431 1st Avenue

431 1st Avenue in downtown Ladysmith was built circa 1900 as the Ladysmith Hotel.

431 1st Avenue in downtown Ladysmith.
431 1st Avenue in downtown Ladysmith.
431 1st Avenue in downtown Ladysmith.
431 1st Avenue in downtown Ladysmith.

431 1st Avenue sold on 24 January 2018 for $350,000. There have been some significant changes to the building exterior since the January 2018 sale. The windows on the upper level were uncovered after having been covered with exterior stucco for decades. Exterior stairs were added on the south side.

431 st Avenue was added to the Ladysmith Community Heritage Registry in 2018.

Here is a map showing the location of 431 1st Avenue:

Here is a Google Street View image of 431 1st Avenue:

Description of Historic Place

The Ladysmith Hotel Building is a modest, two storey commercial building on the east side of the main commercial street in Ladysmith, British Columbia. The historic place is confined to the building footprint.

Heritage Value

The Ladysmith Hotel Building’s primary significance is as part of a large grouping of mainly intact historic buildings in Ladysmith’s commercial core. Situated in the middle of Ladysmith’s main commercial thoroughfare, the building forms part of a, long, almost continuous row of similarly proportioned historic buildings that collectively create a cohesive streetscape.

Built around 1900, the Ladysmith Hotel Building is a good example of Ladysmith’s earliest commercial architecture. Just over a decade later, these types of simple, wooden buildings were replaced by more substantial, often brick buildings, which marked the end of the pioneer building era. The building was moved across the street around 1910 and, since that time, has been substantially renovated. Its original features, including a full-width verandah, were removed or obscured. The building’s simple massing, hipped roof and modest ornamentation, however, remain intact and the building speaks directly to Ladysmith’s earliest vernacular architecture.

The Ladysmith Hotel Building is valued for its association with pioneer entrepreneurs Christopher and Annie Stevens. The Stevens’ built and operated this hotel and the Traveller’s Hotel and held considerable property in the commercial core. The building immediately to the north, now a drugstore, was originally a commercial property known as the Stephens Block.

Associated with Ladysmith’s earliest development, the Ladysmith Hotel Building has been in continuous commercial use for over a century and is a significant contributor to the heritage character of the area.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of Ladysmith Hotel Building include:

  • – the building’s location within a large grouping of heritage buildings on the main commercial street
  • – the building’s simple form, hipped roof and two-storey height
  • – the building’s continuous commercial use for over a century

Here is a video of Val Glavin, a descendent of the Stevens family which owned the Travellers Hotel and the Ladysmith Hotel, discussing Annie Stevens:

The Stevens family also owned the Travellers Hotel across the street at 422 1st Avenue.

The Travellers Hotel, 422 1st Avenue in downtown Ladysmith.
The Travellers Hotel, 422 1st Avenue in downtown Ladysmith.
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