Skip to content
Join our Newsletter
  1. Home
  2. History

Vancouver Now & Then: Looking north on Beatty Street at Dunsmuir nearly a century apart

This view used to boast the city's tallest tower, back in its early years.
John Bentley - Vancouver Now & Then
beatty-street-north
Looking north on Beatty Street at Dunsmuir in 1926 and 2020.John Bentley/Vancouver Now & Then and Vancouver Archives

There are a number of buildings appearing in both pictures (taken in 1926 and 2020), including the imposing World Building in the background.

The green-domed structure (also called the Sun Tower) once laid claim to being the tallest building in the British Empire for a time, boasting an impressive 17 floors.

These days it seems to be in a constant state of repair - not surprising, given its age and extreme vertical-ness. 

beatty-street-north
Looking north on Beatty Street at Dunsmuir in 1926 and 2020. John Bentley/Vancouver Now & Then and Vancouver Archives

John Bentley is an architectural photographer who has photographed the inside and outside of thousands of buildings around Vancouver. Using images from the Vancouver Archives he offers a glimpse of the past and present on his site Vancouver Now & Then.