Dominion Building
City of Vancouver Heritage Building
This ornate Beaux-Arts skyscraper was commissioned by Imperial Trust in 1906 but opened in 1910 as the Dominion Trust Building after this company assumed the debt and completed construction. It was the tallest building in the British Empire at that time, topped out at 18 storeys. The striking red and yellow terracotta exterior is capped by a three-storey Mansard roof reminiscent of late 19th Century Parisian townhouses. It was the finest building of the architects' careers and a major city landmark for decades. With the other Edwardian-era buildings rimming 'Government Square,' it formed Vancouver's commercial centre before World War I. The building was to be remodeled in the 1940s to accommodate the Army & Navy store: the plan never materialized, and its interior features of marble wainscoting, terrazzo flooring, oak woodwork and a decorative ten-storey spiral staircase remain intact.
Marker is at the intersection of West Hastings Street and Cambie Street, on the right when traveling west on West Hastings Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
