Main Page
Welcome to The Electra Commercial Section web site. The
Electra Commercial Section has been in-house managed since
2007 and we have never looked back. On this web site you will
find useful items such as rules & bylaws, forms, council
meeting minutes, contact information etc.
Here is a brief introduction to The Electra. The Electra is
one of the city's most famous and well known buildings, a
Vancouver heritage landmark, and proud home to close to 70
businesses (205 commercial units) and 242 private residential
units..
The Electra was designed by well known architects Ron Thom and
Ned Pratt of the local Vancouver firm Thompson, Berwick and
Pratt. At 21 stories, 89 m (293 ft), it is one of the most
striking buildings of the post-war building boom in British
Columbia and a symbol of west coast modern architecture. The
building was originally built in 1957 as the Head Office of
the BC Electric Company which in 1961 became part of the Crown
Corporation BC Hydro. Due to the fact that it was constructed
during the era of the Cold War The Electra’s basement level
was designed as a nuclear fallout shelter for the top BC Hydro
executives..
The building was originally designed to cater to the unique
ideas and demands of the President of the BC Electric Company.
The president insisted that the building be designed in such a
way that all employees desks be located within 15 feet of the
windows to take advantage of the natural light and spectacular
city views. This created a truly unique architectural
design that is as relevant today as it was in 1957 when it
first excited a whole city as Vancouver’s first "modern"
skyscraper.
In the early 1990's the building was converted into 205
commercial units (comprising of street-level retail and
executive offices) and 242 residential units. The heritage
value of the building, combined with the central downtown core
location and unique design made for a popular sale, and all
the units sold out on opening day!
Due to its central location and widely available fiber optic
lines and power the basement level was converted to a
state-of-the-art data center facility serving both businesses
and residences with a dual redundant 10 Gigabit per second
fiber optic ring to the Internet..
FUN FACTS:
- For many years the buildings lights were left on all night
to create a city landmark, producing one of the most
recognized buildings in Vancouver.
- The unique fin lights that run up the East and West sides
of the building were restored in 2008 and put on a schedule
that turns them on at 5 PM and off at 11:30 PM in the
winter, and on at 7 PM and off at 12 midnight in the summer.
- For many years everyday at 12 Noon an air horn at the top
of the building sounded the first 4 notes of the national
anthem (O Canada). This horn was moved to Canada Place when
the building was converted to Strata lots and still plays
the anthem every day at Noon.
- At that time the building was claimed to be the tallest
building in the entire British Empire. Unfortunately this
was never true. The building was built on top of the hill at
Burrard and Nelson giving it more height for the claim.
For additional information, please contact
the office at 778-282-8800
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