Community Heritage Register
Carmoor Block
Port Alberni, British Columbia
Also known as Swale Rock Cafe Building
Carmoor Block, 3074 Kingsway Avenue
Photo: City of Port Alberni, 2006
- Built
- 1910–1912
- Recognized
- 2006
- By
- Local government
The register’s text, word for word
Description
The Carmoor Block is a two-storey brick commercial and residential building located on the southwest corner of Argyle Street and Kingsway Avenue in Port Alberni, British Columbia. It is distinguished by its bevelled northeast corner, grand central entrance and three storefronts with bay entrances. The facade of the building is articulated by large-scale concrete pilasters on its lower storey.
Heritage value
Built by businessmen Alfred Carmichael and Charles A. Moorhead, the Carmoor Block is valued as a product of the grand scale of commerce associated with the establishment of Port Alberni as the west coast terminus of the E & N Railway in 1911.
Built in two phases between 1910 and 1912, this substantial brick building reflects both the early economic and physical development of the town. Originally designed for commercial businesses such as the Alberni Land Company and the Bank of Montreal, and for professional offices on the upper stories, the Carmoor Block is a reflection of the financial optimism which shaped Port Alberni in the early twentieth century.
The Carmoor Block is further valued as one of Port Alberni's oldest surviving commercial buildings.
SourceAlberni Valley Museum and Archives
Character‑defining elements
The character-defining elements of the Carmoor Block include:
- the flat-roofed, two-storey form
- street-level configuration which includes four primary storefronts and one office space on Kingsway Avenue
- surviving elements of the original grand design, including the bevelled northeast corner, concrete pilasters on lower storey, cornices, window and door openings, and the grand entrance and stairwell leading to the upper storey
- original construction materials, including the brick and concrete exterior and wooden interior structural members
- surviving historic windows over storefronts
- surviving tiles under windows at street level
- surviving original fixtures and finishes, including subway tiles (shipped from England) in the grand entrance, wooden flooring, and window and door hardware
- ten-foot ceilings in the upper storey interior spaces
- surviving physical evidence of the building's original commercial functions, as seen in the two walk-in vaults on the main floor
End of the register’s text
Location
3074 Kingsway Avenue, Port Alberni, British Columbia, V9Y, Canada
49.23443° N, 124.81225° W
Get directions (opens in a new tab)Being on the register doesn’t make a place open to visitors. Many are private homes or businesses; please view them from the street.
Loading map…
Similar places
Places whose register descriptions are closest to this one.
From the Canadian Register of Historic Places, as last updated on December 12, 2025. The register’s text is shown word for word.