Vancouver's Marine Building might sound mundane at first blush, but in reality it's anything but. This skyscraper, which houses offices like the management headquarters for One World, a restaurant, and formerly an observation deck, is twenty two floors high, and designed to evoke a craggy rock rising from the sea.

Aside from the building's unique shape, it's also noteworthy for the abundance of art deco details. The interior of the building is inlaid with twelve different native Canadian hardwoods, and the walls and brass doors are covered with images of sea creatures, like snails, rays, crabs, sea turtles, sea horses, and more, while the floors present zodiac signs. Outside, the exterior of the building is adorned with depictions of ocean flora and fauna, tinted verdigris and gold. The building was designed by architects McCarter and Nairne, and ended up costing nearly twice its original budget. When the Great Depression hit, it was sold for a fraction of its value.

This unique building has been used extensively in TV and film. It was the setting for part of the movies Timecop, Blade: Trinity, Fantastic Four, and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, as well as standing in for the Daily Planet's building in Smallville.

The Lookout is a tower that sits atop Harbor Center, the tallest and most famous skyscraper in Vancouver. The tower offers a 360 degree observation deck that allows for a clear and luminous view of Vancouver and the surrounding mountains, North Shore and Burnaby. Be sure to visit the Lookout at night to see the incredibly illuminated city beneath you.

Of all of Gastown's attractions, none are as well known as the Steam Clock. Though the clock certainly isn't the oldest attraction in Gastown, and steam clocks can be found in other towns, Gastown's steam clock is one of the few remaining steam clocks that is still steam powered.

The steam clock was originally built over a steam grate, partly to hide the unsightly grate, partly to harness the power of the otherwise wasted steam, and partly to prevent transients from using it for warmth in cold weather. The steam itself is generated by Vancouver's distributed steam heating system.

The original mechanism that powered the clock failed after a period of time, and electricity was required to keep the landmark operational. Fortunately, with donations from Gastown businesses, the steam mechanism was repaired and replaced, and continues to work to this day. As steam rises from the grate, it powers a small steam engine. This powers a chain lift, which moves steel balls upward until they roll onto a descending chain lift. The weight of the balls is what actually powers the clock's pendulum, allowing it to keep time without winding. Since the clock uses whistles to mark the time, the steam also powers the clock's chiming mechanism. promoted as a heritage feature although it is of modern invention.

Gastown's Gaoler's Mews is where Vancouver's first jail used to be. Over the years, this spot has seen the great Vancouver fire of 1886, a pub, and over forty public executions by hanging. Though it has the same old time appeal as the rest of Gastown, Gaoler's Mews is probably more famous for its unseen inhabitants.

Stories abound of the hauntings that supposedly take place in Gaoler's Mews. One of the contractors working on the Irish Heather pub discovered that his tools would regularly be moved, and one of the owners heard a woman calling her name when nobody else was there. Visitors have also seen a mysterious woman dressed in black, moving along the area near where Vancouver's scaffold used to be. Another spirit, a man in black, was seen multiple times by the Irish Heathers' staff, as well as the staff of the coffee house next door. When the building was renovated, the figure could be seen moving through a wall where a door used to be.

Though neither the Irish Heather nor Blake's Coffee Parlour are still in Gaoler's Mews, this building is still a popular destination for tourists. People from all over come with infra-red cameras, Geiger counters, and other paraphernalia to hopefully record some evidence of the area's famous hauntings

The Sam Kee Building has the rather odd distinction of being the shallowest commercial building in the world.

The building was originally built by one of Chinatown's wealthiest firms, the Sam Kee Company, in 1903. The basement level of the building was designed to hold public baths, while the ground floor held commercial buildings, and the top level was residential.

This arrangement worked for the next nine years, until the city of Vancouver widened the street the Sam Kee Building was situated on. This had the effect of seriously limiting the size of the commercial area of the Sam Kee Building. In response, the building was designed to have a ground floor that's only around four feet, eleven inches wide, with a second floor that's six feet wide. Despite its narrow size, the Sam Kee Building is still used as a commercial space.

According to both the Guinness Book of World Records and Ripleys Believe It or Not, this building is the shallowest commercial space in the world, despite being challenged by the Skinny Building in Pittsburgh. Though the Skinny Building is wider than the Sam Kee Building's ground floor, the Skinny Building is shallower than its top floor, making it the shallowest building from the ground floor, up.

Vancouver's Victory Square is a small urban park, located on the site of the old Vancouver courthouse. The park itself is notable for accidentally setting the great Vancouver fire- when the heavily forested land was cleared to make way for the courthouse, a pile of trees and branches built up. This wood pile acted as kindling for the great fire, which levelled much of Vancouver in 1886.

One of Victory Square's features is the Cenotaph. The Victory Square Cenotaph is a war memorial, carved from Nelson Island granite and standing roughly thirty feet in height. It is engraved with an image of a longsword, a wreath of laurels, and a wreath of poppies, both of which are entwined with maple leaves. Biblical inscriptions on the Cenotaph read “Their name liveth forevermore,” “Is it nothing to you,” and “All ye that pass by.”

The location of the Cenotaph is historically significant, since the monument was erected where the base of the steps of the old courthouse used to be. This was where men stood to sign up for World War I, and where the main presentations of royal visits to Vancouver took place. Every year, the Cenotaph is the centre of Vancouver's Remembrance Day services.

Vancouver Public Library, founded in 1869, is the third largest public library in Canada. Its current home is a building (constructed in 1995) that is famous for its architecture, which was inspired by the classical Roman Coliseum. The library features a wide range of amazing and rare books, an art gallery, public readings, and educational speakers.