522-524 Yates Street – the Leiser Building

The Leisier Building at 524 yates Street, built as a warehouse for Simon Leiser in 1896

Here is a map showing the location of the Leiser Building, 522-524 Yates Street:

Here is a Google Street View image of 522-524 Yates Street:

Additional Information About the Leiser Building

• Canadian Register of Historic Places

A Brief History of 522-524 Yates Street

He was a leading figure in Victoria and Vancouver Island business in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Simon Leiser built this building in 1896 as the warehouse for his wholesale grocery business.

Here is a excerpt from the local newspaper reports of this building’s construction in 1896:

“absolutely fire-proof.. .and are thoroughly mod­ern in all respects…The basement, which has a cement floor, is used for the storage of butter and other articles requiring an even tempera­ture [and] is so ventilated that the atmosphere can be maintained at a low point even in the hottest of the dog days.

“The ground floor is conveniently divided into general offices, private office, cigar and tobacco rooms… The offices are neatly fitted up and are models as regards light and ventilation, the whole being heated with hot water…

“The large ware-room…is stacked high with all the various comestibles that go to make up the stock in trade of a wholesale grocer.

“The building is fitted with an electric freight elevator…To facilitate the handling of goods, on every floor a line of track runs from front to rear [to] the elevator itself which is fitted with a turn­table, so that a loaded truck can be run in at either of the main entrances and transported to any part of the building and its cargo handled with a minimum expenditure of time and labor.”

After Simon Leiser‘s death in 1917 his wholesale grocery business was purchased by Kelly-Douglas Ltd.

The building later became government offices until it was converted to 34 condominiums in 2011.

As part of the condominium renovations the Leiser Building underwent seismic upgrades, part of which are visble as metal girders between the Leiser Building and the adjacent Earle Building at 530-534 Yates Street.

Leiser Building, 524 Yates Street. Built in 1896 as a warehouse for Simon Leiser by architect A.C. Ewart. The girders at right are part of a seismic upgrade in 2011..

For many years the Leiser Building was used as offices by the Capitol Regional District (C.R.D.). In 2011 the building was converted in condominiums.

Here are some other buildings designed by architect Alexander C. Ewart: