This 1927 image shows the shiny new premises of Messrs Macaulay, Nicolls and Maitland, one of the city’s more successful real estate companies. We looked at the history of the company when we posted about company founder J P Nicolls’ house. Nicolls, originally from Cornwall, England, teamed up with C H Macaulay in 1898 to found a real estate and insurance company. Charles Macaulay was from New Brunswick, and his wife Ethel from PEI. Only three years after the firm was formed, Charles could already afford to have a live-in domestic servant. In 1901 Charles was 32, Ethel was 24, his son Douglas was nine, Donald was two, and their domestic, Margret (sic) Featherstone from Quebec was 31, and her 17 year old daughter Ruby also living with the family.
This new building came after Ronald Maitland had become a partner in the company, in 1922. Ron seems to have come to Vancouver with his parents as a small boy; he was born in 1886, and already living in the city by the 1901 census.
The building was shown as being commissioned by Royal Securities Corp, presumably the Montreal based investment bankers, who had offices on West Hastings. It was designed by Sharp and Thompson. It’s just possible that this wasn’t accurate: Macaulay, Nicolls and Maitland were also each a shareholder in the Royal Plate Glass Insurance Company of Canada, formed in 1926 with three other partners. However, it could be that the ‘Royal’ connection is just a coincidence – Macaulay was general manager of the West Hastings based insurance firm while retaining his real estate partnership. It was built by A Rodger Construction at a cost of $125,000
In 1981 the site was redeveloped as Prime Capital Place a modest brick-clad office building from an era when red brick cladding and midrise office buildings were a popular preference in the business district.
Image source: City of Vancouver Archives Bu N298
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Changing Vancouver 