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Inconspicuously wedged in between a row of similarly scaled buildings at the heart of Chinatown, 127 East Pender Street helps define the neighbourhood's compact and modest built form. Dressed with balconies and brick-faced pilasters, the building's seniority is identified by the '1907' marking on the pediment. But the historic facade remarkably conceals the property's well-kept secret: the structure was actually built in 1973, and the frontage is a faithful restoration.
The building was severely disfigured following a 1972 blaze. Just one year prior, the Province of British Columbia declared the Chinatown a historic area. The City's Historic Area Advisory Board initially recommended reconstruction but building code limitations made officials rethink the future of the site. A new plan, agreed upon by City officials, would restore the facade as a freestanding frame, with a new building erected behind it.
Ron Bick Lee, a prolific Chinese businessman who arrived in Victoria in 1910 at the age of 18, opened the Foo Hung Company at 127 East Pender in 1921. His exploits in the import-export business were fruitful, leading him to branch out into the greenhouse business, where he successfully operated the Grandview Greenhouse in East Vancouver during the Great Depression.
The tasteful re-creation and the preceding protection of Chinatown as a valued heritage district would not have been possible without the municipal and provincial governments. Historically, administrations at all levels of government, particularly federally, showed an overt disdain for the Chinese community. The discrimination was embedded into the fabric of the nation's laws and policies, impacting everything from immigration to real estate. Vancouver's Sam Kee Building, which stemmed from expropriation, is widely seen as a symbol of dissent against government-sanctioned racism.
The eventual adoption of multiculturalism as an official federal policy, coupled with declining discrimination, signalled the societal acceptance of Chinese culture and traditions. Chinatown's ingrained character, built form and architecture were seen as uniquely distinct among the cityscape, and worthy of conservation.
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