341 1st Avenue in downtown Ladysmith was built in 1910 as a commercial building with residential apartments on the second floor. It still retains that configuration.
341 1st Avenue was added to the Ladysmith Community Heritage Registry in 2017.
Here is a map showing the location of 341 1st Avenue:
Here is a Google Street View image of 341 1st Avenue:
Description of Historic Place
The 341 First Avenue Building is a modest, two-storey, brick, Edwardian commercial structure on the east side of Ladysmith’s main commercial street. The historic place is confined to the building footprint.
Built around 1910, the 341 First Avenue Building is a good example of a modest, Edwardian style commercial building. The building’s symmetrical façade, pilasters, and brick construction are all typical elements of this style. The original elaborate cornice has been removed but the overall form and general appearance remain intact.
This landmark building marks the southern end of a grouping of largely intact historic buildings in Ladysmith’s commercial core. This grouping creates a significant block of similarly proportioned historic buildings that collectively create a cohesive streetscape.
The 341 First Avenue Building has been in use as a commercial building since its construction and its tenants continue to provide a range of goods and services to the community.
Character-Defining Elements
The character-defining elements of the 341 First Avenue Building include:
- – all of the elements of a modest Edwardian era commercial building including its overall restrained appearance, simple form and massing, symmetrical, two-bay façade, flat roof, brick construction with modest pilasters and the arrangement of the storefront doors and windows including the centred upstairs access door.
- – the building’s landmark function as the southern end of a group of similarly proportioned historic commercial buildings on the town’s main commercial street
- – the building’s continuous commercial use
One of the historic businesses located in 341 1st Avenue was Lowe Motors, owned by Ira Lowe, which operated here in from about the 1920’s to the 1940’s. At that time 1st Avenue was part of the Island Highway so it made sense to locate Ladysmith automotive businesses, like garages and car dealers, along 1st Avenue.
