A product of 1920s euphoria and the Depression that followed, there is nothing quite like Vancouver’s Marine Building. Though dwarfed by it’s more modern neighbors, the Marine Building is host to an endless stream of tourists and the curious, and no wonder.

The story is a familiar one. A small city with a fast growing economy wanted a major building to tell the world their town had arrived. The sky was the limit. Let no one in New York or Toronto suggest otherwise.

And it was true. The opening of the Panama Canal was a windfall for the port of Vancouver.

Arch, Marine Building main entrance

Terracotta detail, main entrance, Marine Building

The only Art Deco Canadian geese in the world? Possibly.

Shortly before sunset, the actual sun hits the Marine Building’s sun.

Enter Lt. Commander J.W. Hobbs who conceived an Art Deco skyscraper that conveyed pride, success and (in large measure) the unique things that made Vancouver special.

Fish, of course. But lobsters and shrimp, snails and whales…that put things over the top!

Metalwork, front entrance

Then there were ships, Canadian geese and signs of the zodiac. And somehow they managed to work in more conventional wonders of the day, locomotives and Zeppelins.

Marine Building, exterior detail

Among details almost too numerous to list: two massive stained glass windows, extremely ornate plasterwork by Giles Holroyd, walls partly covered in tooled lineoleum, sconces shaped like a ship’s bow and elevators whose cabs display 12 varieties of British Columbia hardwood. All is as it was, except for the original cork floor which has been replaced with more durable material.

The lobby, while not particularly large, is almost otherworldly, making the Marine Building a popular location for movies and TV, especially science fiction. You might think of it as Canada’s answer to the Bradbury Building.

Main entrance from the inside. One of two stained glass windows. Tile by Ernest Batchelder.

The unbelievable main lobby.

Marine Building metalwork (crop from photo, above)

The Marine Buiding’s tilework is by Ernest Batchelder, an important figure in the Arts & Crafts movement who enjoyed great success in southern California, providing tile for the area’s Spanish and Mediterranean styled architecture.

The astounding ceiling

Plasterwork by Giles Holroyd

Ship’s prow lighting fixture

All original except for the floor.

One of the original elevator cabs.

Wall detail, carved lineoleum

One can sense the optimism and pride that led to this incredible effort but the Marine Building met with a fate similar to the Empire State and Chrysler buildings: started in good times; finshed in bad.

The Marine Building opened in 1930. At a cost of $2.3 million (a bit more than double the budget) there was already trouble. In 1931, the building’s owners, the G.A. Stimson Company tried to sell the place to the city, to be the new City Hall, but the deal collapsed.

Finally, in 1933, the British Pacific Building Company stepped in, buying the Marine Building for a steal, just $900,000. British Pacific was part of the Guiness empire which, having been in business since 1759, had accumulated sufficient wealth to coast through the Depression. To this day, you can buy their product in the pub adjacent to the lobby. Art Deco isn’t the only thing that stands the test of time.

By the way, if you’d like to know more about Vancouver’s history or would like a guided tour of the Marine Building and other local attractions, I highly reccomend the outstanding and fun Forbidden Vancouver tours.