The BC Electric Building is a 22-storey office tower in

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 cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. The building was constructed as the headquarters of the

BC Electric Company The British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER) was an historic railway which operated in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Originally the parent company for, and later a division of, BC Electric Company (now BC Hydro), the BCER assumed contr ...

and was designed by Thompson Berwick & Pratt. The project's design architect was

Ron Thom Ronald James Thom, (May 15, 1923 – October 29, 1986) was a Canadian architect. He is well known for two works: Massey College and Trent University's riverside campus. Early years He was born in Penticton, British Columbia, the son of James ...

. In 1995 the building was converted from offices to residences and renamed the Electra.

History

The structure was built by John Laing & Sons 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 The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, trade name, operating as BC Hydro, is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia. It is the main electricity distributor, serving more than 4 million customers in most areas, wi ...

. The 22 story, 89 m (293 ft), building's commission was arranged by Charles Edward "Ned" Pratt. At the time it was claimed to be the tallest office building in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

, 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 A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

space, although BC Hydro continues to operate the Dal Grauer Substation, whose space is integral with Electra. While BC Electric's offices were in the building ten large air horns on top of the structure played the first four notes of

O Canada "O Canada" () is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the music, after which French- ...

at noon every day. The horns have since been moved to the Pan Pacific Vancouver roof. They are owned and managed by

Canada Place Canada Place, co-named Komagata Maru incident, Komagata Maru Place, is a building situated on the Burrard Inlet in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is home to the Vancouver Convention Centre East Building, the Pan Pacific Hotels and Resor ...

References

Sources

External links

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City of Vancouver Press Release concerning Chemical Spill

{{Coord, 49.281135, -123.125233, display=title Buildings and structures in Vancouver Heritage buildings in Vancouver Residential condominiums in Canada Modernist architecture in Canada BC Hydro

History

See also

References

Sources

External links