The Villa Maris, a pink beacon in the skies of West Vancouver, is one of the most iconic modernist apartment buildings in the Lower Mainland and is a rare Canadian example of New Sensualism, a Miami Beach offshoot of Modernism. From the outside, it screams Miami Modern with its curved wall of parabolic arches and hot pink colour! But what most people don’t know is that the inside is even more “wow”, with many of its original features including a lobby, staircase and pool that was influenced by the Hollywood Regency and Miami Modernism Styles. It’s easy to envision Elizabeth Taylor or Cary Grant sashaying through the lobby, posing by the pool or theatrically descending the staircase!
Built in 1965 as a 101-unit apartment building, the Villa Maris quickly became known as the Pink Palace, a landmark that can be seen from land and sea. Flamboyant on the inside and out, the Villa Maris stood out from many of the other starker, more minimalistic Modern buildings built in West Vancouver at the time.
The amazing thing is that it has stood the test of time! Much of the interior remains unchanged with many of its iconic architectural elements intact!
And now, let’s channel your inner Brigitte Bardot, and take a walk through the interior!
Let’s start our tour at the porte cochere and enter the lobby through the brass and glass entryway. This brass and glass treatment is present throughout the lobby separating more of the utilitarian areas of the lobby from the open areas.
The Villa Maris Porte Cochere. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Clay
Upon entering the lobby, you are immediately hit with a big pop of pink as the lobby is covered with an exquisite pink floral-motif carpet. Although not original, it was apparently chosen to match the original to some degree. A longer view reveals a stunning, white, wrought-iron railing that surrounds a lower lobby and a picture window with a beautiful vista of English Bay and UBC beyond.
Next, you will notice a red leather “pouffe”, which is a good place to sit if you are waiting for a ride or otherwise want to “people watch”. Although not original, the pouffe has been there long enough that people believe it to be original. In fact, it took the place of a fountain that apparently leaked and was too much trouble to maintain. However, the central statue of that fountain, a Greco-Roman goddess, remains in the lobby, standing just to the side of the poof, guarding the lobby!
Photo courtesy of Lorraine Quinn
You will also see several Greco-Roman statues mounted on the wall above the lower lobby. Similar to the statue that was part of the original lobby fountain, these figures are not at all in keeping with the modernist style, but they are in keeping with the flamboyant nature of the Hollywood Regency style.
Photo courtesy of Lorraine Quinn
You will notice that the wrought iron railing and the pink carpet continue down the circular, floating staircase that takes you to the lower ground level.
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Clay
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Clay
Upon your arrival in the lower lobby, you will notice the elaborate detailing of mosaic tiles which are evocative of a Roman bathhouse.
The same mosaic tiles can be found on the pool deck, along with several other styles of tiles including a pink tile around the edge of the pool.
From the bottom of the staircase, crane your neck and look upwards through the skylight. This view demonstrates how well the building was designed, with a continuation of the line up the curved staircase, to the curved balconies above, each with the same wrought iron railing detail as on the interior. Wow, just Wow!
That brings us to the end of our tour! What do you think about these amazing interior features? Although many of these features exist individually in other mid-century apartment buildings, there is nothing quite like the ensemble of features that make up the Villa Maris common areas and to my knowledge, the exquisite staircase is unique to the Pink Palace! The importance of the long-term preservation of this iconic interior along with the equally iconic exterior cannot be overstated!
With thanks to Adam Hatch, who is an architect and heritage consultant, for providing some of the architectural information used in this article.
FUN FACTS
The Villa Maris, along with the lighthouse at Lighthouse park, was used as a navigational aid for vessels to take their bearings using the triangulation technique. This is why the lighthouse is such a prominent feature of the Villa Maris sign
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Clay
In researching this building, we learned from the assistant to long-time owner, Bill Lachman, that the original sconces were gold and crystal. Since replaced with modern, less architectural fixtures, the original lights were characteristic of the Hollywood Regency Style. Wouldn’t it be great if a similar style could be installed during a future restoration?
Original lighting fixture. Photo courtesy of Lorraine Quinn.
Although there is no known catalogue of movies and TV shows which used the Villa Maris as a set, it is known that Pamela Anderson did a shoot in the lobby at one point!