The Place:
Originally a bank building, the Houston Block was commissioned by John Houston and designed by architect A.E. Hodgins, not a stranger to these parts. Hodgins chose local brick and local marble as his building materials. Other than an abundance of marble at the entrance, including marble columns, the use of the material was kept to tasteful levels.
The Imperial Bank of Canada, which on June 1, 1961 merged with the Commerce Bank to become the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), remained in this building until some time after 1907 when a new Bank of Commerce building was erected one and a half blocks west on Baker Street. It's not known if the Imperial Bank remained in this building until the 1961 merger or whether it had relocated previously. Sometime after the bank vacated the premises
Robertson Realty Co. Ltd moved into the building and remains there today. With the addition of partners, Robertson Realty eventually became Robertson, Hilliard, Cattell Real Estate and Insurance, later shortened to RHC Real Estate and Insurance.
In 1898 he [Houston] built The Houston Block on the same Josephine and Baker lot mentioned above and which he described in The Tribune as "one of the handsomest and most substantial buildings in the city" adding, "as to the style of architecture - well, it is Houstonian..." If he is to be believed when he claimed that the interior woodwork alone cost $13,000, he must have taken a considerable loss when he sold the 70' by 50' brick and marble structure just three years later for only $25,000. Today, The Houston Block is one of the heritage jewels of Baker St. and, fittingly, houses a real estate office.
From John "Truth" Houston
The building itself remains known as the
Houston Block as it was owned by
John "Truth" Houston, 'tramp printer', prospector, newspaperman, realtor, entrepreneur, Member of the BC Legislative Assembly and four term mayor of Nelson. He is remembered as the best known personality of his time, a champion of Nelson and of the "common man", and a vociferous and venomous opponent of big business, particularly the railroads of the time.
That Houston cut a wide swath is undeniable - it was sufficiently wide and tumultuous as to rate a web page devoted entirely to him, which includes views of both his good and bad sides,
John "Truth" Houston. Houston was also undeniably one of the best newspaper writers of his time, in spite of, or possibly because of, much of his output's being lubricated with copious helpings of whiskey.
The most appropriate way to bring to light the character of the man is through several editorial comments from several newspapers of the time, some of which were obituaries, each shedding light on the particular editor's view of Houston.
"A trail blazer, a man of vision, a virile journalist, not always scrupulously correct in conduct or suavely spoken, but physically and mentally strong in times and places where strength was mastery.",
C.H. Gibbons - Editor - Vancouver Province
"As a newspaper writer, his style was a model. It embodied a standard of excellence in simplicity, directness, conciseness and originality which journalists in all parts of Canada and many sections of the United States have envied and striven to copy."
The Victoria Times
"Petty and self seeking in every line he wrote, he prostituted his undoubted journalistic ability to further his own ends."
The Miner (after he sold it)
"Houston's whiskey swilling has attracted the attention of many historians, but his role as a trenchant critic of large corporations, particularly railway companies, in British Columbia should not be overlooked. While not altruistic, he devoted himself on occasion to improving the communities in which he lived; he was a civic populist on the frontier."
Dictionary of Canadian Biography
[In Nelson] "he had found the stage on which his complex, idiosyncratic, obstinate, impetuous, obstreperous, combative, unyielding, compassionate, and highly aggressive nature could act out its tormented destiny."
John Norris - Historic Nelson
From John "Truth" Houston
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