Jay McInnes

Being the oldest building in Chinatown (1889), this Victorian Italianate structure on 51 East Pender Street was constructed by Yip Sang. Yip Sang was a prominent Chinese-Canadian businessman who’s company (Wing Sang Company) flourished through the tough times of the era of Chinese facing many struggles here is Vancouver.

Yip Sang died in 1927 after being an integral part of the growth of the Chinese Benevolent Association, The Chinese School and the Chinese Hospital. Yip Sang was also a lifelong governor of the Vancouver General Hospital.

In 1901 the building (51 E Pender St) was extended to 69 East Pender Street. In 1912, Yip Sang built a six-storey brick building across the alley behind Pender Street for his family. An elevated passageway connected the two buildings. Beneath it ran Market Alley, a once thriving retail area with small shops and services, which also served as a former center for the production of opium (legal in Canada until 1909). 

The building has had a rich and varied history and contains the oldest schoolroom in Vancouver (kept in tact by Rennie). The Wing Sang Building acquired historical preservation and heritage designation by the City of Vancouver in 1999.

More than four years of planning, city bureaucracy, restoration and renovation has turned this Vancouver heritage landmark into a private exhibition space for the Rennie Collection.