Editing Marine Building (section)

==History==
The building was conceived by Lt. Commander [[J.W. Hobbs]], an entrepreneur from [[Toronto]]. Hobbs recognized that the opening of the [[Panama Canal]] in 1914 would greatly increase Vancouver's importance as a commercial port, and decided that the city needed a grand building, in the vein of the newly constructed [[Chrysler Building]] in [[New York City|New York]].<ref name="aview">[http://www.aviewoncities.com/vancouver/marinebuilding.htm A View on Cities: Marine Building, Vancouver]</ref> The design was assigned to [[McCarter Nairne and Partners]], who had never worked on the design of a skyscraper before.<ref name="aview"/> Construction started on March 13, 1929<ref name="forbidden"/><ref name="vanhistory"/> as reported by a local newspaper:

{{quote|''Yesterday morning, His Worship Mayor [[W.H. Malkin]] blew a blast on a golden whistle and with it set in motion the steam shovel that will excavate the site for the new [[Burrard Street]] Marine skyscraper.''}}

The building was completed on 7 October 1930. At {{convert|97.8|m|ft}} (22 floors) it was the tallest skyscraper in the city until 1939.<ref name="davis">{{cite book |last=Davis |first= Chuck|title=The Greater Vancouver Book:an urban encyclopedia |year=1997 |publisher=The Linkman Press |location=Surrey, BC |isbn=1-896846-00-9 }}</ref> According to the architects, McCarter & Nairne, the building was intended to evoke "some great crag rising from the sea, clinging with sea flora and fauna, tinted in sea-green, touched with gold."<ref>Cited in Harold Kalman, ''Exploring Vancouver: Ten Tours of the City and its Buildings''. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1974, 101.</ref> The building cost $2.3 million to build &ndash; $1.1 million over budget—but due to the [[Great Depression]] it was sold to the Guinness family of [[Ireland]] for only $900,000. The 2023 property assessment is $153 million.

There was an observation deck, but during the depression in the 1930s the 25-cent admission price proved unaffordable for most. Currently, there are no public galleries in the building.

Inside the massive brass-doored [[elevator]]s the walls are inlaid with 12 varieties of local [[hardwood]]s. All over the walls and polished brass doors are depictions of sea snails, skate, crabs, turtles, carp, scallops, seaweed and sea horses, as well as the transportation means of the era. The floor presents the zodiac signs. The exterior is studded with flora and fauna, tinted in sea-green and touched with gold.

During a renovation from 1982-1989 to update the electrical, mechanical and air-conditioning systems, the "battleship linoleum" (imported from [[Scotland]]) in the lobby was replaced with marble. The former Merchant Exchange was also gutted, and is now a restaurant called Tractor Foods.  This building was also the management centre for [[Oneworld]], of one of the three largest airline alliances in the world, from its founding in May 2000 until it was relocated to New York City in June 2011.