Ray's Drygoods

Ray's Drygoods is part of an almost-continuous facade of simple, wood frame, false front style commercial buildings along Moncton Street. The building is of a similar scale to the majority of the buildings, oriented and built flush to the street, emphasizing the flow of pedestrian traffic which would have occurred early in the century along Steveston's main street. This pattern of commercial development characterized Steveston in the early part of the twentieth century, as the area boomed in population and economic wealth from farming and fishing. The Ray's Drygoods building is significant as part of this early and continuing historic pattern, a rare one in the city of Richmond. It is a fortunate survivor of the 1918 fire in Steveston, a good example of a false-fronted commercial structure, and prominently located at the corner of Moncton Street and First Avenue.