Electra Building, Vancouver
Encyclopedia
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
was built in 1957 as the new headquarters for the BC Electric Company, under its president Dal Grauer. A few days after Grauer's death in 1961, it became part of a new provincial crown corporation named BC Hydro
BC Hydro
The BC Hydro and Power Authority is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia generally known simply as BC Hydro. It is the main electric distributor, serving 1.8 million customers in most areas, with the exception of the Kootenay region, where FortisBC, a subsidiary of Fortis...
. The 21 story, 89 m (293 ft), building was designed by architect, Ronald Thom
Ronald Thom
Ronald James Thom, OC was a Canadian architect.He was born in Penticton, British Columbia, the son of James Thom and Elena Myrtle Fennel, he graduated from the Vancouver School of Art in 1947....
. At the time it was claimed to be the tallest building in the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
, although this was not true. After BC Hydro moved to new offices in Vancouver and Burnaby in the late 1990s, the building was sold, and in 1998, was renovated and converted primarily into residential condo
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
space.
Trivia
- For many years the corporation left all the lights on to create a city icon.
- While BC Electric's offices were in the building a horn on top of the structure played the first four notes of O CanadaO CanadaIt has been noted that the opening theme of "O Canada" bears a strong resemblance to the "Marsch der Priester" , from the opera Die Zauberflöte , composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and that Lavallée's melody was inspired by Mozart's tune...
at noon every day. This horn has since moved to Canada PlaceCanada PlaceCanada Place is a building situated on the Burrard Inlet waterfront of Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the home of the Vancouver Convention Centre, the Pan Pacific Hotel, Vancouver's World Trade Centre, and the world's first permanent IMAX 3D theatre . The building's exterior is covered by...
. - The lower floors of the building are covered in tiled mosaic conceived of by B.C. Binning.
- On September 18, 2010 the building was evacuated due to a chemical spill after workers from True North Concrete injected a chemical foam under the floor to raise some of the building's sunken tiles. While firefighters were called to the building four times between September 16th and September 18th in response to reports of noxious fumes, it is only on the fourth visit (after the fumes escalated into flames) that residents were prohibited from remaining in their suites, the HazMatHazmatHazmat, HazMat and similar terms can refer to:* Hazardous materials and items—see Dangerous goods** Hazchem—a system of hazardous chemical classification and firefighting modes** A hazmat suit is a type of protective clothing...
team was called in, and Nelson Street below was closed to traffic. Residents were cleared to return to their homes on September 23, 2010.