Photo: Heritage Clearance

This is 817 Granville Street, a City of Vancouver Heritage Building at the corner of Granville and Robson. Known as Power Block, its internal structure dates back to 1888, making it one of the oldest buildings in Vancouver; the outside was renovated in 1929 into its present Art Deco styling, something that's not too common in here even though Art Deco was all the rage when the city was new. Now, though, the site faces redevelopment - and while the presence of the Art Deco facade on the heritage registry means it will be retained when a new five-storey building goes up on the site, that's all that will be retained. The 1922 building next door, which isn't a listed heritage property, will of course be completely razed.

I suppose it could be worse, though - I suppose they could just demolish it. Coming from Toronto, I'm accustomed to cities bulldozing their pasts.


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