Description of Historic Place

633 East Hastings Street is a one-storey glazed brick commercial structure located in the 600 block of East Hastings in Vancouver, at the eastern end of the downtown eastside corridor.

Heritage Value

The value of 633 East Hastings Street lies in its historic functional relationship between this area and the economy of early Vancouver. In the late nineteenth century, this area of Vancouver was the centre of commerce and industry.

Operated as a meat and grocery outlet from the time it was built in 1940, this modest building subsequently housed a refrigerator manufacturer in 1945, meatbroker’s in 1960 and became the Shamrock Laundry in 1996. 633 East Hastings Street is valued for its continued use for retail purposes since it first opened, and in its service to area residents, who have become predominantly Asian since the 1960’s.

There is also value in the architectural style. This is one of a pair of two buildings with glazed brick and cornice or parapet over ground floor shops. Although built at different times, there are considerable stylistic similarities. 633 East Hastings Street is a one-storey shop, while its neighbour at 635 East Hastings Street has two floors of hotel accommodation above.

Source: City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the historic place include:
- its modest form, scale and massing
- the functional relationship between this building and the others along the East Hastings Street strip
- the architectural similarities between this building and its neighbour at 635 East Hastings Street
- built to property line with no setbacks
- external characteristics of the commercial architecture, including symmetrical design, parapet wall above the modest cornice over the storefront windows, and glazed brick construction
- its continued use as a retail store