Architecture

Perhaps because it doesn't have the long, storied history of a London, a Paris or even a New York, Vancouver is rarely singled out for its architectural wonders.  Yet as architecture buffs will tell you, there is more than meets the eye on city streets.

Any architecture tour has to begin in Gastown, Vancouver's first neighbourhood.  Cobblestoned Water Street is lined with handsome brick buildings, including several Victorian beauties, built in the aftermath of the great 1886 fire.  Rising nearby are the 1930 Art-Deco classic the Marine Building, as well as the uniquely hexagonal 1912 Sun Tower, once the tallest building in the British Empire.

But it wasn't until the 1970s that native son Arthur Charles Erickson really put Vancouver on the architecture map.  Known for an modernist style that nonetheless reflected the natural environment, Erickson designed and built the Provincial Law Courts, with their one-acre glass roof and urban gardens, as well as the Museum of Anthropology, modeled after the ancient dwellings of the coastal first nations peoples. 

Today, Vancouver's urban architecture continues to evolve.  The unique skyline is dominated by high-rise towers of blue-and-green glass.  And standout modern structures include the new 61-storey Shangri-La, the city's tallest building.