Hotel Georgia - Vancouver, BC
Posted by: 
elyob
N 49° 17.003 W 123° 07.132
10U E 491355 N 5458965
Look for the 49 storeys of skyscraper immediately behind the heritage structure.
Waymark Code: WM12NT1
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 06/23/2020
Views: 12
While documenting skyscrapers in Vancouver, I came across this heritage building dating back to 1926. The heritage designation was granted in 1974, decades before the Hotel Georgia's parking lots would be replaced by 49 storeys of skyscraper. I suspect that the skyscraper has forever changed the context as described below in the text copied from Canada's Historic Places.
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
The Hotel Georgia is a twelve-storey Georgian Revival style luxury hotel. It is prominently located in downtown Vancouver at the corner of West Georgia and Howe streets. It comprises part of a street wall of buildings that surround the square in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
HERITAGE VALUE
The heritage value of the Hotel Georgia lies in its contextual, historical and architectural significance.
The Hotel Georgia is one of Vancouver’s most prominent heritage buildings. Located at the corner of West Georgia and Howe streets, it is one of a trio of distinguished buildings – together with the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Hotel Vancouver – which frame one of the city’s few downtown open spaces.
The Hotel Georgia was built in 1926-27 in the Georgian Revival style to the designs of R.T. Garrow and John Graham Sr., the latter a prominent Seattle architect. The building has been host to many diplomats and distinguished guests in its almost 80 year history and has played an important role in Vancouver social life.
Like a classical column, the building’s exterior is divided into three parts, a strong base, elegant cap and simple shaft in between. Elegant and restrained detailing includes tall mullioned windows on the second floor and a balustraded parapet with urn finials at the top of the building. The interior features a richly-detailed wood-paneled lobby, ballroom, ground level terrazzo flooring, plasterwork, curved staircase, and handsomely-appointed meeting rooms on the second floor.
Source: City of Vancouver Heritage Conservation Program