Join our campaign to save Nanaimo Chinatown's last buildings

Save Nanaimo Chinatowns Last Buildings

Nanaimo’s Chinatowns are not gone. Two of the last remaining original buildings from the city’s Third and Fourth Chinatowns still stand in their original locations on Hecate St. Today, however, they face the threat of imminent sale and redevelopment.

These buildings are rare surviving traces of Nanaimo’s Chinese diasporic cultural heritage, but they do not have currently have any heritage recognition by the City of Vancouver. We have an opportunity and a responsibility to conserve them and reimagine their future as living cultural spaces.

880 Hecate St.

Old Chinese Freemasons Building in the Nanaimo's Fourth Chinatown on Hecate and Machlearly

This building is part of Nanaimo’s original Fourth Chinatown and is one of the last remaining physical links to that historic district. Built before the 1960 Chinatown fire era, it reflects the wooden mixed-use vernacular architecture typical of Nanaimo’s working-class Chinese community, including a community hall designed in a traditional Chinese clan society style for gatherings.

For generations, the site supported continuous Chinese community presence and most recently served as a Chinese Freemasons clubhouse, an important national social and cultural institution in Chinese diasporic life. It is also believed that elements of earlier structures from Nanaimo’s Third Chinatown may still be incorporated into the building.

Today, the building is used as rental housing, and previously a mixed-used housing and community centre. It is currently listed for sale for redevelopment.

The City of Nanaimo previously issued a redevelopment permit for a townhouse project, but that permit has now expired. This creates a renewed opportunity to advocate for formal heritage recognition of the site, as well as to reimagine its future as a multicultural community centre that reactivates the spirit of Nanaimo’s Chinatowns.

997 Hecate St.

Old Chinese Freemasons Building in the Nanaimo's Third Chinatown on Pine and Hecate

This building is part of Nanaimo’s original Third Chinatown and represents a rare surviving structure from what was once Nanaimo’s largest Chinatown at Pine and Hecate.

Most of the surrounding neighbourhood was lost in the major Chinatown fire and subsequent demolition by the City of Nanaimo in 1960, and was never rebuilt, but this building still stands today in its original site.

Like other pre-1960 Chinatown buildings, it is a wooden structure reflecting the vernacular architecture of Nanaimo’s working-class Chinese community, and reflective of the architecture of Nanaimo's Third Chinatown.

The site has historically been stewarded by the Nanaimo Chinese Freemasons and used for residential purposes.

It remains in use as affordable rental housing today, but is currently listed for sale. As an anchor of Pine and Hecate, there is an opportunity for the City of Nanaimo to recognize its heritage importance, while also securing important affordable rental housing stock.

Why Now

These buildings represent some of the last visible and physical traces of Nanaimo’s vernacular, working-class Chinatown architecture and enduring spaces of Chinese community life in the city. Their preservation offers a rare opportunity for cultural redress and public education, ensuring these histories are not lost or reduced to memory alone.

Protecting and recognizing these sites also directly supports City Plan Policy, which calls for broader inclusion of cultural history and diversity in Nanaimo’s heritage interpretation and public storytelling.

Together, the buildings form part of a unique heritage network across the city, including four historic Chinatown sites, two Chinese cemeteries, and a museum. This network presents a meaningful opportunity for cultural tourism development and deeper public engagement with Nanaimo’s layered history. Their location also strengthens the potential for cultural activation along the E&N Trail, connecting historic Chinatown sites into a continuous interpretive corridor.

Finally, Nanaimo’s Community Heritage Register already includes nine sites and buildings from the 1950s to 1980s, demonstrating an existing framework for recognizing and protecting mid-century and community-significant places.

What We Are Calling For

Add 880 Hecate St. and 997 Hecate St. to Nanaimo’s Community Heritage Register as the remaining physical traces of Nanaimo’s historic Chinatowns
Secure heritage recognition for all four Nanaimo's Chinatowns in Nanaimo’s Community Heritage Register
Establish permanent interpretive signage to commemorate all of Nanaimo’s Chinatowns and related sites of Chinese diasporic heritage
Develop public education programming, including a “Chinese Heritage Walks Through Time” and a tourism guide highlighting Nanaimo’s Chinese diasporic heritage sites
City of Nanaimo to explore acquisition of 880 Hecate St. and 997 Hecate St. to secure affordable rental housing and ensure long-term community benefit
Restore 880 Hecate St. as a multicultural community hub, drawing inspiration from models such as Wing’s Block in Montreal and the Langham Cultural Centre in Kaslo

How You can Help

These buildings are among the last physical traces of Nanaimo’s historic Chinatowns, carrying deep cultural significance. Their loss would mean the disappearance of irreplaceable links to generations of past Chinese diasporic life in the city to the present.

Join us in calling on the City of Nanaimo to protect these sites and ensure they remain part of Nanaimo’s shared future, not just its past.

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