The Marine Building, located at 355 Burrard Street in downtown Vancouver, is a celebrated 21-storey Art Deco skyscraper completed in 1930. Designed by McCarter & Nairne and commissioned by Lt.‑Commander J.W. Hobbs, it was inspired by New York’s Chrysler Building and intended to symbolically connect Vancouver’s port city status via intricate marine-themed ornamentation.

At its debut, the building reigned as Vancouver’s tallest (321 ft/98 m) until 1939 and, for a period, led the British Empire in height. Its fachada features lavish sculptures of sea creatures—snails, turtles, seahorses, crabs, fish—while the lobby dazzles with brass doors resembling a Mayan temple, walls inlaid with 12 native woods, zodiac marble floors, and elevator doors adorned with maritime imagery.

The building cost C$2.3 million—over budget—before succumbing to the Great Depression and selling for C$900,000 to the Guinness family in 1933. It has undergone renovations including a major electrical, mechanical and lobby upgrade (1982–1989) and was equipped to meet LEED Silver standards under Oxford Properties in 2014.

Today the Marine Building continues as a coveted office tower, supplied by Princeton Developments and OMERS Realty, and recognized as one of the world’s finest Art Deco structures. The lobby and exterior remain open to the public and it frequently serves as a filming location for its cinematic ambience.