Intention to Designate 165-191 & 195-205 King St E (Copp Block)

Description of Property

The properties municipally addressed as 165-191 and 195-205 King Street East, Hamilton, known as the Copp Block, are comprised of a related three-storey brick row constructed in phases between 1879 and 1881. The row takes up the entire north side of the city block on King Street East bounded by Mary Street to the west and Walnut Street to the east, with the exception of 193 King Street East, in the Beasley Neighbourhood in the City of Hamilton.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest

The Copp Block has physical value and demonstrates a high degree of craftsmanship as a representative example of a commercial brick row constructed in the Renaissance Revival architectural style. The three-storey row was constructed as three separate structures in phases from 1879-1881 and takes up the entire city block bounded by Mary Street to the west and Walnut Street to the east, with the exception of 193 King Street East, which was constructed separately circa 1870.

The Copp Block has historical value for its association with the original owner of the property, Anthony Copp (Jr.) (1826-1910), Edmund Brown (E.B) Patterson (1866-1946), and immigrant and business communities in Downtown Hamilton in the International Village Business Improvement Area in the Beasley Neighbourhood. The original owner of the commercial block, Anthony Copp, was a prominent Hamiltonian, English immigrant, city councillor, and co-owner of the Copp Brothers Foundry. Copp first became affiliated with the property in 1864, and by 1875 he had begun plans to demolish the existing buildings on the properties to develop the Copp Block. The Copp Block was constructed as three structures in phases, including 195-205 King Street East constructed from 1879-1880, and 165-179 and 181-191 King Street East constructed from 1880-1881. The westernmost of these structures is also known as the Passmore Building and is associated with E.B. Patterson (1866-1946), a Hamilton architect who resided in the building. The Copp Block has the potential to yield information that contributes to the understanding of Hamilton’s immigrant communities as its historic and modern tenants reflect the evolution of Hamilton’s immigrant and working-class communities as part of the commercial area now known as the International Village.

The Copp Block is considered to be a local landmark and is important in defining the character of the area. It is historically, physically, and visually linked to its surroundings as part of the late-nineteenth to early-twentieth century King Street East commercial streetscape spanning from James Street to Wellington Street. The property is also linked to the historic urban design and development of the International Village and the Beasley Neighbourhood. 

Description of Heritage Attributes

The key attributes of the Copp Block that embody the physical value of the property as a representative example of a Renaissance Revival commercial row which demonstrates a high degree of craftsmanship, its association with Anthony Copp, Edmund Brown (E.B) Patterson, and its potential to yield information about immigrant and business communities in Downtown Hamilton in the International Village and Beasley Neighbourhood, include:

• The front (south) elevation and roofline of the three-storey row from 165-179, 181-191, and 195-205 King Street East, including its:
  • Three storey massing;
  • Brick facades laid in Stretcher bond;
  • Symmetrical design;
  • Elaborate projecting wood cornice with decorative brackets;
  • Third-storey round-arched window openings with galvanized iron window hoods, radiating brick voussoirs and tooled stone lug sills with embedded stone brackets; 
  • Second-storey segmentally-arched window openings with brick voussoirs, galvanized iron window hoods with decorative brackets and stone lug sills; and,
  • First-storey projecting wood cornice with brackets and matching plain siding.
•  The west (side) elevation and roofline of 165 King Street East, including its:
  • Three storey massing;
  • Elaborate projecting wood cornice with decorative brackets;
  • Rounded corner at Mary Street and King Street East with curved window openings on the second and third storeys; 
  • Third-storey round-arched window openings with galvanized iron window hoods and tooled stone lug sills with embedded stone brackets; 
  • Second-storey segmentally-arched window openings with brick voussoirs and stone lug sills; and, 
  • First-storey cornice to the north with decorative brackets above a large, bricked-in opening.
• The east (side) elevation and roofline 205 King Street East, including its:
  • Shed roof;
  • Brick façade laid in Common bond;
  • First-storey cornice with brackets;
  • Segmentally-arched window openings with radiating brick voussoirs and stone lug sills; and,
  • Two-storey, three-bay rear brick wing with segmentally-arched window openings with radiating brick voussoirs and stone lug sills. 

The key attributes that embody the contextual value of the property as a landmark and as a defining feature in Hamilton’s International Village include its:

• Location fronting onto King Street East; and,
• Massing, taking up an entire block spanning from Mary Street to Walnut Street (excluding 193 King Street East).