The Sun Tower was commissioned by L. D. Taylor to house his newspaper, The Vancouver World. The intention was that the building would be visible throughout the World's circulation area as the tallest building in the city. John Coughland and Sons of Vancouver had 1,250 tons of steel fabricated for construction. When it was completed in 1912, it was called the World Building and was the tallest building in Vancouver at, surpassing the previous record-holder, the Dominion Building located just around the corner. For one year, it was the tallest building in the Canada, until Toronto's 85 metre Canadian Pacific Building opened in 1913. In 1918, droves of Vancouverites turned out to watch as Harry Gardiner, the "Human Fly", scaled the outside of the building. When The Vancouver Sun bought the building in 1937, it was renamed. Although The Sun newspaper has long since relocated, first to South Granville then to Granville Square, the building has retained the name. The exterior of the Sun Tower is used as the Watchtower in Smallville. The tower has been digitally enhanced to look taller. In certain shots, the tower is the highest building in Metropolis. Formerly 100 West Pender St, the City of Vancouver renumbered the street address of the Sun Tower to 128 West Pender in 2011 in accordance with its strict street numbering bylaw when a new building was constructed on the vacant lot at the south west corner of West Pender and Abbott Streets.
Architecture and materials
The Sun Tower was designed by architect William Tuff Whiteway, who also designed the original Woodward's building nearby. The building takes the form of an eight-storey, L-shaped block, surmounted by a nine-storey hexagonal-section tower. The tower is capped by a Beaux-Arts dome and cupola. The structure of the tower is steel, which is dominantly clad in a combination of terracotta tiles and rusticated brickwork. The dome itself, although painted to resemble patinated copper, is steel. The exterior is adorned with nine terracotta caryatids supporting the cornice, sculpted by Charles Marega. These apparently caused a minor scandal among some of Vancouver's citizenry at the building's opening, as the female figures are depicted partially clothed, with naked breasts, and were considered to be adopting "sensuous" poses. Further decorative detailing is provided by carved stone sills under all windows, manufactured from local volcanic andesite from Haddington Island. Haddington Island andesite is also used for some of the decorative carvings near the top of the tower, that feature animal skulls surrounded by garlands of fruit and flowers.
It was announced on March 19, 2008 that the Sun Tower had been sold to new owners on March 17. The purchase price was not announced, but the building had a 2008 assessed value of. The new owners promised to restore the heritage building.
