Sam Kee Building Explained

Sam Kee Building
Native Name Lang:zh-hant
Coordinates:49.2804°N -123.1047°W
Alternate Names:Jack Chow Building[1]
Address:8 West Pender Street
Location City:Vancouver, British Columbia
Location Country:Canada
Namesake:Sam Kee Company
Est Completion:-->
Destruction Date:-->
Cost:CA$8,000
Owner:Jack Chow Insurance (since 1985)
Floor Count:2 (+ 1 basement)
Other Dimensions:
  • Ground floor depth: 4inchesft11inchesin (ftin)
  • Upper floor depth: 6feet
  • Lot area: 571.8square feet
Architecture Firm:Bryan & Gillam
Embedded:
Embed:yes
Designation1:NHSC
Designation1 Date:January 14, 2003
Designation1 Number:2814
Child:yes
T:三記號大樓
S:三记号大楼
P:Sān Jìhào Dàlóu

The Sam Kee Building (Chinese: t=三記號大樓), also known as the Jack Chow Building, is a two-storey commercial building in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located near the entrance to the city's Chinatown. It is noted for its narrow depth, which varies by floor. The ground floor is 4feet wide, while the upper floor spans because of its overhanging bay windows. Additionally, a basement extends under the sidewalk adjacent to the storefront. This discrepancy has led to a dispute with the Skinny Building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, over which commercial building is more narrow, as the Skinny Building has a consistent depth of 5feet. Nonetheless, the Sam Kee Building is recognized by Guinness World Records as the "narrowest commercial building in the world" and by Ripley's Believe It or Not! as the "world's thinnest building".

The building was constructed as a spite house in 1913, in defiance of Vancouver City Council's decision to expropriate without compensation a 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 to 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 and restored the property the following year. The building has since become a tourist attraction, although an insurance business still operates on the ground floor. It is considered a cultural heritage site by the municipal government and is listed in the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

Architecture

The Sam Kee Building is a steel-framed, two-storey building with an unusually narrow depth.[1] Its ground-floor depth, from the storefront to the rear of the building, measures 4feet. Its upper-floor depth is wider at due to its overhanging bay windows, which were characteristic of many buildings in Chinatown at the time of its construction, in 1913.[2] [3] The building also has a basement which extends under the sidewalk of Pender Street.[3] The three floors are connected by glass staircases, which the municipal government disapproves of because they are a potential fire hazard.[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.[1] [5] The municipal government charged the building's ownerthe Sam Kee Company and later Jack Chow Insuranceannual 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 to waive the window fee as "the moral support of [city] council" being given to the building and the hopeful end of an "85-year feud".[6]

History

Background and prelude

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.[7] 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.[8] [9] One such property, located at the corner of Carrall Street and Pender Street, was owned by the influential local businessman Chang Toy (Chinese: 陳才; 1857–1921), known in the European community as "Sam Kee" (Chinese: 三記).[1] [2] [10] [11]

Chang purchased the original, standard-sized lot for his primary business, the Sam Kee Company, in 1903.[12] The original lot was a trapezoid measuring . Its southern and eastern sides were slightly longer than its northern and western sides, respectively.[13] By 1907, 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.[10]

In 1912, Vancouver City Council expropriated most of the lot without compensating Chang. The width of the lot was reduced from roughly 30feet to 6feet, making conventional commercial use of the remaining frontage impractical.[2] [12] However, Chang bet a business associate that he could nonetheless construct a building on what remained of his lot.[1]

Construction and early years

In 1913, Chang hired architects Kennerly Bryan and William C. F. Gillam to design a building for his narrow lot.[2] [8] [14] On March 27, 1913, a building permit was issued for a building "6.19 feet in width, 96.04 feet in length".[15] The Sam Kee Building was completed later that year and reportedly cost CA$8,000.[16]

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 a public baths.[2] [17]

Acquisition by Jack Chow

Local businessman Jack Wing Chow (Chinese: 周永職; 1930–2021) purchased the Sam Kee Building in 1985.[1] [18] He hired architect Soren Rasmussen to plan and design renovations to the building, which were completed in 1986.[17] Chow later received numerous heritage awards for his restoration initiative.[19]

In 1998, reinforced glass blocks were built into the sidewalk in front of the building, with the approval of Vancouver City Council. During nighttime, lights in the basement illuminate the sidewalk above, marking the entrance to Chinatown.[4] [6]

Current use

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.[4]

In 2013, the building was given a million-dollar renovation. The project was financed by Jack Chow's retirement funds and a CA$100,000 grant from the municipal government.[20]

A glass window wicket was installed in 2016, allowing customers to be served on the sidewalk in front of the building and doubling the building's business capacity.[1]

Recognition

The Sam Kee Building holds the Guinness World Record for "the narrowest commercial building in the world".[21] Ripley's Believe it or Not!, meanwhile, recognizes it as the "world's thinnest building".[22] The ownership of these titles has been challenged by the owners of the Skinny Building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The Skinny Building has a depth of 5feet on all its floors, while the depth of the Sam Kee Building varies by floor, with the lower floor's depth measuring 4feet but the upper floor's measuring .[3] [22]

The municipal government 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".[1]

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:[23]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Moliere . Ashley . Built on a Bet: An inside Look at the World's Narrowest Building . CBC News . May 25, 2021.
  2. Web site: Sam Kee Building . Canadian Register of Historic Places . Parks Canada.
  3. Web site: Chinatown Architectural Walk . City of Vancouver . en.
  4. Amundson . Christian . Li . Kevin . May 25, 2021 . This building owner in Vancouver's Chinatown says despite pandemic, he's here to stay . YouTube . English . Vancouver, British Columbia . CBC News.
  5. News: Kitai . David . Spite Houses are a Testament to Humanity's Capacity for Genius and Evil . May 23, 2024 . Vancouver Magazine . June 22, 2018.
  6. Skinny building beats city hall (Sam Kee Building) . Daily Commercial News and Construction Record . December 17, 1998 . 71 . 244 . . en.
  7. Web site: Vancouver Chinatown . Simon Fraser University . David See Chai Lam Centre for International Communication . May 24, 2024 . September 24, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924115102/http://www.sfu.ca/chinese-canadian-history/vancouver_chinatown_en.html . live .
  8. Web site: Mah . Stephanie . Sam Kee Building . Canada's History . May 14, 2024 . en.
  9. Web site: Chinese Benevolent Association Building . Canadian Register of Historic Places . Parks Canada . ...Pender Street [was] the 'main street' of Vancouver's historic Chinatown district..
  10. Book: Stanley, Timothy J. . CHANG TOY (Chen Cai) (Chan Doe Gee (Chen Daozhi); Chan Chang-Jin; Sam Kee (San Ji)) . Dictionary of Canadian Biography . http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/chang_toy_15E.html . XV (1921–1930) . University of Toronto.
  11. News: zh:敢於說不的華埠富商陳才 . Chang Toy, a wealthy Chinatown businessman who dared to say no . https://www.singtao.ca/5284613/?variant=zh-hk . . 13 October 2021 . zh-HK.
  12. Book: Hern, Frances . Yip Sang: and the First Chinese Canadians . 15 November 2011 . Heritage House Publishing Co . 978-1-926936-96-3 . 83–84 . en.
  13. [:File:Sam Kee Building lot before and after.png|Excerpt of "O. G. T. Part of D. L's 196 of 541"]
  14. Book: Hill . Robert G. . Bryan, Kennerly . http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/node/1231 . Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada . 2009 . May 24, 2024 . July 17, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090717021846/http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/ . live .
  15. News: Davis . Chuck . Obscure Vancouverana: The Sam Kee Building . . November 4, 1979. 8.
  16. News: Queerest building in the whole Dominion . Vancouver Daily World . March 27, 1913 . 23.
  17. Web site: Benivolski . Xenia . Vancouver Chinatown . The Canadian Encyclopedia . Historica Canada . February 1, 2017 . May 23, 2024 . en.
  18. News: zh:擁全球最窄建築物 周永職辭世享年90 . The narrowest building in the world – Jack Wing Chow dies at the age of 90 . https://www.singtao.ca/4791879/?variant=zh-hk . . 25 February 2021 . zh-HK.
  19. News: Ward . Robin . Sam Kee Building Series: Robin Ward's Vancouver . Vancouver Sun . 3 . March 11, 1989 . . en . June 9, 2024 . June 16, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240616062619/https://www.proquest.com/docview/243585983 . live .
  20. News: Expect a little magic at world's narrowest building . June 20, 2024 . Vancouver Is Awesome . December 4, 2013 . en.
  21. Chong . Kevin . June 26, 2023 . Chinatown⁠—The Neon-Lit History of a Resurgent Neighbourhood . May 23, 2024 . Montecristo Magazine.
  22. Web site: Mellon . Steve . May 30, 2004 . Here: In Downtown . https://web.archive.org/web/20100205085146/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04151/322795.stm . February 5, 2010 . . F9.
  23. Web site: 2017 Heritage Award winners . City of Vancouver . May 24, 2024 . June 16, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240616062624/https://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/2017-heritage-award-winners.aspx . live .