In the course of our daily reporting, we often uncover unusual projects, places, or connections that don't make the final cut. Instead of keeping it to ourselves, we're pleased to share our Architrivia.

Since November 8th, 1994, ten horns atop the Pan Pacific hotel at Canada Place have signalled lunchtime to Vancouverites. Formerly known as the 12 O'clock Horn, the 'Heritage Horns' loudly blare the first four notes of O Canada every day at noon. It's a familiar sound for locals and perhaps a source of confusion for tourists. But the horns have a richer history that dates back further than the 1990s — they were built as a BC Hydro Canadian Centennial project in 1967 and designed by engineer and sound specialist Robert Swanson. 

The heritage horns atop Canada Place, image via Wikimedia Commons

The BC Hydro Building, completed in 1957 at Nelson and Burrard Streets, was the original bearer of the horns. When BC Electric vacated the building in advance of its conversion to residences, the horns were muted. Canada Place Corporation then purchased and refurbished them, returning the chime's reverberations across Vancouver. The sounds weren't always emitted exactly at noon as they were previously operated on a mechanical timer, and Canada Place often received phone calls from local businesses who would complain that their employees were leaving for lunch too early. It was then decided to replace the mechanical system with an electrical timer that accurately tuned the alarm to 12 sharp. 

The old BC Hydro Building, image by Flickr user Robert Ciavarro via Creative Commons

Blowing at 115 decibels for the 6.5-second blast, the horns are heard throughout the downtown core and the North Shore. To protect the eardrums of hotel guests, Canada Place even bars entry to the hotel rooftop 10 minutes prior to noon, with strobe lights warning occupants to clear the area. Each time a medal was won by Canada in the 2010 Olympics, the horns would be activated. It's hard to mistake the signature sound. While the advent of portable timepieces, from watches to cell phones, makes the horn technologically obsolete, they continue to serve as a beloved and playful source of civic pride for the city, adding an idiosyncratic boost to the monotony of the work day.