A survivor from 1909, Burns Block outlived its next door neighbour the
Pantages Theatre, a popular movie and vaudeville house. On
Google Maps you can make out the triangular shape of the building, caused partly by a rail line right-of-way (whose ghostly footprint can still be seen, cutting diagonally through several city blocks). Today you can rent a 236 square foot
micro-loft and live downtown for cheap! (
You might notice I really cheated on the perspective of this shot: the original was shot from a window in the building across the street, and I was on the ground.)
(1927 Major Matthews photo from Vancouver City Archives).