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Built during the early years of the 20th century, several of downtown Vancouver's oldest commercial structures owe their existence to a handful of local developers. Of these early pioneers of real estate and construction, William Holden (b. 1872, in Stirling, Ontario) was among the most prolific. While his reputation as "the man who built Granville Street," may have been something of an overstatement, there are a proliferation of buildings strewn across downtown that bear his name.
Built for the relatively high cost of $250,000, the steel-frame Holden Building was once one of the tallest structures in Vancouver, and the early skyscraper was one of the grandest edifices on East Hastings. From 1924 to 1936, the Holden Building was leased to City Council and repurposed as City Hall, and the interior of the structure was altered to meet the needs of the day. In 1988, the renamed Tellier Tower was refurbished for residential use, a function it has retained to this day, providing affordable housing to those in need.
Today part of a complete block of intact, early 20th century commercial buildings along East Hastings, the Holden Building is a rare survivor in an urban landscape that has been undergoing an intensive rate of change over the last two decades. Viewed in the modern-day image below, the Holden Building and its neighbours appear very much the same today as they did more than a century ago.
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