Vancouver City Hall

Last crawled date: 4 years, 10 months ago

Vancouver City Hall is home to Vancouver City Council. Designed by architect Fred Townley and Matheson, and built by Carter, Halls, Aldinger and Company. The building has a twelve storey tower (the point being 323 feet/98 metres above sea level) with a clock on the top. Construction began in 1936 (Vancouver's Golden Jubilee) on January 3, and the first cornerstone was laid by Mayor Gerry McGeer on July 2. An eight-foot statue of Capt. George Vancouver, carved by Charles Marega, was placed at the front of the building. It was unveiled on August 20 by the visiting Lord Mayor of London, Sir Percy Vincent. Sir Percy also presented several gifts to the city, including a civic mace, and a sprig '...from a tree in the orchard where a falling apple gave Isaac Newton the idea that led to his theory of gravity.' The mace and the statue still reside at city hall. The building was started and opened all in the same year. It was completed on December 1, bringing an end to the 330-day construction. Each lock plate on the outer doors displays the Vancouver Coat of Arms, and each door knob bears the monogram of the building. The ceiling on the second floor of the rotunda was made of gold leaf from several BC mines. #art_deco #city_hall