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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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The Electra 288 - 970 Burrard St. Vancouver, BC, Canada V6Z 2R4 Tel: 778-282-8800