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Vancouver Now & Then: Gastown's Hickey Block in 1940 and 2020.

A look back at the history of the building at the corner of Abbott Street and Blood Alley
Hickey Block
The Hickey Block, at 228 Abbott Street in Vancouver's Gastown, as seen in 1940 and in 2020

Built in 1889 after the Gastown fire, The Hickey Block, at the corner of Abbott Street and Blood Alley, was originally a hotel with a saloon on the ground floor.

Recently renovated, it was the home of the Montauk Sofa Company's store until the business moved locations. 

The building is across the street from where the Winters Hotel stood until it was ravaged by fire in April 2022. 

Hickey Block
The Hickey Block, at 228 Abbott Street in Vancouver's Gastown, as seen in 1940 and in 2020. Photos: Vancouver Archives (1940) and John Bentley/Vancouver Now & Then (2020)

John Bentley is an architectural photographer who has photographed the inside and outside of thousands of buildings around Vancouver. Using images from the Vancouver Archives he offers a glimpse of the past and present on his site Vancouver Now & Then