The neglected jewel of a landmark at the corner of Cambie and Hastings just became a showpiece again.
With the unveiling of an elaborate stone archway this past month, suddenly there is a lot of interest in the restoration of the Flack Block, which is nearing completion after two years. More specifically, there is interest in the intricately carved arch that was recently installed over the entrance — a piece of old-world craftsmanship unheard of in this era of budget-conscious development.
As the gateway to the run-down and nearly deserted section of Gastown, the Romanesque Revival style Flack Block and its arch could symbolize so much more. It could have the potential domino effect of revitalizing the empty, boarded up storefronts in the 100 block of Hastings.
It would be understatement to say that Heritage Vancouver's Don Luxton is delighted with the project.
Robert Fung, whose condo developments in the Gastown area have retained original heritage features, stands under the archway of the Flack Block on Hastings Street in Vancouver. A stonemason reproduced the 19th-century arch from photos. (Lyle Stafford For The Globe and Mail)
"It's incredible, putting a stone arch back into the Vancouver downtown on Hastings Street," he says. "We were stunned to think we could even do it in stone. This is a dream project in that regard. The chance to work with authentic materials in an authentic way is so rare."
The original arch, carved out of sandstone some time before 1900, is long gone. Over the years, the stone blocks on the lower facade were removed and covered with stucco. They've been replaced with stone blocks of Indiana limestone.
Inside the building, artifacts such as the original boiler door and the old elevator filigree have been transformed into public art. A modern fifth floor has been added to the building without detracting from the heritage façade.
When carver Tony Rogac's company Architectural Stonemasonry was commissioned to reproduce the arch as it appeared in old photos, he jumped at the opportunity. Mr. Rogac, who is 59, trained as a carver in Worcester, England, where he'd worked on cathedrals. With a team of carvers he supervised the carving of the six-month project at his Abbotsford workshop. Another company, Atlantis Rausch Granite & Marble Installations, installed the 80,000-pound archway.
"This is a one-off item," says Mr. Rogac. "I would say once in a masonry company's life that you would get something like that to do. It's quite unique really, in its complexity. Not many people want that type of detail in their front entrances.
"That kind of work was common centuries ago when there was more decorative work."
In its glory days, the combination office and retail building was reportedly built from Thomas Flack's gold rush money at the turn of the century. It was symbolic of his resulting wealth as one of the few who'd struck it rich from the Klondike River.
Site safety officer Ian McMordie became so enamored of the building while working on it he has immersed himself in its history.
"They were down to their last $50 when they would have had to pack it in and head out, but their luck changed," says Mr. McMordie, wearing a hard hat and standing inside the construction site. "A group of four of them agreed to split everything evenly…Thomas Flack came back to Vancouver and built this building with his share of the money — the gateway to Gastown."
The Flack Block was built across from the original 1888 courthouse, which has since been converted into Victory Square. Following the completion of the Flack Block in 1900, the area flourished with the Woodward's Department Store built in 1903 and the Dominion Building in 1910.
It was a happy era for the downtown district, which, due to the growth of mall culture throughout the 50s, lost its retail lustre and eventually became a ghostly, crime-ridden neighbourhood.
The formerly glorious Flack Block perfectly represented the area's fallen stature. The building had been taken over by drug dealers and petty thieves, and was better known in the last decade as being home to a major grow-op complete with a ventilation system that travelled up to the roof.
When developer Robert Fung bought the building, the only legitimate business appeared to be a couple of long-time goldsmiths.
"It had a lot of stuff in it that looked as if it belonged to somebody and they might have lost it — like bicycles and suitcases and brief cases and purses and shoes and junk and clothing and bikes and bikes and bikes," he says.
"It all went back into the community. We recycled it," he adds.
Mr. Fung is a history-loving developer who's helped to revitalize the Gastown area with a series of condo developments that combine their original heritage features with modern interior elements. Before founding the Salient Group, Toronto-raised Mr. Fung spent eight years cutting his teeth with developers Concord Pacific and three years with the Narland Group.
Mr. Fung received up to $1-million in federal grant money toward the project as well as city bonus density incentives. He's feeling a bit like gold-rush winner Thomas Flack might have felt when he first unveiled the building.
"It was the start of a change then — and it's the start of a change now," he says.
"Not only was it a derelict building, but it was contributing negatively to the dynamic down here, so it's exciting to think that now it will contribute positively."
Mr. Fung stands before the arch, which was carved from Indiana limestone. The faces on each side are believed to be those of Thomas Flack, his wife and two children. The faces of Mr. Rogac's own daughters have been added to the inside of the arch. Although it's not noticeable, there is also the carving of a small snail, which is Mr. Rogac's signature motif on each carving he does.
When the entrance way is complete, LED lights in the building's foyer on the inside will illuminate the grand entrance at night.
Because master carvers aren't exactly in demand in today's budget-conscious times, Mr. Fung had originally planned to replicate the arch in concrete. "It's totally surpassed our expectations. We wanted to get something that was dramatic. And he was able to almost do a copy of what was there, and I just can't think of anybody else certainly that I know of, or in the country who would be able to do it," says Mr. Fung.
According to Mr. Luxton, the old-world craft of carving is a lost art.
"They all died out and methods changed, technology changed, cost changed. People aren't trained that way any more," he says.
Mr. Rogac believes the carved arch is the first carving of its kind in B.C. in at least 50 years.
"I think budget dries everything up, and that's the first thing to go, which is a shame because that gives a building character.
"It's just unfortunate that these types of projects are so far and few between, because you need to keep doing them to keep honing your skills and the more you keep doing them the more skillful you become."
Special to The Globe and Mail
