Harbour Centre

__NOTOC__ Harbour Centre is a notable skyscraper in the central business district of downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The "Lookout" tower atop the office building makes it one of the tallest structures in Vancouver and a prominent landmark on the city's skyline. With its 360 degree viewing deck, it also serves as a top tourist attraction, offering a physically unobstructed view of the city. During the dot com boom of the 90s, it served as the headquarters for several up and coming tech firms, including Stormix Technologies, NetNation and others

Location map
Vancouver
lat = 49.28475
long = -123.11176
caption = Location of Harbour Centre in Metro Vancouver
width = 220
float = leftDesigned by WZMH Architects, the building has 28 stories. Its structural height is 146 meters (481 feet), making it one of the tallest office buildings in the city (2007). However, the height of the ornamental pylon at the top is often included as part of the building's overall pinnacle height, arriving at a figure of 177 meters (581 feet). The building is sometimes promoted as British Columbia's tallest, measured from Cordova Street to the tip of the spire.

Harbour Centre is located at 555 West Hastings Street in Downtown Vancouver. It is steps away from Waterfront Station SkyTrain Station, a major multi-modal transit hub which serves as the Downtown Vancouver terminal for various TransLink operations such as SeaBus, West Coast Express, SkyTrain metro, the future Canada Line metro and buses.

Simon Fraser University operates its downtown Harbour Centre campus in the adjoining Spencer building. The Consulate General of Italy is also a major tenant at the building.

The downtown Simpsons-Sears department store was located here before it closed in the 1980s. There is also a red Christmas tree on the spire that lights up during the holiday season.

Tourist attraction

The Vancouver Lookout tourist attraction, located atop the Harbour Centre business building, was officially opened on August 13, 1977 by Neil Armstrong, whose footprint was imprinted onto cement and today is on display on the viewing/observation deck.

The circular viewing deck provides an unobstructed view of Downtown Vancouver and its surroundings. On clear days, visitors can see Mount Baker in Washington State with the naked eye.

Besides the observation deck, the tower also features the "Top of Vancouver Revolving Restaurant, one of three completely revolving restaurants remaining in the city.

Gallery

See also

* List of tallest buildings in Vancouver

External links

* [http://www.harbourcentre.com/ Harbour Centre (business building site)]
* [http://www.regnatarajan.com/Webcams/webcamHarbourCentre.aspx Webcam from Harbour Centre]
* [http://www.vancouverlookout.com/ Vancouver Lookout (tourist attraction)]
* [http://www.topofvancouver.com/ Top of Vancouver Revolving Restaurant]
* [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=113277 Emporis.com: Harbour Centre, Vancouver]