The Dominion Building (originally Dominion Trust Building) is a

commercial building Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada. Located on the edge of

Gastown Gastown is the original settlement that became the core of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and a national historic site and a neighbourhood in the northwest section of the Downtown Eastside, adjacent to Downtown Vancouver. Its hi ...

(207 West Hastings St), it was Vancouver's first steel-framed high-rise. At 53 m (175 ft), the thirteen-storey,

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

style building was the tallest commercial building in the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

upon its completion in 1910. Its architect was John S. Helyer, who is said to have died after falling off the staircase in the front of the building, though this is an urban legend.Emporis Building Database
/ref> The financiers of the structure were the Counts von Alvensleben from Germany, who were active in Vancouver's financial scene at the time. It was generally held at the time that they were a front for the

Kaiser ''Kaiser'' is the German word for "emperor" (female Kaiserin). In general, the German title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (''König''). In English, the (untranslated) word ''Kaiser'' is mainly ap ...

's money, which carried the suggestion that the Empire's tallest building had been built by its greatest rival. Today it is a provincially designated Class "A" heritage structure. Owned by ''Newton Investments Limited'', it was restored by restoration expert Read Jones Christofferson. The building's current tenants include a film production company (Haddock), a law firm, clothing designers, record labels,

antiquarian bookseller Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of librari ...

s, Kokoro Dance, professional web developers, marketing agency, Bowery Creative, the office of the

Green Party of Vancouver The Green Party of Vancouver, founded in 1984, is a municipal political party in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is affiliated with both the provincial Green Party of British Columbia and the federal Green Party of Canada. They are conte ...

, a dentist, non-profit organizations such as

Living Oceans Society Living Oceans Society is a Canadian environmental organization that has been a leader in the effort to protect Canada's oceans since 1998. It is based in Sointula, British Columbia, with a satellite office in Vancouver, British Columbia. Livin ...

and Fair Trade Vancouver and a Lebanese restaurant, Nuba. The Dominion Building sits across the street from Victory Square, site of the former provincial courthouse, which was relocated to Georgia Street in 1913. The Dominion Building was at the hub of the city's financial and legal district until that move. The backside of the building (containing the emergency staircases) and Cambie Street was filmed during the street scenes of ''

The Neverending Story ''The Neverending Story'' (german: Die unendliche Geschichte) is a fantasy novel by German writer Michael Ende, published in 1979. The first English translation, by Ralph Manheim, was published in 1983. The novel was later adapted into several f ...

''. It can be seen from Water Street. The Dominion Building, as well as other elements of Victory Square, were filmed for scenes in an abandoned city in ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel se ...

.'' The initial rooftop chase scene from Blade: Trinity was shot at the Dominion building. The 2012 TV show

Alcatraz Alcatraz Island () is a small island in San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military pris ...

also used this as a location in the opening episode, although the program was set in San Francisco, a lot of the location work was done in Vancouver. The Dominion building can also be seen in the background later in the series when a landmine is found in Victory Square. '' Can Lit.'' author '' Timothy Taylor.'' maintains a writing office in this building. File:Dominion Building Entrance 2018.jpg, Entrance File:Dominion Building lobby 2018.jpg, Lobby File:Dominion Building Vancouver 06.JPG, View north from Victory Square File:Dominion Building 1915.png, The Dominion Building in 1915

References

External links

Oakes Weekly

Dominion Building restoration

{{Vancouver landmarks Buildings and structures in Vancouver Skyscrapers in Vancouver Historic bank buildings in Canada Buildings and structures completed in 1910 Second Empire architecture in Canada Skyscraper office buildings in Canada

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References

External links