Tip Top Tailors were a Toronto-based clothing firm founded in the 1909, and expanding across Canada. Their first store here was in 1920, and by 1926 the store was at 301 West Hastings. Their directory entry included ‘One Price Only: $27 Made to Measure’ in the address. By the mid 1940s they had a branch at 199 W Hastings, and another on Granville Street.
In 1948 they commissioned a new store on the 400 block, hiring Dominion Construction as the builder, and designer. Charles Bentall signed off on the drawings, although he had many years of conflict with the AIBC, having trained as an engineer. The image was shot in 1949 by Don Coltman for the Aluminum Co of Canada, who supplied the window frames and light post.
The new store had details that benefitted from having an engineer as designer. The facade and interior featured anodised aluminium supplied by the Rustproofing Division of Western Bridge and Steel Fabricators. (They ran an advert noting it ‘won’t mark fabrics’). The same company manufactured and installed the suspended steel frame. A newspaper article desctibed the construction under the heading ‘New Building Features Unique Construction’. “To construct the unusual and spectacular Tip Top Store in Vancouver, the designers and builders, Dominion Construction Co. Ltd., had to meet and overcome many engineering problems. One feature of the store is the main floor free of all posts and obstructions. To accomplish this, steel trusses were installed on the third floor, with steel rods suspended to support the second floor. Then to make full use of the space between the third-floor trusses, the area was divided into stockrooms, alteration rooms and other space with concrete block walls enclosing each truss. Doorways were placed between each area in the web of the truss, utilizing every square foot of space. The whole building is fire proof, with reinforced concrete floors and walls. The steel frame that supports the modern curved front also is suspended to give a maximum visual front so that all passers-by can get a clear view of the beautiful interior of the building from Hastings.”
The interior space was indeed spectaclar, as these Don Coltman shots show. The main floor was more like an art deco theatre, and the mezzanine equally spectacular.
Considering the scale of their investment, it’s surprising that in January 1955 The Sun had a classified ad that read “Tip Top Tailors Bldg 314 WEST HASTINGS Outstanding Value! Whether for your own use or as a straight Investment proposition you owe it to yourself to secure details or this BARGAIN PROPERTY. This magnificent steel & concrete structure with 52-foot frontage on Hastings ft full depth of 120 ft. is only 6 years old. First class heating plant ft numerous other features that must be seen to be appreciated. Suitable for any type of merchandising or would convert to ultra smart offices. At the offered price ft terms here indeed is one of the GREATEST DOWNTOWN PROPERTY BARGAINS we have seen In many years.” The explanation was that there were too many tailors in that part of the city, and having bought out William Dick’s clothing business, Tip Top moved across to the sunny side of the street. King Drug moved in here, with a sign as big as the one Tip Top had. By the 1960s the building was divided up and the upper floors leased as offices. In 1990 the Or Gallery occupied the main floor, and Artspeak opened upstairs.
In the late 1990s the Cross Town Traffic Cafe was here, part of the city’s rapidly growing pot industry. Allister Marselje was 21, working as a middle-man supplying one-ounce baggies to sellers in the cafe. His beaten body was discovered by a dumpster diver at the back of the building in 1999, part of a turf war for control of the business.
The building was sold in 2018, and now a 128-unit rental building is proposed, with the curved facade retained with pierced window slits, as well as the retained older facade two door down.
Image Source: City of Vancouver Archives CVA 586-12626, 949 CVA 586-8836 and CVA 586-8837
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Changing Vancouver 