Dominion Building

{{Short description|Historic commercial building in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada}}

{{about|the building in Vancouver|the building in Halifax, NS|Dominion Public Building (Halifax)|the building in New Zealand|Dominion Building, Wellington|the building in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario|Sault Ste. Marie Museum}}

{{Infobox building

| name = Dominion Building

| image = Dominion Building Vancouver dllu.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| caption =

| architectural_style = Second Empire

| alternate_names = Dominion Trust Building

| location = 207 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, British Columbia

| coordinates = {{coord|49.2825|-123.11|region:CA-BC_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| start_date = 1906

| completion_date = 1910

| building_type = Commercial offices

| roof = {{convert|44.8|m|abbr=on}}

| floor_count = 13

| architect = J.S. Helyer and Son

| references = {{Cite web |url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/113266 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307024455/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/113266 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=March 7, 2016 |title=Emporis building ID 113266 |work=Emporis}}{{skyscraperpage|1868}}{{cite web | title=Dominion Building | url=http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=1868 | publisher=ssp | date=2011 | access-date=9 November 2011}}

}}

The Dominion Building (originally Dominion Trust Building) is a commercial building in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located on the edge of Gastown (207 West Hastings St), it was Vancouver's first steel-framed high-rise.City of Vancouver's plaque on the building, photo visible [http://www.waymarking.com/gallery/image.aspx?f=1&guid=47033a93-3fc5-48fb-9b5b-d46cf9671739 here] Its architect was John S. Helyer,Helyer was in partnership with his son, Maurice, as J.S. Helyer & Son ([http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM2EEZ Blue Plaque]; the firm also erected the building housing the Vancouver Stock exchange at 148 West Hastings Street (1908) ([https://www.flickr.com/photos/bobkh/2629207231/ now "Regal Place"]), the ten-storey Metropolitan Building on Hastings Street (1911-12), and the Board of Trade building at Homer and Cordova, (1909), using poured-in-place concrete; Maurice Helyer built the Medial Arts Building on Granville Street (1922-23), according to [http://www.aupetitchavignol.com/info/info.htm Au Petit Chavignol] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430011217/http://www.aupetitchavignol.com/info/info.htm |date=April 30, 2010 }} in another Maurice Helyer building, at 845 East Hastings. who is said to have died after falling off the staircase in the front of the building, though this is an urban legend.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20040504114925/http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=113266 Emporis Building Database]}}

The financier of the structure was the Count Alvo von Alvensleben from Germany, who was active in Vancouver's financial scene at the time. It was known generally that von Alvensleben was one of the Kaiser's godsons. It was held at the time that he was a front for the Kaiser's money, which carried the suggestion that the Empire's tallest building had been built by its greatest rival, a rumour which disregards the fact that the tallest building in the Empire was in fact the Trader’s Bank Building in Toronto, completed in 1906 at 55.39m in height.

Today it is a provincially designated Class "A" heritage structure.

Owned by Newton Investments Limited, it was restored by restoration expert Read Jones Christofferson. The building's current tenants include a film production company (Haddock), a law firm, clothing designers, record labels, antiquarian booksellers, Kokoro Dance, professional web developers, marketing agency, Bowery Creative, the office of the Green Party of Vancouver, a dentist, non-profit organizations such as Living Oceans Society and Fair Trade Vancouver and a Lebanese restaurant, Nuba.

The Dominion Building sits across the street from Victory Square, site of the former provincial courthouse, which was relocated to Georgia Street in 1913. The Dominion Building was at the hub of the city's financial and legal district until that move.

The backside of the building (containing the emergency staircases) and Cambie Street was filmed during the street scenes of The Neverending Story. It can be seen from Water Street.

The Dominion Building can also be seen at the end of Jennifer Lopez's 2023 film,The Mother, as she looks down into Victory Square from the 14th floor, nearing the end of the film.

The Dominion Building, as well as other elements of Victory Square, were filmed for scenes in an abandoned city in Battlestar Galactica.

The initial rooftop chase scene from Blade: Trinity was shot at the Dominion building.{{Citation needed|date=June 2011}}

The 2012 TV show Alcatraz also used this as a location in the opening episode, although the program was set in San Francisco, much of the location work was done in Vancouver. The Dominion building can also be seen in the background later in the series when a landmine is found in Victory Square.

Can Lit. author Timothy Taylor. maintains a writing office in this building.{{Citation needed|date=June 2011}}

File:Dominion Building Entrance 2018.jpg|Entrance

File:Dominion Building lobby 2018.jpg|Lobby

File:Dominion Building Vancouver 06.JPG|View north from Victory Square

File:Dominion Building 1915.png|The Dominion Building in 1915