If you live in Vancouver or at least had the pleasure of visiting English Bay, I'm sure you know which building I'm talking about. The Famous Building with the Tree!
I thought I'd share with you the story of the significance of this building and the tree - it's an interesting one.
The Euginia Building - 1919 Beach Avenue - a prestige building offering 17 unique homes (only 1 per floor). Built in 1991 and designed by Architect Richard Henriquez.
He wanted to somehow symbolize Vancouver's history, when Vancouver was little more than a clearing in a clearcut.
So how did he do that?
A few very creative ways.
First of all - the stone wall that you can see below that surrounds the tower reproduces the foundations of the four houses that once stood on the same location.
If you look closely at the picture above, you'll notice a few stumps lay scattered on the building's land - only this time they're concrete.
Most importantly - THE TREE! The tree on top is a Pin Oak and he planted it there for a reason. This famous tree reaches the same heights as the soaring virgin pines that originally stood on the English Bay shore.
So that, my friends, is the story of the famous building with the tree on top! What do you think? Do you think Richard Henriquez did a good job of conveying Vancouver's history? I think he did - if you didn't know the story you would never think anything other than the fact that it's pretty cool to see such a big tree so high up. But after hearing the symbolism behind it - it just makes it that much more fabulous!
Here's an old shot courtesy of the Vancouver Archives you can see exactly what the neighbourhood used to look like back in 1919. I absolutely LOVE old pictures... this one is actually on my desktop as we speak! :) I hope you enjoyed and learned something new!
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