Gargoyles and details at Hotel Vancouver

What do you think the fair city of Vancouver would have looked like in 1939? 

If you have ever visited the hotel or are planning to do so in the near future, take a look around the hotel, you can imagine that much has changed since.  But when the hotel opened in 1939, there were a few buildings in the immediate area.  Christ Church Cathedral, what is now Cathedral Place was the old Medical/Dental Building, what is now HSBC bank was the old Devonshire Hotel, and today's Vancouver Art Gallery just around the corner was then the court house.  Hotel Vancouver used to have massive boilers and steam system, and used to even supply these downtown buildings with steam.

Step outside the entrance on West Georgia Street and looked up. Outside above these doors is a large window.  If you were to look up to the very top of the window frame you would see a carving of Hermes, the god of transitions and boundaries, protector and patron of travellers, invention and trade. And hence the patron of the Hotel and the protector of its guests!  It took 10 craftsmen from 10 different countries working for 12 months (Canada, France, Turkey, Scotland, Bohemia, Italy, Wales, Armenia, Czechoslovakia and Mexico) to carve all the features. The sandstone was from Haddington Island, off of Vancouver Island, and was the same stone used to build the Legislative Buildings in Victoria as well as Christ Church Cathedral, Royal Centre and Sinclair Centre.  Further up above Hermes, you may be able to see the travelers themes, represented by the carvings of transportation (boats and trains either side of the crest).

It's interesting to note that the stonework continues through to the foundation, which is as deep as the foundation of the Empire State building, and the hotel is also built on a large rock, so we consider it one of the safest places in the city in case of an earthquake.

Should time permit, we invite you to take a look around outside the hotel as well, at some of the carvings that adorn the building's exterior. They represent figures from classical mythology and also native North American cultures. Further up the hotel's facade you can see several of our imposing granite guardians; mythological gargoyles that are in place to protect the hotel and those that reside within its keep. Chief among these steadfast sentries is the Griffin; with the body of a lion, the head and wings of an eagle, it is a noble beast sacred to the sun. The griffin is also the hotel's logo. Griffins originate from Greek mythology. They were the bark less guard hounds of Zeus that protected a river flowing with gold. Here at Vancouver's Castle in the City, they protect our travelers and guests. To fully understand their significance to the hotel to a traveller it is important to realize that, until the mid 1800's travelling anywhere, in Europe and North America, was unsafe. With highwaymen and pirates around, a hotel was one of few safe places to spend the night. So there is a lot of mythology to protect travelers and while times may have changed somewhat, we are still havens of tranquility in a bustling city.

We invite you to spend a few minutes when you are next in or around the hotel and see some of these unique features of the hotel for yourself. Happy viewing.