Sam Kee Building

Coordinates: 49°16′49.53″N 123°6′16.94″W / 49.2804250°N 123.1047056°W / 49.2804250; -123.1047056
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Sam Kee Building
三記號大樓
The Sam Kee Building in 2024
Map
Alternative namesJack Chow Building
General information
Address8 West Pender Street
Town or cityVancouver, British Columbia
CountryCanada
Coordinates49°16′49.53″N 123°6′16.94″W / 49.2804250°N 123.1047056°W / 49.2804250; -123.1047056
Named forSam Kee, real name Chang Toy
Year(s) built1913; 111 years ago (1913)
CostCA$8,000
OwnerJack Chow Insurance (since 1985)
Dimensions
Other dimensions
  • Ground floor depth: 4 ft 11 in (1.50 m)
  • Upper floor depth: 6 ft (1.8 m)
  • Lot area: 571.8 sq ft (53.12 m2)
Technical details
Floor count2 (+ 1 basement)
Design and construction
Architect(s)
  • Kennerly Bryan
  • William C. F. Gillam
Architecture firmBryan & Gillam
DesignatedJanuary 14, 2003
Reference no.2814
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese三記號大樓
Simplified Chinese三记号大楼

The Sam Kee Building (Chinese: 三記號大樓), also known as the Jack Chow Building, is a commercial building in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located near the entrance to the city's Chinatown. It is recognized by Guinness World Records as the "narrowest commercial building in the world".

It was constructed as a spite house in 1913, in defiance of Vancouver City Council's decision to expropriate without compensation the original lot belonging to local business magnate Chang Toy, also known as "Sam Kee". Located at the corner of Carrall Street and Pender Street, the depth of the original lot was reduced from roughly 30 feet (9.1 m) to 6 feet (1.8 m) for the widening of Pender. After declining a neighbour's offer to purchase the remaining land, Chang bet a business associate that he could make commercial use of the land that remained. The Sam Kee Building was completed a year later, with a ground floor consisting of retail shops, an upper floor housing residential and organizational units, and a basement containing public baths.

Local businessman Jack Chow purchased the Sam Kee Building in 1985, in hopes of restoring the then debilitated property in time for Vancouver's centennial and Expo 86 the following year. Renovations were finished before the two events' celebrations. The building has since become a tourist attraction, although an insurance business still operates on the ground floor. Parks Canada considers the building a cultural heritage site and has it listed in the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

Architecture[edit]

Side view of the Sam Kee Building from Carrall Street. The Jack Chow Insurance sign is wider than the building.[1]

The Sam Kee Building is a steel-framed, two-story building with an unusually narrow depth. Its ground-floor depth, from the storefront to the rear of the building, measures 4 feet 11 inches (1.50 m). Its upper-floor depth is wider at 6 feet (1.8 m) due to its overhanging bay windows, which were characteristic of many buildings in Chinatown at the time of its construction, in 1913. The building also has a basement which extends under the sidewalk of Pender Street, illuminated by sunlight coming through reinforced glass blocks built into the sidewalk.[2][3] The three floors are connected by glass staircases, which the municipal government disapproves of because they are a potential fire hazard.[1][4]

Local historians have described the Sam Kee Building as a "spite house", a building constructed or modified to anger neighbours or other parties with a stake in the land the building is on.[5][6] The municipal government charged the building's owner – the Sam Kee Company and later Jack Chow Insurance – annual encroachment fees for the airspace used by the protruding windows and the under-street area used by the basement. In 1998, when the fee for the windows was waived by Vancouver City Council, the fees were CA$260 for the windows and CA$2,500 for the basement. Rod Chow, son of Jack Chow, described the decision as "the moral support of [city] council" being given to the building and the hopeful end of an "85-year feud".[7]

History[edit]

Background and prelude[edit]

Vancouver's Chinatown was home to the largest Chinese community in Canada during the early 1900s, with 3,559 residents listed in the 1911 national census.[8] The Asiatic Exclusion League, an all-European lobbyist group opposed to immigration from Asia to Canada and the United States, established a branch in Vancouver in 1907, with the goal of expelling Asians from the city. In 1912, the league successfully petitioned Vancouver City Council to widen Pender Street, the main street of Chinatown at the time, in order to render Chinese-owned properties unsuitable for commercial use.[9][10] One such property, located at the corner of Carrall Street and Pender Street, was owned by the influential local businessman Chang Toy (陳才; 1857–1921), known in the European community as "Sam Kee" (三記).[2]

1917 map showing the dimensions of the lot before and after expropriation. The remaining property is labelled "BAL OF 1".

Chang purchased the original standard-sized lot for his primary business, the Sam Kee Company, in 1903. By that time, the Sam Kee Company had become one of the four main firms operating in Chinatown, running a lucrative import-export business which involved numerous investors from the European community. This earned Chang the moniker "Sam Kee" among the European merchants he did business with.[11] The original lot was a trapezoid measuring 30 by 88.71 by 30.94 by 94.56 feet (9.14 m × 27.04 m × 9.43 m × 28.82 m). Its southern and eastern sides were slightly longer than its northern and western sides, respectively.[12]

In 1912, Vancouver City Council expropriated without compensation 2,199.24 square feet (204.316 m2), or about 79 per cent, of the above-ground portion of the lot.[12] The width of the lot had been reduced from roughly 30 feet (9.1 m) to 6 feet (1.8 m) on both sides, making conventional commercial use of the remaining frontage impractical. The owner of a neighbouring lot offered to purchase Chang's remaining land, but he declined. Instead, Chang bet a business associate that, contrary to the assertions of his peers, he could indeed make commercial use of what remained of his lot.[3]

Construction and early years[edit]

In 1913, Chang hired architects Kennerly Bryan and William C. F. Gillam, co-partners of the Bryan & Gillam firm, to design a building for his narrow lot.[2][9] Bryan and Gillam were already well-known in Vancouver for their competency as architects.[13] They opined that the use of a steel frame would be necessary for such an uncharacteristically proportioned building.[5] Construction was completed in the same year and reportedly cost CA$8,000.[2][9][14]

The Sam Kee Building in 1937

For half a century, the Sam Kee Building saw mixed commercial-residential use. Retail shops were located on the ground floor, while the upper floor housed units for residential and organizational use. The basement contained Chinatown's only public bath at the time, and later a barber shop.[1][2][15] The baths and barber shop were removed from the basement sometime in the late 1960s.[16]

During its early history, the Sam Kee Building was the focus of rumours of opium smugglers using a tunnel system beneath Chinatown to elude authorities. Locals claimed that smugglers "escape[d] police raids on their opium dens" in the adjacent Shanghai Alley by fleeing through a secret tunnel connected to the basement of the Sam Kee Building. There is no evidence that an underground tunnel system has ever existed in Chinatown, but the urban legend remains popular among tourists, in part thanks to the encouragement of businesses who benefit from the additional interest in their properties.[1][16][17]

Acquisition by Jack Chow[edit]

Local businessman Jack Wing Chow (周永職; 1930–2021) purchased the Sam Kee Building in 1985 with the goal of renovating and restoring the property to celebrate Vancouver's centennial and Expo 86 the following year. The building had been abandoned for some time, since at least the early 1970s. Chow hired architect Soren Rasmussen to plan and design the renovations, which were indeed completed in 1986, in time for centennial celebrations and Expo 86.[15] Chow later received numerous heritage awards for his restoration initiative.[18]

In 1998, reinforced glass blocks were built into the sidewalk in front of the building, with the approval of Vancouver City Council. During the daytime, the blocks illuminate the basement below with sunlight; conversely, during nighttime, lights in the basement illuminate the sidewalk above, marking the entrance to Chinatown.[7]

Current use[edit]

At present, the ground floor is used for insurance sales by Jack Chow Insurance, while the upper floor and basement are used primarily for tourism purposes. Most of the decorations and furniture inside the building are either "skinny or mini" to match the building's self-given title of "skinniest building in the world". Rod Chow, son of Jack Chow, offers guided tours of the building in addition to his insurance services.[1][4]

In 2013, the building was given a million-dollar renovation to celebrate its centennial. Numerous lavish decorations were added to the building's interior, including several pieces of glass furniture, mirrors, and lights. Glass staircases were also installed to complement the redesigned interior.[1]

A glass window wicket was installed in 2016, allowing customers to be served on the sidewalk in front of the building. In addition to doubling the building's business capacity by freeing up space on the ground floor, the installation provided a safety barrier between customers and workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia.[5]

Recognition[edit]

The rival Hendel Building in 2015

The Sam Kee Building holds the Guinness World Record for "the narrowest commercial building in the world".[19] It formerly held a similar title with Ripley's Believe it or Not!, but the title was lost after a challenge from the owners of the Hendel Building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Popularly known as the "Skinny Building", the Hendel Building has a depth of 5 feet 2 inches (1.57 m) on all its floors. Meanwhile, the depth of the Sam Kee Building varies by floor, with the lower floor's depth measuring 4 feet 11 inches (1.50 m) but the upper floor's measuring 6 feet (1.8 m).[3]

Parks Canada formally recognized the Sam Kee Building as a cultural heritage site on January 14, 2003. It is listed number 2814 in the Canadian Register of Historic Places.[2] Vancouver City Council's Chinatown Legacy Stewardship Group described the Sam Kee Building as a "key part of Chinatown's cultural heritage" and Jack Chow Insurance as a "legacy business".[5]

The Sam Kee Building was one of two winners of the People's Choice Award for the 2017 Vancouver Heritage Awards, the other being the Mah Society Building. The award's description of the Sam Kee Building is as follows:[20]

Fully restored and revitalized, the thinnest building in the world, and a Chinatown landmark and architectural marvel, its rehabilitation was part of the celebration of its centennial. This included its distinctive gold embellished columns, the prominent '1913' on its parapet, its continuous bay-windows, its block-long illuminated glass sidewalk, and iconic twinkling neon sign for the public to enjoy.

See also[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sam Kee Building.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Schwarz, Larry (November 19, 2016). "Vancouver, BC: 'The Shallowest Commercial Building In The World'". The Travel Tribune.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Sam Kee Building". Canadian Register of Historic Places. Parks Canada.
  3. ^ a b c Mellon, Steve (May 30, 2004). "Here: In Downtown". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. F9. Archived from the original on February 5, 2010.
  4. ^ a b Amundson, Christian; Li, Kevin (May 25, 2021). This building owner in Vancouver's Chinatown says despite pandemic, he's here to stay (YouTube). Vancouver, British Columbia: CBC News.
  5. ^ a b c d Moliere, Ashley (May 25, 2021). "Built on a Bet: An inside Look at the World's Narrowest Building". CBC News.
  6. ^ Kitai, David (June 22, 2018). "Spite Houses are a Testament to Humanity's Capacity for Genius and Evil". Vancouver Magazine. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Skinny building beats city hall (Sam Kee Building)". Daily Commercial News and Construction Record. 71 (244). December 17, 1998.
  8. ^ "Vancouver Chinatown". Simon Fraser University. David See Chai Lam Centre for International Communication.
  9. ^ a b c Mah, Stephanie. "Sam Kee Building". Canada's History. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  10. ^ "Chinese Benevolent Association Building". Canadian Register of Historic Places. Parks Canada. ... Pender Street [was] the 'main street' of Vancouver's historic Chinatown district.
  11. ^ Stanley, Timothy J. "CHANG TOY (Chen Cai) (Chan Doe Gee (Chen Daozhi); Chan Chang-Jin; Sam Kee (San Ji))". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XV (1921–1930). University of Toronto.
  12. ^ a b Excerpt of "O. G. T. Part of D. L's 196 of 541", a map of Downtown Vancouver published by Vancouver City Council on September 29, 1917.
  13. ^ Hill, Robert G. (2009). "Bryan, Kennerly". Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada.
  14. ^ "Queerest building in the whole Dominion". Vancouver Daily World. March 27, 1913. p. 23.
  15. ^ a b Benivolski, Xenia (February 1, 2017). "Vancouver Chinatown". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Lui, Wai (April 2004). Cultural Heritage and Underground Passages in Vancouver's Chinatown (Masters of Architecture thesis). p. 28.
  17. ^ Turner, Allie (November 18, 2022). "Is there really a secret tunnel network under Chinatown in Vancouver?". Vancouver Is Awesome. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  18. ^ Ward, Robin (March 11, 1989). "Sam Kee Building Series: Robin Ward's Vancouver". Vancouver Sun (3 ed.).
  19. ^ Chong, Kevin (June 26, 2023). "Chinatown⁠—The Neon-Lit History of a Resurgent Neighbourhood". Montrecristo Magazine. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  20. ^ "2017 Heritage Award winners". City of Vancouver. Retrieved May 24, 2024.

External links[edit]

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