burnt headers and terracotta detailing across the front elevation; soldier coursed pressed buff brick headers above window openings; second floor windows featuring more elaborate headers with combed end stones and central key stone with grape and vine motif; third floor featuring fanned soldier coursing; and the fourth floor featuring a continuous band of soldier coursed brick above the windows;

- Classical Edwardian-era design features including its: symmetrical front façade with central aediculated terracotta-mimicking-stone entryway featuring engaged composite columns beneath an embellished architrave, and frieze with circular motifs and central lettering reading 'BONAVENTURE', with large cornice above; flight of steps with terracotta tile flooring; corner window of the second floor on both the east and west sides of the front elevation featuring a cast-iron Juliette balconies with terracotta bases and terracotta brackets; terracotta window sills, the third floor featuring dropped blocks at each sill corner; terracotta band dividing the basement and first floor, first floor and second floor, and third floor and fourth floor, the uppermost segmental band features dropped blocks with grape and vine motifs at regular intervals; pressed buff brick detailing across the third and fourth floors including diamond patterns above the third floor windows; outline rectangles between the fourth floor windows, and outline rectangles with central diamond designs beneath the cornice; galvanized iron cornice with large galvanized iron brackets; and flat roof with slightly stepped brick parapet with terracotta coping and central terracotta escutcheon and festoon;

- variety of original window openings on each elevation, arranged in a rhythmic fashion;

- original paired front door with glazing in the upper half;

- interior elements including: lobby with marble flooring, steps, and wall cladding, with decorative multi-colour tile mosaic at entryway, and arched entryway leading to the first floor of apartments with pilasters with scalloped detailing;

- two staircases, front and back, with newel posts with scalloped detailing, bullnose starting tread, dropped newel posts, and open balustrade;

- wall panelling along stairwell; and vaulted hipped skylight.