Vancouver Sun Tower

The Sun Tower in Vancouver, British Columbia, is a popular tourist attraction in the city. At one time in its history, it was the tallest building in the British Empire, which is saying a lot.

The Sun Tower actually started out as only being a building for producing the news, most specifically The World, one of the thickest newspapers in history. More than 17 stories tall, Louis Denison Taylor, one of the city’s newspaper pioneers and a one time mayor of the city, had it built during what was a real estate boom, figuring he would be able to make a lot of money on property rentals as well. Instead, just after the building was completed, there was a recession that effectively killed both the newspaper and the ownership of Mr. Taylor.

In 1927, a fire forced the Vancouver Sun to quickly find a new location, and they purchased the building, moved in, and changed its name to the Sun Tower, which it remains today, even though they moved to a different location in 1964.

The tower is known for the large, green, “copper” dome on the top of the tower, which is actually painted green to imitate weathered copper cladding. It’s also known for its nine naked muses, the “nine maidens” supporting the cornice line. In a 2004 biography of Mr. Thomas, author Daniel Francis wrote “A row of nine semi-draped female figures, sculpted by Charles Marega, supports a cornice about halfway up the building; the bare breasts and sensuous poses scandalized the city’s bluenoses.” That probably helps to explain why it’s still a popular tourist attraction.

There are some hotels near the Sun Tower that are less than ¼ of a mile away. Some of them are: Pender Hotel; Silver Avalon; Regal Place Hotel; Chelsea Inn; and the Hilton Hotel.