Page 216 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Pacific Northwest

214  V ANC OUVER

2 Cathedral Place
925 W Georgia St. Map 2 F2.
Tel (604) 684-0925.  Burrard.
@ 2, 22. Open 7am–6pm Mon–Fri,
9am–5pm Sat. Closed major hols.
7 = ∑ 925westgeorgia.com
Cathedral Place is a high-rise
makeover of the 1929 Art Deco
Georgia Medical Dental Building
The stained-glass windows of Christ that once stood on this site.
Church Cathedral The 23-story postmodern tower
was designed by Paul Merrick
1 Christ Church Architects and constructed
Cathedral in 1990–91. The copper-roofed Fairmont Hotel
Cathedral Place preserves Vancouver, a city landmark
690 Burrard St. Map 2 F2. Tel (604) the stylistic ambience of its
682-3848.  Burrard. @ 2, 22. predecessor. Sculpted figures on 3 Fairmont Hotel
Open 10am–4pm Mon–Fri & Sun for the 11th-story parapet are copies Vancouver
services. Closed non-religious hols.
7 5 8am, 10:30am, 5:30pm & 8pm of the three famous terracotta 900 W Georgia St. Map 2 F2.
Sun. Concerts: ∑ thecathedral.ca nurses dressed in World War I Tel (604) 684-3131.  Burrard.
uniforms that graced the Medical
Originally known as “the light on Dental building and were @ 22. 7 - 0 = See Where
to Stay p290. ∑ fairmont.com
the hill,” Christ Church Cathedral demolished along with that
was once a beacon for mariners building. Lions that adorned the The first Hotel Vancouver was
entering Vancouver’s harbor. After third-story parapet are now at built by the Canadian Pacific
undergoing several expansions home at each of the entrances to Railway (CPR) in 1887, two
since its consecration in 1895, Cathedral Place. Eight gargoyles blocks east of where the
the oldest surviving church in on the 16th-story parapet echo current Vancouver icon stands.
Vancouver now sits in the midst those of the Fairmont Hotel Construction of the current
of the downtown business center. Vancouver across the street. hotel, the fourth to bear the
Modeled after a Gothic parish The exterior of Cathedral Place name, began in the late 1920s
church by its designer, Winnipeg is a collection of 20,000 pieces but came to a standstill after
architect C. O. Wickenden, the of Kansas limestone, polished, the stock market crash of 1929.
interior features arched ceiling cut to shape, numbered, and When it was finally completed
beams of Douglas fir. The then hoisted by crane. in 1939, the CPR closed the
sandstone cathedral remains The Art Deco-inspired lobby original hotel and entered into
to this day a quiet sanctuary. is dominated by the glass-and- a joint-management contract
In 1929, the church became steel illuminated sculpture for the new hotel with rival
a cathedral and, in 1930, the Navigation Device: Origin Canadian National Railway.
spacious chancel was added. Unknown, by Robert Studer. The building boasts a
The overhead lanterns were Some 17,000 pieces of Spanish distinctive peaked green
installed in 1937. Plans to build granite are set geometrically copper roof, a Vancouver
a bell tower were halted when into the floor. Behind the lobby landmark that has set the style
a city bylaw restricting church is an outdoor grassy courtyard for many downtown office
bells was passed. offering benches and serenity. towers. Ten craftsmen from
Thirty-nine impressive British- ten countries worked for
and Canadian-made stained- 12 months to carve the
glass windows feature scenes exterior stonework. Hermes,
from Old and New Testament messenger of the gods in
stories. Several unique windows Greek mythology, is carved
include images of Vancouver on the façade facing Georgia
people and places. Three William Street. Also visible are boats,
Morris windows, on permanent trains, rams, winged goats,
loan from the Vancouver and griffins, noteworthy for
Museum, are set in the down- their classic ugliness.
stairs office vestibule. To see them, The hotel’s lobby was
use the Burrard Street entrance. restyled in 1996 by Fairmont
After a major renovation in Hotels, the current owners.
2004, a new Kenneth Jones organ The $12 million renovation
was installed in the cathedral. In restored the lobby according
2016, the slate roof was replaced to the original architectural
with a zinc roof and a bell tower Cathedral Place, as seen from the drawings. More than 8,000 sq ft
made of stained glass was added. Vancouver Art Gallery (743 sq m) of marble were used.
For hotels and restaurants see p290 and pp302–3

US_PNW_214-215_Catalog1.indd 214 04/07/16 12:39 pm