Holden Building

Constructed 1910-11 and designed by WT Whiteway, this building served as Vancouver’s city hall between 1929 and 1936, the fifth floor having been converted into a council chamber. The building’s original owner, William Holden, was a real estate agent and investment broker, and one of Vancouver’s wealthiest capitalists. He was known as ‘the man who built Granville Street’. Between 1924 and 1936, the Holden Building served as the site of Vancouver’s City Hall. City architect A.J. Bird made numerous alterations, including the conversion of the fifth floor into a council chamber, but no trace of the building’s civic service remains visible today. In the 1930s, the building housed several trade union headquarters and offices of political parties, as well as medical professionals and lawyers. The Holden Building was refurbished in 1988 as a cooperative residence for local seniors, organized by the Downtown Eastside Residents Association (DERA), a community advocacy group made up of local residents committed to supporting each other and lobbying on behalf of their neighbourhood. Many of the original architectural details were discovered during the rehabilitation process and restored wherever possible. The involvement of DERA, especially at a time when many had given up on the area, is of key significance to the social history of the neighborhood and the city. After the rehabilitation, the building was renamed Tellier Tower in honor of Gerald Tellier, a merchant seaman and trade unionist who worked in the relief camps for the unemployed in the 1930s . He helped to organize the unemployed and was one of the founders of the ‘On to Ottawa’ trek.

Source

Canada's Historic Places, VHF's Carrall Street Greenway, City of Vancouver Heritage Program Conservation Report

More information

https://changingvancouver.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/the-holden-block/