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Online Heritage Inventory

Paramount Cannery East Building

General Information
Thumbnail photograph of Paramount Cannery East Building
Click to see full image
Type of Resource: Building
Common Name: Paramount Cannery East Building
Address: 12620 Trites Road
Neighbourhood (Planning Area Name): Steveston
Construction Date: 1906
Current Owner: Federal Government
Designated: No

Statement of Significance
Description of Site
The two buildings which make up the Paramount Cannery were constructed at different time periods and their contrasting designs reflect this. The eastern portion of the cannery is a massive rectangular building with a gabled roof, with an associated wharf adjacent to the river.

 Statement of Values
The Paramount Cannery has heritage value through its historical association with the fishing industry and fish processing in Steveston. Part of the boom in salmon fishing and canning that helped Steveston develop, the Paramount eventually became the service centre for the southern gillnet fishery operation.
In the 1940’s the cannery was sold to the Nelson Brothers Fisheries Ltd. and an additional reduction plant, the Paramount Cannery East building, was constructed. The Paramount is one of the early cannery sites, and has aesthetic value as part of an excellent grouping of early industrial cannery structures. As one of the few cannery complexes still intact, these structures help to retain the historic character of the Steveston riverfront.

 Character Defining Elements
Key elements that define the heritage character of the site include:
· The contribution of the cannery structure to the industrial working waterfront character.
· The design elements of the cannery building, including its irregular plan, the foundation of wooden piles and fill, and the side gable roof with metal cover and skylights.
· Large hangar doors opening onto the wharf at the south side.
· Tools, machinery, boats, and other objects that support the function of the cannery.
· A wonderful wooden cutout sign, painted red, and supported on a metal frame.

 History
The two buildings which make up the Paramount Cannery were constructed at different time periods and their contrasting designs reflect this. The eastern portion of the cannery is a massive rectangular building with a gabled roof, with an associated wharf adjacent to the river.

 Architectural Significance
Architectural Style
Working Industrial

 Building Type
Fish Cannery and Processing

 Design Features
The two main buildings of the Paramount complex extant on the site each have its own design characteristics. The two buildings sit side by side. This (east) building is assumed to be the reduction plant, where fish oil and fish meal were produced. The plan shape can be described as irregular, with a foundation of wooden piles and fill. It has a side gable roof with metal cover and skylights. The cladding is concrete block, corrugated vertical sheet metal, and wood. The building has large hangar doors opening onto a wharf on the water (south) side. From the water, a wonderful wooden cutout sign is visible, painted red and supported on a metal frame above the structure.

 Construction Method
Wood frame and concrete block construction

 Landscape Significance
Landscape Element
Cultural Landscape/Natural Environment

 Design Attributes
The Cannery is part of the evolved cultural landscape along Cannery Channel, which has been shaped through use by human activity. Landscape elements important to the site include the river and the wharves and pilings associated with the building complex. The relationship of the cannery structure to the river is also an important aspect of the landscape.

 Integrity
Alterations
The Paramount Cannery complex has gone through numerous changes throughout its lifetime. New miscellaneous structures have been built, others have been replaced, and, possibly, older buildings incorporated into new. The site is altered but the building/site relationship is recognizable. Alterations and additions to the cannery structure(s) are important in that they document changes due to functional requirements.

 Original Location
Yes

 Condition
The east building appears to be in good condition

 Lost
No

 Documentation
Evaluated By
Denise Cook BLA, PBD (Public History)

 Date
Sunday, September 24, 2000

 Documentation
Inventory Sheets by Foundation Group Designs, January 1990
“Heritage Inventory Phase II” by Foundation Group Designs May 1989

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