Pennsylvania Hotel — Vancouver, BC
Posted by: 
Dunbar Loop
N 49° 16.868 W 123° 06.252
10U E 492421 N 5458713
In the heart of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside is the turreted Pennsylvania Hotel. In 2008 it was converted from a single-room occupancy privately run hotel to a 44 studio apartment social housing to help people have better housing.
Waymark Code: WM11BCZ
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 09/21/2019
Views: 6
Opening in 1906 as the Woods Hotel, the Pennsylvania Hotel reflected the growth and change as Vancouver grew. Hastings Street became the commercial centre of the city until its gradual decline as the retail shifted gradually westwards.
The Pennsylvania slowly declined with the neighbourhood. Gradually this became Vancouver's main Skid Road. A place where people down and out on their luck came to live. It's been documented that the postal code forward sortation area of V6A is among Canada's lowest household incomes yet here it is also Canada's neighbourhood where people do not change addresses.
The City of Vancouver and BC Housing have been working together in recognition of these important aspects. The Pennsylvania is a prime example. What become a slumlord's revenue generator, the people who lived here in small, cramped rooms without any cooking facilities. Ultimately the two agencies purchased the building and converted it into 44-unit studio apartments.
It is a great example of keeping the heritage character of the Downtown Eastside's building scape alive, while taking care of people.
PENNSYLVANIA HOTEL
Architect: William T. Whiteway
The building originally opened in 1906 as the Woods Hotel. One of the first major hotels on Hastings Street, its location reflected the shift of the city's commercial district south from Cordova Street. Unlike the smaller and less elaborate hotels in the area that housed seasonal workers, Tthe Woods serve wealthier travellers and businessmen, and each room was originally provided with a private telephone. The prominent bay windows with fireproof sheet metal cladding drew their inspiration from contemporary buildings in San Fransico. As a part of its restoration, the rueet roof and the hotel's original metal cage elevator, once common to buildings in this era, remains in the basement as a decorative feature. The conversion from a single-room occupancy hotel to 44 studio apartments was completed in 2008.