The Sun Tower is a 17 storey 82 m (269 ft) Beaux-Arts building at 128 West Pender Street in Vancouver , British Columbia . It was known for its faux- patina steel dome painted to imitate copper cladding. In early February 2021 a newly finished roof clad in real penny-coloured copper tiles was revealed. The new roof was a part of restoration work that began on the heritage building in 2018. Nine nude muses , the "nine maidens" supporting the cornice line can be seen. The terracotta for this building, including the ladies, was made in Tamworth , Staffordshire , England by Gibbs and Canning Limited.
17-642: The Sun Tower was commissioned by L. D. Taylor to house his newspaper, The Vancouver World . The intention was that the building would be visible throughout the World's circulation area as the tallest building in the city. John Coughland and Sons of Vancouver had 1,250 tons of steel fabricated for construction. When it was completed in 1912, it was called the World Building and was the tallest building in Vancouver at 82 m (269 ft), surpassing
34-460: A filming location for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 . The Vancouver World The Vancouver Daily World (also known as The Vancouver World or simply The World ) was a newspaper once published in Vancouver , British Columbia . It was founded in 1888 by John McLagan , the editor of the paper. In 1901, when John McLagan died, his widow, Sara Anne McLagan , became
51-617: A surveyor with the Royal Engineers . The following year, she emigrated to Canada with her mother and baby sister, to join him. Maclure's father taught her telegraphy . At the age of 12, when a major forest fire threatened their home in Matsqui (now part of Abbotsford ), Sara tapped a message through to New Westminster to call for help. At 15 she was employed at the New Westminster telegraph station. McLagan worked at
68-481: Is also used for some of the decorative carvings near the top of the tower, that feature animal skulls surrounded by garlands of fruit and flowers. It was announced on March 19, 2008, that the Sun Tower had been sold to new owners on March 17. The purchase price was not announced, but the building had a 2008 assessed value of CA$ 6.16 million . The new owners promised to restore the heritage building. The exterior of
85-663: Is often described as "the first female publisher of a daily newspaper in Canada." During her tenure, the newspaper added a woman's page. She sold the paper to a group of businessmen in 1905. McLagan was an early member of the Canadian Women's Press Club , and of the British Columbia Institute of Journalists. McLagan was a founder of the Local Council of Women of Vancouver , and president of
102-531: Is steel. The exterior is adorned with nine terracotta caryatids supporting the cornice, sculpted by Charles Marega . These apparently caused a minor scandal among some of Vancouver's citizenry at the building's opening, as the female figures are depicted partially clothed, with naked breasts, and were considered to be adopting "sensuous" poses. Further decorative detailing is provided by carved stone sills under all windows, manufactured from local volcanic andesite from Haddington Island . Haddington Island andesite
119-806: The Art, Historical and Scientific Association of Vancouver. She was also involved in the city's YWCA and YMCA , and active in the Georgian Club and the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (IODE). McLagan's only son, Patrick Douglas Maclure McLagan, died at Ypres in 1917, in World War I . In 1920 she was presented with the "Cross of Sacrifice" for her postwar relief work with the Red Cross at Vitry-en-Artois , France, sponsored by
136-719: The IODE. She and her daughter were the only British Columbians at the unveiling of the Cenotaph to the Unknown Warrior in Whitehall in 1921. Later that year, she chose St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Vancouver to house a bronze memorial tablet to her son's memory. Sara Anne Maclure married widowed printer John McLagan in 1884. He had a grown son, and they had more children together, including four daughters Geraldine (who died in 1891), Hazel, Marguerite, and Doris, and
153-568: The Sun Tower is used in The CW 's superhero television series Smallville to depict the Watchtower , the operational headquarter of DC Comics ' Justice League . In the show, the tower is digitally modified to be a clock tower with six turret clocks on its dome and is enhanced to look taller, being the highest building in Metropolis in certain shots. The exterior was also used as
170-692: The Western Union Telegraph Company in Matsqui and in Victoria, as an operator, tester, dispatcher, and office manager, until she married in 1884. In 1888 she was a co-founder (with her husband) of the Vancouver Daily World newspaper. After her husband's death in 1901, she continued as president and editor of the paper, the largest Canadian daily published west of Winnipeg, with her brother Frederick S. Maclure. She
187-460: The building has retained its name. Formerly 100 West Pender St, the City of Vancouver renumbered the Sun Tower's street address to 128 West Pender in 2011 in accordance with its strict street numbering bylaw when a new building was constructed on the vacant lot at the southwest corner of West Pender and Abbott Streets. The Sun Tower was designed by architect William Tuff Whiteway , who also designed
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#1732773286923204-511: The first woman publisher of a daily newspaper in Canada. She also became managing editor, editorial writer, proof reader and an occasional reporter. In 1905, L. D. Taylor , along with other interest parties, bought The Vancouver World newspaper. Taylor transformed the paper from a small twelve-page daily to a modern newspaper which eventually grew in circulation to challenge The Province . Construction of The Daily World's headquarters, The World Building (later renamed The Sun Tower ),
221-559: The organization from 1898 to 1900. She was a provincial leader of the National Council of Women of Canada from 1903 to 1907, advocating for women's suffrage in Canada and improved career opportunities for women. She helped found a Vancouver chapter of the Victorian Order of Nurses , presiding over the chapter from 1902 to 1906, and helped establish a nurses' training home in the city. In 1903 she served as president of
238-405: The original Woodward's building nearby. The building takes the form of an eight-storey, L-shaped block, surmounted by a nine-storey hexagonal-section tower. The tower is capped by a Beaux-Arts dome and cupola. The structure of the tower is steel, which is dominantly clad in a combination of terracotta tiles and rusticated brickwork. The dome itself, although painted to resemble patinated copper,
255-584: The previous record-holder, the Dominion Building located just around the corner. For one year, it was the tallest building in Canada , until Toronto 's 85 metre Canadian Pacific Building opened in 1913. In 1918, droves of Vancouverites turned out to watch as Harry Gardiner , the "Human Fly", scaled the outside of the building. When The Vancouver Sun bought the building in 1937, it was renamed. Although The Sun newspaper has long since relocated, first to South Granville then to Granville Square ,
272-519: Was an Irish-born Canadian newspaper editor and clubwoman, co-founder and publisher of the Vancouver Daily World . She is often described as "the first female publisher of a daily newspaper in Canada" or "the first Canadian female newspaper editor." Sara Anne Maclure was born near Belfast , County Tyrone , the daughter of daughter of John Cunningham Maclure and Martha McIntyre Maclure. Her father moved to New Westminster in 1858, as
289-498: Was completed in 1912. The building was designed to be seen throughout the newspaper's circulation area and was the tallest building in the British Empire at the time of completion. The World , as well as Taylor, would later suffer financial difficulty. In 1924, The Vancouver Sun bought The Vancouver World . Sara Anne McLagan Sara Anne McLagan (1 April 1855 – 20 March 1924), born Sara Anne Maclure ,
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