532-534 1st Avenue in downtown Ladysmith was built as a commercial building circa 1904. It has been in continuous use as a commercial building since it was built.
532-534 1st Avenue was added to the Ladysmith Community Heritage Register in 2017. (Scroll down for more information)
Here is a map showing the location of 532-534 1st Avenue:
Here is a Google Street View image of 532-534 1st Avenue:
Description of Historic Place
The 534 First Avenue Building is a modest, two-storey
commercial building on the west side of the main commercial
street in Ladysmith, British Columbia. The historic place is
confined to the building footprint.
The 534 First Avenue Building’s primary significance is as part
of a grouping of largely intact historic buildings in Ladysmith’s
commercial core. Situated at the northern end of the main
commercial thoroughfare, the building forms part of an almost
continuous city block of similarly proportioned historic
buildings that collectively create a cohesive streetscape.
Built around 1904, the 534 First Avenue Building has been substantially renovated and many of its original features changed or obscured. The building’s simple form, two-storey height, Boomtown-style false-front and entrance level door and window arrangement are intact and are in keeping with the rest of the buildings on this
city block.
Associated with Ladysmith’s earliest development, the 534 First Avenue Building has been in continuous commercial use for over a century and is a major contributor to the street’s heritage character.
Character-Defining Elements
he character-defining elements of the 534 First Avenue Building include:
- the building’s location within a large grouping of heritage buildings on the main commercial street
- – the building’s simple form and two-storey height
- – the building’s false front
- – the large windows and inset doors at the street level
- – the building’s continuous commercial use for over a century