The Telephone Exchange Building

In a quiet street just below the Cambie Street Bridge is the BC Telephone Exchange Building. It once stood on the corners of Front Street, later renamed 1st Avenue and Wylie Street.

It was built in 1913 by the BC Telephone Company Ltd as its new storerooms and offices. The four storey “brick and stick” structure with its massive timber frame and brick cladding, was built in the same style as the warehouses found in Yaletown.

Once the building was operational, the Wylie Street entrance was favoured and that address used.

Around 1927 an addition was built to the east and the extension differs in architecture with a more industrial feel to it.

It was essentially an equipment warehouse, holding items such as spools, cables and wires.

The structure had a cement floor and supported by Douglas Fir beams throughout the building.  At a time when sawmills lined the waterfront of Front Street, it made the beams readily available and standard. Beautifully Douglas fir beams are exposed as a design element in other heritage buildings, such as the Salt and Opal Buildings, in the South East False Creek area.

In 2009 The Telephone Exchange Building was converted into residential units and the developer received $2million to retain and repurpose the building. A new six-storey block was built to the east holding the elevator shaft and underground parking. In the old part of the building, there are welcoming rooftop gardens including a sandbox along with private patio gardens for the three penthouses. 

The Heritage building still has the original refurbished windows, original brick walls, exposed Douglas fir beams.

Original wood ceilings are untouched in the 4th-floor units. This photo was taken during construction.

Behind the Exchange, across the alleyway and on the corner of Wylie and 2nd Ave, is a privately owned property. It once housed automobile repair shops, oil exchange and tire repair. The demolished site lies dormant and is waiting for environmental remediation and a temporary community garden is blooming in its place.