Inside the former Victoria's Secret building when it was the Vancouver Public Library

The old Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library at 750 Burrard Street, Vancouver. (Vancouver Public Library Archives)

Once again, there is a major turnover within the heritage building of 750 Burrard Street (also known as 969 Robson Street), as Victoria’s Secret has permanently closed its downtown Vancouver flagship store.

When it first opened in 2013 at the prominent northeast corner of the intersection of Burrard Street and Robson Street, it was deemed to be the world’s second-largest Victoria’s Secret store.

Many younger and newer Vancouverites might only associate this storied building with primarily retailing lingerie and women’s clothing, but as a matter of fact, for most of the building’s history, it actually served as the Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library (VPL).

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The building was originally four storeys, completed in 1957 as the new modern purpose-built home of VPL’s Central Branch — a relocation from the previous location of the old Carnegie Library location in the Downtown Eastside, which still operates as a local-serving library to this day. The Burrard Street location was about six times larger than the previous space at Carnegie Library.

Previous condition as Vancouver Public Library’s Central Branch:

vancouver public library 750 burrard street

The old Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library at 750 Burrard Street, Vancouver. (City of Vancouver Archives)

The old Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library at 750 Burrard Street, Vancouver. (Vancouver Public Library Archives)

2024 condition as an office and retail building:

victorias secret 750 burrard street vancouver january 2024 f1

Victoria’s Secret’s flagship store at 750 Burrard Street, Vancouver, as of January 6, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

VPL’s new Central Branch opened to immense fanfare on November 1, 1957.

The building, now considered an excellent example of the modernist architecture style, was designed by Vancouver architects HN Semmens and DC Simpson, and made particularly distinct by its expansive glass curtain walls, which was a relatively unique design feature at the time.

The first floor of the building had a main area with a two-storey atrium and a mezzanine level overlooking the space below.

Grand opening of the previous Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library at 750 Burrard Street, Vancouver. (Vancouver Public Library Archives)

However, by the 1980s, with a growing population, it had become apparent that the Central Branch had outgrown its space in the building. A public referendum approved a new Central Branch project, which led to the construction of the city block-sized, Roman Coliseum-inspired Library Square complex at 350 West Georgia Street.

The building at 750 Burrard Street operated as a library until April 22, 1995. It closed about a month before the opening of the new Central Branch at Library Square on May 26, 1995.

Following Central Branch’s big move to Library Square, the municipal government sold the building to a commercial landlord, which converted the building into retail and office space with a total of six levels and approximately 80,000 sq ft of floor area.

A plaque at street level on Burrard Street commemorates the building’s VPL past, and its formal Class A heritage building designation.

Virgin Megastore took over the lower levels between 1996 and 2005, until it was replaced with HMV, which closed in 2012. This building was also briefly home to a Planet Hollywood from 1997 to 1999, with the restaurant entrance located on Robson Street next to the laneway.

The old Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library at 750 Burrard Street, Vancouver. (Vancouver Public Library Archives)

The old Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library at 750 Burrard Street, Vancouver. (City of Vancouver Archives)

The offices and studios of Bell Media, including CTV Vancouver and various radio stations, are located on the upper levels of the building.

For about five years, when CTV was Canada’s official Olympic broadcaster for Vancouver 2010 and London 2012, giant Olympic rings were affixed to the building’s exterior.

After HMV’s closure, the lower levels of the building were completely reconfigured to make way for the 35,000 sq ft Victoria’s Secret store and the new Shoppers Drug Mart store. This included eliminating CTV’s mid-building grand atrium entrance on Burrard Street, with the main entrance into the Bell Media levels relocated to a far less prominent entry on Robson Street — where the Planet Hollywood entrance was located.

Victoria’s Secret removed the remaining mezzanine level area within its ground level space, which was one of the remaining interior design features from the building’s VPL era, while the underground level — previously part of Virgin Megastore and HMV — was used for Victoria’s Secret’s Pink brand.

Later in 2024, the international lingerie and women’s clothing retailer will open a significantly downsized store serving downtown Vancouver at CF Pacific Centre shopping mall.

The old Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library at 750 Burrard Street, Vancouver. (Vancouver Public Library Archives)

The old Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library at 750 Burrard Street, Vancouver. (City of Vancouver Archives)

It remains to be seen what new retailers (and/or restaurants) will fill the major vacancy left by Victoria’s Secret, but 750 Burrard Street is an extremely prime retail location with very high pedestrian traffic volumes.

It has long been known that numerous major international retailers have been attempting to establish a new or expanded presence in downtown Vancouver, with the only barrier being the lack of attractive, suitable, large, and centrally-located retail space.

For instance, it only took Apple more than 15 years to finally open a downtown Vancouver flagship store — it began its search for a space in the 2000s, and it finally opened its flagship Apple Store in a new two-storey pavilion building at CF Pacific Centre in 2022.

Construction of the previous Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library at 750 Burrard Street, Vancouver. (Vancouver Public Library Archives)

This is a 2024 edited and revised version of an article originally published in 2018.

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