Hotel Europe is a six-story heritage building located at 43 Powell Street (at Alexander) in the

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 ...

area of

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, ...

. The building was commissioned by hotelier Angelo Calori and built in 1908-1909 by Parr and Fee Architects. Situated on a triangular lot, the building is designed in the

flatiron Flatiron or flat iron may refer to various things, often in the shape of a wedge: Objects *Clothes iron * Hair iron Places * Flatiron Building, New York City, at the intersection of 5th & Broadway **Flatiron District, New York City, named afte ...

style. It was the first reinforced concrete structure to be built in Canada and the earliest fireproof hotel in

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

. Contractors had to be brought in from

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

for the necessary expertise; the Ferro-Concrete Construction Company began this project six years after constructing the first tall concrete building in the world. With funding from the

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) (french: Société canadienne d'hypothèques et de logement) (SCHL) is Canada's national housing agency, and state-owned mortgage insurer. It was originally established after World War II, to help re ...

, the building was renovated in 1983 as

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affo ...

with A. Ingre and Associates as the project designers. The residential units are now managed by the Affordable Housing Society. A

beer parlour A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in ...

formerly existed below the ground floor, which included areaways extending underneath the above sidewalks. To prevent a cave-in from the weight of pedestrians and above ground traffic, the City of Vancouver filled the areaway in with pea gravel at a cost of $215,000, which presumably can be easily removed in the event of future restoration. The Hotel Europe was one of the filming locations for the suspense movie '' The Changeling''. In it, the building houses the Seattle Historical Society, but the hotel sign can be seen on the right side facade of the building in some takes. Some scenes are set on its roof terrace. Hotel Europe was also a filming location in the 1994 epic drama film ''

Legends of the Fall ''Legends of the Fall'' is a 1994 American epic Western drama film directed by Edward Zwick and starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Julia Ormond and Henry Thomas. Based on the 1979 novella of the same title by Jim Harrison, the fil ...

''. It is also one of the locations for the music video Likey from the Korean female group twice. It also appeared in the 1984 film ''

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 ...

,'' as well as its 1990 sequel '' The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter.'' The exterior is also briefly shown in the 2007 family comedy film ''

Are We Done Yet? ''Are We Done Yet?'' is a 2007 American family comedy film directed by Steve Carr and starring Ice Cube. The film is a remake of the 1948 Cary Grant comedy film '' Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House'', previously remade as the 1986 Tom Hanks ...

'', as

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

carries out a cardboard standee of

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...

References

Gallery

Image:Hotel Europe, Gastown.JPG, Europe Hotel by Night, 2013 {{Vancouver landmarks Hotels in Vancouver Tourism in Vancouver Heritage hotels Hotels established in 1909 Hotel buildings completed in 1909 Defunct hotels in Canada Triangular buildings