We’ve already seen the building that replaced the Tremont House Hotel in an earlier post. Here’s the structure that was there a little earlier. It was one of the shortest-lived buildings in the history of the city, having apparently been completed quite soon before the fire that destroyed the entire city on 13 June 1886.
We know the image was taken in 1886 – and obviously before July, and that the photograph is attributed to J.A. Brock. It’s in the early days of the city when the road hadn’t been made up, and the sidewalk was levelled with planks. Details about the hotel’s construction, the builder or anything else about the wooden building have eluded us. The design of the replacement building suggests the designer or builder of the two structures might be the same person – the cornice is a pretty good copy of the original building’s and it was made of wood not tin. The window arrangement is the same too, and when it was first built there was a balcony, as you can see on this 1889 Bailey and Neelands picture.
Image source City of Vancouver Archives CVA Hot P29, Vancouver Sun
