The
2400 Motel, built in 1946, is simply the best of the post-war
Kingsway auto-courts. Ten years earlier, completion of the
Patullo Bridge and King George Highway had made Kingsway
the final leg in a modern highway system linking Vancouver
to the States. When the late 1940s and 50s ushered in an
age of unprecedented mobility, auto-courts sprung up across
North America to capture the market for highway-oriented
accommodation. Typical of the early motels, the 2400 was
built as a cluster of cottages on a lawn around a central
office, with a freestanding roadside neon sign to attract
passing motorists. An early example of the trend to modernism,
the motel's Streamline Moderne design - most notable in
its flat-roofed office building - evokes the post-war world
of speed and personal mobility. The 2400 Motel has been
scrupulously maintained over the years and is virtually
unchanged. With savvy management, it could continue as such
into the future, marketed internationally as a unique travel
experience.
Click
on postcard image above to see an excellent research report
for the City of Vancouver
by Birmingham and Wood, Architects and Planners. Published
January 2007 (PDF)
The future of the 2400 Motel, Kingsway's iconic landmark,
is up for grabs. The 'Norquay Neighbourhood Centre' planning
process, of which it is a part, focuses on encouraging higher
density residential/commercial developments in the area
around Kingsway and Nanaimo. Rezoning of the nearby Eldorado
Motel for redevelopment as a high-density mixed-use project
has already been approved. The 2400 site, which the City
purchased some years ago as an investment for future re-sale
as a development site, is probably next in line. When Heritage
Vancouver and local community groups expressed concern about
the heritage value of the white stucco bungalows and the
iconic '2400' neon sign, the City set up a stakeholder process
to discuss preservation and/or development options for the
future of the site. However, a favourable outcome is by
no means assured, as all options -including demolition -are
on the table.
