McBeth and Campbell Building

Built in 1929, the facade of the McBeth and Campbell Building is valued for the simple Classical Revival influence displayed in its design, demonstrating the late persistence of traditional Period Revival styles. The building is characterized by an overall clarity of form and lightness of appearance with an austere but elegant facade of vertical proportions. It is notable for its lack of ornamental motifs, which are often aligned with such traditional styles, due partially to its late date of construction, when many designers were turning away from historic ornamentation towards a minimal modernism, and also due to the utilitarian nature of the business it housed.

Built for McBeth and Campbell, Printers and Binders, this building is significant for its association with its architect John Smith Davidson Taylor (1885-1952). Taylor opened his architectural practice in Vancouver in 1909, having emigrated from Scotland after a five-year apprenticeship in the office of the City Architect of Aberdeen. Before the Depression he had a prolific career in the city, designing commercial buildings, apartment buildings, and residences. Taylor is known for his legacy of sophisticated and urbane designs, as seen in his surviving designs for the Beaconsfield Apartments, 1909-10, and the Canada Permanent Building, 1911-12.

Although the main part of the McBeth and Campbell Building was demolished in 1998 as part of a redevelopment of the site for residential condominiums, the retained facade continues to contribute to the heritage character of the West Pender streetscape.