Big W

Woodward's, corner of West Hastings and Abbott Street
Photographed by Troy Whitbread

Woodward's Department Store, was opened in 1892 by Charles Woodward at East Georgia and Main Street. Success necessitated a move to a larger location at West Hastings and Abbott in downtown Vancouver in 1903. The building represented more than a dozen additions over four generations by the time Woodward's closed its doors for the last time in the early 1990's.

The concrete pylon which housed elevators and two 25 thousand gallon gravity-fed water tanks, was clad with neon "W"'s by 1927. At this time an Eiffel Tower-like structure was added to the top to house a searchlight of two million candle power. This searchlight was put out in 1941 for fear that pilots would mistake it for the airport at Sea Island.

In the late 1950's the revolving neon "W" replaced the searchlight. At 300 feet above street level, it is 16 feet tall, weighs six thousand pounds, and is outlined in red neon, with three rows of blinking lights which fill the inside. During the Woodward's era, the neon "W" would revolve six times in a minute.


Wally Burger	Index	Back to Tour Index

Home	About	Vancouver Lights
Section Contents	Team	Vancouver Lights