Welcome to On Location, a weekly feature spotlighting landmarks and establishments seen on screen that viewers can visit IRL. Whether you’re seeking a fun selfie, breathtaking vistas or maybe a show-accurate treat, follow along for some bucket list destinations.
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Vancouver, BC, Canada, serves as the production headquarters and backdrop for many television and film productions but it rarely represents itself. However, on Lark Productions’ Canadian legal drama series, Family Law, which airs on The CW in the US, the city gets to play itself and The Marine Building is one of its most eye-catching landmarks. Audiences will recognize the distinctive art deco doors as the entrance to the building that houses both the Svensson and Associates Law Firm and Lucy Svensson’s (Genelle Williams) therapy office.
The Marine Building on Family Law
Just as the Svensson and Associates Law Firm is located in downtown Vancouver, The Marine Building stands at 355 Burrard St, Vancouver, in the heart of the city and near the financial district. Completed in 1930, it was the tallest skyscraper in Vancouver at the time at 22 floors and 321 feet.
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In anticipation of Vancouver’s rise in commercial marine importance with the opening of the Panama Canal, Toronto entrepreneur J.W. Hobbs, as manager of the G.A. Stimson’s Canadian Development Company, Ltd, thought building a nautically-themed grand structure would be a good investment. And it is truly grand. Inspired by New York City’s Chrysler Building, travel bloggers frequently write about The Marine Building. It is listed as one of the world’s top ten Art Deco buildings. Decopix: The Art Deco Architecture Site devoted an entire entry of its two-part Vancouver coverage to just this building, complete with dozens of gorgeous (and copyrighted) images.
Unfortunately, huge cost overruns and the Great Depression meant The Marine Building’s construction took both Hobbs and Stimson’s down in financial ruin. Completed at a cost of $2.3 million (1.1 million over budget), it sold in 1933 for $900,000 to the British Pacific Building Co., the property arm of the Guinness Brewing Company. In 2023, the building was assessed at a value of $153 million. Today, Oxford Properties owns and manages The Marine Building.
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Fun Fact
In 1931, the Guinness family bought 4,000 acres of land in West Vancouver (an entirely different municipality from Vancouver). Four. Thousand. They developed it into one of the area’s most exclusive residential neighborhoods. Originally called Capilano Estates, it’s known today as British Properties. Acquiring all that land for a mere $75,000, the Guinness family committed to making a million dollars in civic improvements and building a bridge to Vancouver proper, the Lion’s Gate Bridge. Yup, an entire bridge. And not a little one. You might recognize it from the final scene of 2010’s Tron: Legacy.
The Scoop on the Lifts
One of the most striking promo images for Family Law has the Svensson family — Lucy, Harry (Victor Garber), Daniel (Zach Smadu) with Craig the Pug, and Abigail Bianchi (Jewel Staite) — crowded into one of the Marine Building’s elevators. While the photo was staged in a studio, the set builders recreated the elevator interior perfectly with photo-realistic replicas of the walls, inlaid with 12 different kinds of hardwood. Check out the Decopix link above for some stunning pictures of the IRL elevators’ interior as well as the ornate brass doors.
Public Access
The Marine Building is open to the public during business hours, seven days a week. While enjoying the epic photo opportunities, enjoy a healthy and delicious meal at Tractor Foods located where the Merchant Exchange originally was in The Marine Building’s lobby. There’s also JJ Bean next door at 353 Burrard St. If you have some time, check out Forbidden Vancouver’s Holiday History and Hot Chocolate Tour which concludes with a “magical private viewing inside the Marine Building.”
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Family Law isn’t the first production to make use of The Marine Building’s opulent decor and distinctive architecture. 2004’s Blade: Trinity used the building as a setting. 1994’s Timecop shot its final scene there. Fans of Smallville will recognize the lobby as the Daily Planet newspaper offices. It served as the Baxter Building in 2005’s Fantastic Four movie as well as its sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. For those with a penchant for watching Canadian content, the series Continuum used The Marine Building as the Freelancers’ headquarters (actually set in Vancouver.)
All three seasons of Family Law are currently streaming on The CW. Season 4 wrapped filming in Vancouver in June 2024. A release date has yet to be announced.
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