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Predating the Marine Building by a calendar year, the Georgia Medical-Dental Building, designed by the same pair of architects, began construction in 1927 and finished two years later. It was the first Art Deco skyscraper built in Vancouver, and under the skillful eyes of John McCarter and George Nairne, incorporated a similar materiality and massing strategy as the revered Marine Building.
The building's brick facade was adorned with ornamentation like terra cotta owls, lions and horses. Indicative of its tenancy, the structure was also embellished with medical, religious and mythological symbols around the main entrance. Perched on the visible corners at the building's first setback were three 11-foot-high terra cotta statues depicting nursing sisters of the First World War. Both McCarter and Nairne had served overseas during the war — McCarter, injured in action, credited the nurses with saving his life.
A dramatic implosion brought the building down in 1989, despite calls by heritage preservationists to save the structure. The outcry that followed led to stronger heritage protection laws, through the issuance of an independent consultant's report, when demolition of an "A" listed building is under consideration.
In its place rose the Merrick Architecture-designed Shaw Tower at Cathedral Place, which referenced its predecessor and neighbours with architectural callbacks. The pyramidal roof and setbacks of the 23-storey Postmodern tower draw on the vocabulary of Hotel Vancouver and Christ Church Cathedral. Replicas of the statues that graced the original building now occupy pedestals on the third storey. Though the three statues were supposed to be saved, their heaviness and the difficulty of removal kiboshed the operation. A fibreglass replica of the statue's head is on display in the lobby of Cathedral Place.
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