Architecture
The building was designed by architect David Ewart and opened on 30 September 1901 by the Duke of Cornwall (later King George V). With two large castle-like turrets complete with battlements, and two tanks and a 64-pounder Gun alongside the large white structure, Beatty Street Drill Hall has long been a Vancouver landmark and is listed as a class-A heritage building. The walls are three and a half feet thick, and the building rests on huge granite blocks. Limestone from Gabriola Island was used for the parapet and it features a rusticated stone trim. The Drill Hall includes a parade square, offices, and store rooms. It formerly contained a firing range and bowling alley. Originally, the Cambie Street Grounds, now a parking lot across the street, was also used as part of the Regiment's training facilities.
In the Canadian Forces, an armoury is a place where a reserve unit trains, meets, and parades.
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Famous quotes containing the word architecture:
“They can do without architecture who have no olives nor wines in the cellar.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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—Federico García Lorca (1898–1936)
“In short, the building becomes a theatrical demonstration of its functional ideal. In this romanticism, High-Tech architecture is, of course, no different in spirit—if totally different in form—from all the romantic architecture of the past.”
—Dan Cruickshank (b. 1949)