Exterior
Contemporary
Vancouver Block on Granville Street
The full fifteen-storey facade of Vancouver Block as seen from Granville Street, crowned by its illuminated clock tower.
Martin Knowles Photo/Media
Gallery
Seeing the Building
Photographs reveal what the eye sometimes misses. A wide shot shows the building's place in the skyline. A detail captures the craft in a single terracotta moulding. An archival image recovers a moment in the street's history that no longer exists.
Browse
Photography & Archives
Exterior views, clock tower details, lobby interiors, architectural ornament, street scenes, and archival images spanning over a century.
Visual Archive
Gallery
Photographs and images documenting Vancouver Block's architecture, details, history, and place on Granville Street.
Exterior
Contemporary
Clock Tower Against Blue Sky
The clock tower rises above Granville Street with the Canadian flag, a defining element of the downtown Vancouver skyline.
Martin Knowles Photo/Media
Exterior
Contemporary
Tower Architectural Detail
Terracotta ornament and projecting cornice detail on the clock tower, exemplifying the Edwardian Commercial style.
Martin Knowles Photo/Media
Exterior
2024
Facade Lettering
The building name carved into the terracotta facade above the ground floor, a hallmark of early twentieth-century commercial identity.
TakeOff Photography
Clock Tower
Contemporary
Clock Face and City Skyline
One of the four illuminated clock faces framed against the modern Vancouver skyline, bridging over a century of city growth.
Martin Knowles Photo/Media
Clock Tower
Contemporary
Neon-Lit Clock Hands
The neon-outlined clock hands continue a tradition of electric illumination that began in the 1920s on Granville Street.
Martin Knowles Photo/Media
Clock Tower
Contemporary
Clock Corner Ornament
A terracotta rosette and carved stone surround at the corner of the clock tower, typical of the building's rich ornamental program.
Martin Knowles Photo/Media
Clock Tower
Contemporary
Clock Mechanism
The original brass winding mechanism inside the tower, maintained in working order since the building opened in 1912.
Martin Knowles Photo/Media
Clock Tower
2024
Tower in the City Skyline
An aerial perspective reveals the clock tower amid modern towers, with Burrard Inlet and the North Shore mountains beyond.
TakeOff Photography
Interiors
Contemporary
Marble Stairwell
The marble stairwell with oak handrails spirals down through multiple floors, showcasing the building's interior craftsmanship.
Martin Knowles Photo/Media
Interiors
Contemporary
Lobby Ceiling and Columns
The restored lobby features a dark wood coffered ceiling, fluted columns, and period globe light fixtures.
Martin Knowles Photo/Media
Interiors
Contemporary
Elevator Lobby
Elevator doors framed by marble surrounds and a checkerboard tile floor in the building lobby.
Martin Knowles Photo/Media
Interiors
Contemporary
Corinthian Capital
An ornate Corinthian capital atop a marble column, flanked by a period ceiling light and the building's distinctive green window frames.
Martin Knowles Photo/Media
Historical
1912
Under Construction, 1912
Vancouver Block nearing completion in March 1912, with the clock tower and terracotta facade taking shape above Granville Street.
City of Vancouver Archives
Historical
1923
Postcard, 1923
A colorized postcard from 1923 showing Vancouver Block alongside the Birks Building, with streetcars running along Granville Street.
City of Vancouver Archives
Historical
1948
Granville Street, 1948
Granville Street in 1948 alive with streetcars, automobiles, and neon signs, the clock tower visible amid the commercial bustle.
City of Vancouver Archives
Historical
c. 1911
Terracotta Capital by Gladding McBean
An Ionic terracotta capital manufactured by Gladding McBean and Co. of San Francisco, one of the ornamental elements shipped north for the building.
Historical Collection
Restoration
2024
Restoration Aerial View
An aerial panorama during the 2024 clock tower restoration, with scaffolding wrapped around the tower and the surrounding cityscape visible.
TakeOff Photography
Images are used under applicable licenses. Placeholder entries indicate photographs being sourced or awaiting rights confirmation.
Visual Guide
What to Look For
The gallery is organized by category. Here is what each reveals about the building.
Exterior Views
Full-height views reveal the tripartite composition — base, shaft, and crown — that defines the building's place in the Edwardian Commercial tradition.
Clock Tower
The four-faced clock tower is the building's most recognizable feature. Daytime and nighttime photographs show how illumination transforms its presence on the skyline.
Architectural Details
Close-up photographs of terracotta ornament, caryatid figures, cornices, and mouldings reveal the craft embedded in the facade.
Street & Context
Historical and contemporary street views show how the building relates to its surroundings and how Granville Street has changed around it over the decades.
Image Credits
Image Rights & Licensing
Archival and contemporary images should only be published when the owner, license, and permitted use are confirmed. Placeholder images are used during development where original photography or licensed archival images have not yet been secured.
Some images shown in this gallery are sourced from Wikimedia Commons and are used under applicable Creative Commons licenses. Individual image credits and license details are provided with each image where available.
If you are the rights holder for any image displayed on this site and wish to request attribution changes, corrections, or removal, pleasecontact us.
Contribute
Share Your Photographs
Help us build a richer visual record of Vancouver Block.
We welcome contributions of both historical and contemporary photographs of Vancouver Block. If you have images of the building — whether professional architectural photography, personal snapshots from a Granville Street stroll, or archival prints from decades past — we would be grateful to include them in this growing collection.
Contributed photographs help tell the building's story across time. Historical images document the streetscape as it once was. Contemporary photographs capture the building's present condition and its relationship to the changing city around it. Detail shots reveal the quality of materials and craftsmanship that define the building's character.
Historical Images
Archival photographs, postcards, newspaper clippings, or personal prints showing Vancouver Block in earlier decades. We are especially interested in images of the building before 1960, street-level views of Granville Street, and photographs showing the clock tower or neon signage at night.
Contemporary Photography
Recent photographs of the building's exterior, lobby, architectural details, street context, or clock tower. High-resolution images are preferred. Please include your name, the date of the photograph, and any notes about what the image shows.
By submitting photographs, you confirm that you hold the rights to the images or that they are in the public domain. All contributions will be credited and used only with your permission.