| BRITISH COLUMBIA ARTISTS |
B.C. College of Arts building - 1233 West Georgia St.
The College of Arts building in 1936, photo Stuart Thomson
| This is a Stuart Thomson photograph of the building after a snowfall, taken the year after the B.C. College of Arts moved out of the building. No trace of the school is left. The building has reverted to its original use: automobile dealership. The Willys 77 in the driveway is for sale at $759.00. The dealership also sold Cord front wheel drive cars, and Auburns. The glass over the entry door reads "1233-39" which means that the 1996 glass reading "1233 W." was not original. The Banff Apartments building is seen on the right. |
B.C. College of Arts building, 1996. Photographs by Gary Sim
| These are scans from 35mm colour photographs taken in 1996. The one above is taken looking north across West Georgia Street in the 1200-block. The old B.C. College of Arts building is about to be demolished, along with the building to the right. The address "1233 W." is visible on a pane of clear glass directly above the door, seen beyond the hood of the red car. It was historically interesting that one of the posters pasted all over the front of the old building was for the Group of Seven exhibition then on display at the Vancouver Art Gallery. |
Main entrance on Georgia Street. The sidewalk has been sawcut in preparation for excavation.
Graffiti mural by "Booty" (?) nicely extends around columns on each side, matching Lawren Harris motif.
Architectural notes: the bricks on the left have worn down faster than the mortar.
The large door on the right is for the original automobile entry/exit.
The main floor area, suspended concrete slab, looking up at wood balcony from where grad photograph was taken.
Door to basement is marked "WORM HOLE" but might as well be "abandon hope ... "
View from the balcony where grad photograph was taken.
Field review note: do not go onto wood balcony, especially when alone.
The second floor office. Open skylight feature. Dubious floor construction.
The north side of the building at the lane. Lovely northern light for an art school.
It was constructed as a new car showroom c1919, so it was fitting that the last business in the building was a car shop.