Vancouver Art Gallery

The Vancouver Art Gallery's north facade as the Caprica City Courthouse in ^{(CAP: "Pilot")}.

The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum located at 750 Hornby Street in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The building occupies the block bounded by Georgia, Howe, Hornby, and Robson Streets and served as the principal courthouse of British Columbia from 1911 until 1979. It was used as a filming location for both the Re-imagined Series and Caprica, primarily standing in for the Caprica City Courthouse.

History of the building

Construction of the courthouse took place between 1907 and 1911. It was designed by Francis Mawson Rattenbury (1867–1935), a Victoria-based architect responsible for several prominent public buildings in British Columbia, including the Legislative Assembly building in Victoria. The courthouse opened in the fall of 1911 and was described at the time as the finest building of its kind in Canada.

The building is designed in the Neoclassical style in the Beaux-Arts tradition. Its three-part composition features two wings faced with inset Ionic columns flanking a central projecting pediment, with an imposing portico supported by four columns and surmounted by a copper-clad dome. The exterior is clad in two types of stone: rusticated Nelson Island granite for the base and smooth Haddington Island stone for the upper levels. A pair of granite lions on pedestals, installed around 1910 and modeled on those in London's Trafalgar Square, flank the building's entrance stairs.

By 1914 the building had been expanded with a west wing addition designed by architect Thomas Hooper. Trials continued to be held in the building until 1979, when new court facilities designed by Arthur Erickson were completed across the street at Robson Square. Erickson was simultaneously commissioned to convert the former courthouse into the Vancouver Art Gallery; construction on the $20 million renovation began in December 1981 and the Vancouver Art Gallery opened in the building in 1983.

The building was designated the Former Vancouver Law Courts National Historic Site of Canada on January 15, 1981. For film and event productions, the Gallery makes available its grand foyer and rotunda, two of the original historic courtrooms (complete with judge's stands and rich hardwoods), and its rooftop pavilion.

Use in the Re-imagined Series

The Vancouver Art Gallery was among the BSG franchise's filming locations in the Re-imagined Series, listed alongside Simon Fraser University, the Orpheum Theatre, and the Waterfall Building as a recurring production location. A 2010 cultural commentary on Vancouver filming noted the building's steps had appeared as courthouse steps across multiple genre productions shot in Vancouver, including BSG.

Use in Caprica

The Vancouver Art Gallery served as the primary real-world location for the Caprica City Courthouse throughout the Caprica television series.

Interior: courtroom scenes

In the pilot episode, Joseph Adama is seen practicing law in one of the building's heritage courtrooms. visitcaprica.com identifies the specific space as room 301, one of two original courtrooms the Gallery makes available for event rental, each retaining the original judge's stand and hardwood fittings.

Exterior: fountain and steps

The building's north facade, exterior fountain, and entry steps are seen in the pilot episode when Joseph Adama and Sam Adama speak outside the courthouse following a legal proceeding. The fountain's distinctive radial pattern and the flanking granite lions are visible in these shots.

CGI aerial establishing shot

In "Blowback", the building appears in a digitally composed aerial establishing shot of Caprica City, with the distinctive copper dome and Beaux-Arts roofline visible in the composite image.

References

See also

• Filming locations (Caprica)
• Filming locations (RDM)
• Caprica City