The Sylvia was designed as an apartment building by Mr. W.P. White, a Seattle architect. It was built in 1912 by Booker, Campbell and Whipple Construction Company for a Mr. Goldstein, who had a daughter named Sylvia. During the Depression the Sylvia Court Apartments fell on hard times, and in 1936 the building was converted into an apartment hotel. With the advent of World War II, many of the suites were converted to rooms, in order to provide accommodation for the merchant-marine crews.
After the war the number of permanent residents in the hotel gradually decreased, until by the sixties the Sylvia had become a completely transient full-service hotel. In 1954 it opened the first cocktail bar in Vancouver. Until 1958 the Sylvia Hotel was the tallest building in the West End. A well known landmark, its brick and terra-cotta extension softened by the Virginia creeper that now completely covers the Gilford Street side of the hotel.
In 1975 the Sylvia was designated by the City of Vancouver as a heritage building, thereby ensuring its survival for many years to come.
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5 comments:
I love this photo. Is this building near you????
I like buildings that have an history, and I like when people (I mean, those who have power), take care of this history and decide to protect that kind of building.
And according to what is happening in the world those days,it seems that Sylvia is about to live an other depression time...
Wonderful history, and even more wonderful that the city decided to declare it as a heritage building. Love those vines! Is it as pretty inside?
Great pic as always, I added you to my 'followers' list as I really enjoy your work. Thanks for sharing!
Cheers!
http://reginainpictures.blogspot.com/
Pretty! I love the mix of typography and nature.
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