Mon Keang School National Historic Site of Canada
Vancouver, British Columbia
Mon Keang School, Vancouver
(© Charlotte Hung | Charlotte Hung, 2023)
Address :
123A East Pender Street, Vancouver, British Columbia
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
2023-07-14
Dates:
-
1908 to 1910
(Construction)
-
1923 to 2016
(Established)
Event, Person, Organization:
-
Chinese-Canadian architect W. H. Chow, and architects J. A. Radford and G. L. Southwell.
(Builder)
Other Name(s):
-
Mon Keang School
(Designation Name)
-
Wenqiang School and Wenqiang Xuexiao
(Other Name)
Research Report Number:
2022-43
Description of Historic Place
Mon Keang School National Historic Site of Canada is located in the top two storeys of the Wongs’ Benevolent Association Building at 121-125 East Pender Street. It is within Vancouver’s Chinatown (NHS, 2011), an urban neighbourhood where most of the buildings are two to four storeys, constructed to the property lines, and provides commercial, institutional, and residential space. This brick and wood structure, constructed in 1908 or 1910 and extensively altered in 1921, is three bays wide and has three storeys and a mezzanine above the main floor. The two top storeys each have a recessed balcony, a common feature of the “Chinatown” architectural style. The architects listed on the permit for the 1921 redesign were J. A. Radford and G. L. Southwell, although it is likely that W. H. Chow designed the alterations. The designation refers to the top two storeys (second and third storeys), excluding the stairwells, of the Wongs’ Benevolent Association Building at 121-125 East Pender Street. The address of the school within the building is 123A East Pender Street.
Heritage Value
Mon Keang School was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2023. It is recognized because:
• founded in 1923 by the Wong Kung Har Tong (a predecessor of the Wongs’ Benevolent Association) and located on the top two floors of the association’s building, Mon Keang School offered Chinese language instruction in Cantonese and other Chinese cultural subjects to children and youth in Vancouver’s Chinese community, creating a cultural link with China during a period when Chinese people in Canada faced considerable racism, and when immigration from China was severely restricted. It was the first Chinese language school in Canada to offer a high school division;
• almost continuously in use since its founding, and retaining original elements such as layout, doors and windows, the school illustrates the Chinese-Canadian cultural tradition of language schooling. Its location within the Wongs’ Benevolent Association building speaks to the importance of Chinese associations in providing educational and social services to Chinese Canadians.
In 1920, the Wong Kung Har Tong (now the Wongs’ Benevolent Association) purchased the building at 121-125 East Pender Street, removed the top floor and added two new floors. The third (top) floor includes a bright and spacious assembly hall, and the building features intricate stained-glass windows above entryways and in skylights. Mon Keang School was founded in 1923, during a period of intense anti-Chinese racism, and in the same year that Canada passed legislation to exclude immigration from China (Exclusion of Chinese Immigrants, 1923–1947 NHE, 2023). It was one of several Chinese-language schools located in Vancouver’s Chinatown in the early 20th century. These schools provided students with Chinese-language education in case they moved to China, and so they could work in trans-Pacific businesses and Canadian Chinatowns. Initially a primary school on the top floor of the building when it opened in 1925, Mon Keang School expanded in 1947 to accommodate a growing student population. The second storey was converted from a restaurant into five well-lit classrooms with high ceilings, a library, washrooms, and a central recreation area. That year, Mon Keang School was the first Chinese-language school in Canada to open a high school division, offering a grade 10 diploma that was recognized in China. Mon Keang School closed in 2011 and, since 2016, it has provided space for initiatives promoting Chinese language acquisition.
Source: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, December 2022.
Character-Defining Elements
Key elements contributing to the heritage value of this site include:
— location on East Pender Street in Vancouver’s Chinatown;
— location in the Wongs’ Benevolent Association Building, which speaks to the importance of Chinese associations in providing educational and social services to Chinese Canadians;
— recessed balconies on the top two storeys;
— decorative elements on the façade including a brick parapet with the name of the association and the date of completion of the building;
— use for community assembly and education;
— the interior layout including a ceremonial assembly hall and classrooms on the third (top) floor;
— the interior layout including classrooms and library on the second floor;
— in the assembly hall, a wood floor with inlay around the perimeter and wood wainscoting;
— stained glass windows and skylights;
— classrooms with high ceilings, generous windows, wainscoting, and blackboards.