Paris Block — Vancouver, BC - British Columbia Heritage Markers on Waymarking.com

Paris Block
Architect: Thomas Hooper

From 1900 to 1915 this part of Hastings Street became the focus of the new commercial development as it shifted away from Cordova Street. This was the Eastern Building when it opened in 1907, home to the elegant Stark's Shoe Store. Within two years the upper floors were converted from offices and the building became known as the Strathcona Hotel. The shoe store of Pierre Paris and Sons opened here in 1919 and stayed in business for over 60 years. Parsi was a logging boot manufacturer and shoe retailer serve those in the resource industry as well as local clientele. Iron I-beams were used to span the entire width of the building in an era when wood beams were still commonplace. It was converted into a residential building in 2009.