Harbour Centre facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Harbour Centre
Harbour Centre from Gastown
General information
Type	Mixed-use: Observation, office, commercial, restaurant
Architectural style	Brutalist / Modernist
Opening	1977
Height
Architectural	147 m (482 ft) (CTBUH)
Technical details
Floor count	28
Design and construction
Architect	WZMH Architects

Harbour Centre is a tall building, also known as a skyscraper, located in Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It first opened in 1977. The building has a special "Lookout" tower on top. This tower makes it one of the tallest structures in Vancouver. It's a famous landmark you can easily spot in the city's skyline.

The Lookout tower has a viewing deck that goes all the way around, giving you a 360-degree view. It's a popular place for tourists to visit. There's also a revolving restaurant called "Top of Vancouver" at the very top. From here, you can see the whole city without anything blocking your view.

Harbour Centre is located at 555 West Hastings Street in Downtown Vancouver. It's very close to Waterfront Station. This station is a big hub for public transport. It connects to the SeaBus, West Coast Express, SkyTrain, Canada Line, and buses. Simon Fraser University also has its downtown campus in the building next door, called the Spencer building.

The Coast Guard Radio in Vancouver operates from Harbour Centre. They help keep watch for boats in trouble. They also manage boat traffic in nearby waters like the Fraser River, Burrard Inlet, and English Bay.

Building History

Before Harbour Centre became what it is today, a large department store called Simpsons-Sears was located here. That store closed down in 1987.

In the 1990s, when the internet was becoming very popular, many technology companies had their main offices in Harbour Centre.

How Tall Is It?

Harbour Centre was designed by WZMH Architects. The building is said to have 28 office floors. However, the tower and observation deck go much higher than these floors. Some people say it's like 44 stories in total.

There are different ideas about its exact height. The Vancouver Lookout website says the observation deck is about 168 meters (553 feet) above the street. But another group, CTBUH, says the building's main height is 147 meters (482 feet).

Another source, Skyscraperpage, says the roof is 139.6 meters (458 feet) tall from the Hastings Street entrance. From the back entrance on Cordova Street, it's 146 meters (479 feet). The very top of the antenna is listed as 170.1 meters (558 feet) tall.

Harbour Centre was the tallest building in British Columbia (when measured to the tip of its antenna) until 2009. That's when the Living Shangri-La building was built.

Visiting the Lookout

The Vancouver Lookout is a fun place for tourists to visit. It's located on top of the Harbour Centre business building. It officially opened on August 13, 1977. The famous astronaut Neil Armstrong was there for the opening! His footprint was even put into cement on the viewing deck. Sadly, it was lost or stolen during some renovations later on.

To get to the top, you ride in special glass elevators. These elevators take visitors 168 meters (553 feet) up into the sky from the street level. The ride only takes about 40 seconds!

In Movies and TV

Harbour Centre has been featured in several TV shows and movies:

• In Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction?, some teenage girls ride the glass elevator to a restaurant at the top. The elevator breaks down in that episode.
• You can see Harbour Centre in the background of the Arrow episode "Dark Waters."
• It's also visible in the background of The X-Files episode "2Shy" at the beginning.
• The building was filmed in some episodes of the original MacGyver TV series.
• It appeared in the TV series Danger Bay.
• You can also spot it in the movies The 6th Day (starring Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Blade: Trinity.

Gallery

• 

  Harbour Centre, as seen from Burrard Inlet.

• 

  Detail of the Vancouver Lookout.

• 

  Vancouver Lookout Lobby

• 

  Vancouver Lookout

See also