Dominion Building, Vancouver

Downtown Vancouver – Dominion Building, originally uploaded by mc_bds.

Great sketching weather here in BC of late, so I took the time to sketch a bit while visiting Vancouver.
This is the old Dominion Building which is a classic old style skyscraper. It’s got the classic vertical divisions into base (terra cotta with some cut stone), shaft (brick and terra cotta), and top (metal roof in the mansard style). It was once the tallest building in the British empire.
Vancouver has many “nicknames” within Canada, each reflecting an aspect of the city’s character. A few include “Hongcouver” (large Chinese population and dense vertical form of city), “Raincouver” (it rains A LOT in winter), “Lotusland” (mild temperatures and physical beauty), “The Left Coast” (progressive / permissive politics), “Vansterdam” (pot culture), etc, etc.
Security is visible everywhere with the olympics about to start soon. The Canadians must win gold in hockey (a kind of mania here) or else there will be serious dissappointment and hell to pay!