Pat may have been just showing off when he commissioned this building, but if he was, we are now happy that he did, as this is the most highly "decorated" building in the downtown core. Its façade is more worthy of a church than a butcher shop.
This was, indeed, a butcher shop and meat storage facility for the first decades of its life. It is now occupied by a studio, fabric store, clothing stores and offices.
Description
The Burns Building is a highly decorative rectangular masonry building with arched doorways and windows and a prominent cornice located on
Baker Street in the downtown area of Nelson, B.C.
Value
The Burns Block is important for its historical and aesthetic values.
Designed for Patrick Burns, a Western Canada cattle entrepreneur, the building served as the Kootenay headquarters for the P. Burns Company and housed one of the most comprehensive butcher shops in Canada. It is an example of the importance of business development in the city which was becoming prosperous through the mining industry and a regional centre. It is an example of the provision of businesses and services to meet consumer needs in areas of the province which were
developing through railways, mining, shipping and other industries at the turn of the twentieth century; two stores on ground floor included Wallace & Miller and P. Burns & Co.
The building is important for its architectural design attributed to A.E. Hodgins and Alexander Carrie, both of whom were architects of note in Nelson during this time period. Its impressive Italianate design and use of materials is suitable for a company headquarters, while at the same time, the building was practically designed to facilitate retail through its attractive storefront, and storage appropriate for a butcher and meat shop, with a purpose built cold storage facility designed by Francis Rattenbury located on the second floor.
The building is notable for its use of materials and exterior detailing. Marble for the building was supplied by the West Kootenay Brick and Lime Company; other materials include ordinary brick,
pressed brick and terra cotta. Ornamental details of note include decorative terra cotta panels, decorative window panels, and ornate cornice, while over the entranceway is the date stone with
sculpted steer head, an obvious reference to Burns’ business.
Character Defining Elements
Site configuration
¶ Zero setback from front and side property lines
Form
¶ Symmetrical facade with central arched entryway
¶ Rectangular massing
¶ Storefronts on the ground floor
¶ Arched windows on the second floor wit curved transom lites
Materials and Details
¶ Masonry construction, including brick, marble and terra cotta
¶ Carved detailing on front facade
¶ Decorative cornice
¶ Sculpted steer head, terra cotta panels, brick pilasters