- Vancouver’s iconic Art Deco skyscraper, the Marine Building, is built in 1930. At the time, the 22 story building was the tallest in the British Empire. As part of the design process, it’s said that the architects imagined New York’s famous Art Deco Chrysler Building sunken underwater and then risen out of the ocean’s waters after years of being clad with marine life.
- In 1933, Sylvia Grace Holland becomes the first woman to be a registered Architect AIBC. She graduated from the Architectural Association in London in 1924, and joined the Royal Institute of British Architects. After several years working in England, Sylvia and her husband, Frank Holland (a fellow architect), moved to his hometown of Victoria, B.C. Here, they established the architectural partnership of Holland & Holland. Following her architectural career, Holland continued to use her artistic ability and became one of the first women story artists at Walt Disney, working on critically acclaimed films such as Fantasia and Bambi. Learn more about Sylvia Grace Holland’s story.
- Construction of the third Hotel Vancouver finishes in 1939. It took eleven years to complete, and is one of the last buildings in British Columbia to feature stone carvings.
- AIBC Council presented the Honourable E. W. Hamber, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, with a life-membership to the Architectural Institute of British Columbia.
- View of Vancouver Harbour featuring the Marine Building, taken from Hotel Vancouver in 1931 (Photo Credit: City of Vancouver Archives (CVA 371-1157) Photographer: Joseph Frederick Spalding):
