Vancouver was leveled by fire in 1886 (the same year it was incorporated as a city), so most of its architecture is less than a century old. The city had a reputation as a boomtown from the start, attracting a number of famous architects who were eager to practice their art in new and less developed surroundings. The results range from the slightly absurd to the truly impressive. Serious architecture buffs should pick up a copy of Exploring Vancouver: The Essential Architectural Guide (University of British Columbia) by authors Kalman, Phillips, and Ward.

Historic Buildings & Monuments--Vancouver's oldest surviving edifice is the Hastings Sawmill Store Museum, 1575 Alma St., Jericho Beach (tel. 604/734-1212). Housed in an 1865 heritage structure that served as the city's first general store, it was moved here by barge in 1930 from its original Gastown location. Inside, you'll find Victorian period clothing, furnishings, hardware, toiletries, woven Native basketry, and historical photographs. Admission is by donation. The museum is open from mid-June to mid-September, Tuesday through Sunday from 11am to 4pm, and on weekends from mid-September to mid-June from 1 to 4pm. Take bus no. 4 or 7 to Alma Street.

The triangular Hotel Europe, 43 Powell St., was an architectural wonder when it opened in 1912. Designed by local architects Parr and Fee, the luxury hotel proudly stood as Vancouver's first steel-reinforced concrete structure and fireproof hotel -- a concept so foreign that contractors had to be imported from Cincinnati. The design was an intentional imitation of New York's Flatiron Building (erected in 1903), and the lobby became famous for its marble and brass detailing. Subsequent renovations have stripped the building of only a few of its interesting features. Unfortunately, when Gastown fell into decline during and after the Great Depression, so did the hotel. The main entrance was blocked off to expand the lobby's beer parlor, and the original entrance balcony lamps were stolen. Recent renovations have saved the hotel and other historic buildings surrounding Maple Tree Square from the wrecking ball. The hotel appeared in Legends of the Fall, among other movies.

Topped by a patina-green copper cupola and mansard windows, the Sun Tower, 100 W. Pender St. at Beatty Street, stands amid a somewhat desolate landscape that is slowly being redeveloped. Designed by W. T. Whiteway and erected in 1911, the 17-story hexagonal structure is crowned by a three-story beaux arts copper roof. The heritage building was constructed by Vancouver mayor L. D. Taylor, who ran his Vancouver World newspaper enterprise here from 1912 until 1915. The Vancouver Sun took over the building in 1937 and stayed until 1963.

At the outbreak of World War II, Point Grey residents watched artillery carriages rumble through the streets toward the headlands, followed by a more weighty ordnance as the Point Grey Battery -- complete with concrete gun emplacements and officers' quarters -- was erected on the cliffs on the end of Point Grey. The installation was closed 9 years later and abandoned during the 1960s. In the 1970s, however, the site was reclaimed for the UBC Museum of Anthropology. In a particularly elegant touch, architect Arthur Erickson turned the foundation of a death-dealing gun emplacement into the pedestal for his friend Bill Reid's master carving, The Raven and the First Men, which depicts the origins of life.

The Art Deco Marine Building, 355 Burrard St. at Thurlow Street, was the British Empire's tallest structure when it opened in 1930. Designed by McCarter and Nairne, the building was meant to emulate a rocky promontory rising from the sea. Its facade is detailed with terra-cotta, brass, stone, and marble bas-reliefs depicting the local aquatic environment. Its best features are in the lobby near the elevators. The vaulted ceiling is lit by sconces shaped like ships' prows, the center of the stone floor is inlaid with a giant zodiac, and the ornate brass elevator doors open to reveal even more ornate wood inlay inside.

John S. Archibald and John Schofield designed the Canadian Pacific Railway's Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. Replacing a smaller hotel on the same site, the dignified French Renaissance structure took 10 years to complete. When it finally opened in 1929, it dominated Vancouver's skyline. Topped by a green-patina copper roof decorated with intricately carved stone gargoyles and a statue of the Roman god Hermes, the grand hotel's exterior walls are made of Haddington Island stone -- the same stone used in Victoria's Parliament buildings. Sweeping marble staircases and a grand Edwardian lobby elegantly grace the interior.

Built in the shape of a ship with five soaring Teflon sails, Canada Place Pier is to Vancouver what the Opera House is to Sydney, Australia -- a focal point on the downtown waterfront. Built in time for Expo '86, the pier houses Vancouver's largest convention center, a hotel, the Alaska cruise ship terminal, restaurants, and the CN IMAX Theatre.

Another Expo '86 structure is the giant sparkling silver sphere at the east end of False Creek -- Science World British Columbia. Originally erected as the Expo Centre, it's been expanded and renovated to house a wealth of entertaining and educational permanent and traveling exhibits for children and adults.

The Vancouver Museum sits on a promontory near the Burrard Street Bridge. A little over a century ago, Vanier Park was the site of a Native village inhabited by the Coast Salish tribe. During World War II it became a military defense base, and in the 1960s it was dedicated as a park. The museum's roof resembles the unique cone-shaped, woven-cedar-bark hat worn by Coast Salish men. The crab-shaped metal fountain standing in front of the museum is possibly Vancouver's most photographed object.

Resembling the Roman Coliseum with its multiple tiers of arches (architect Moshe Safdie denies there was any intentional similarity), Library Square on Robson Street contains voluminous rooms of books, a coffee shop and small restaurant, a day-care center, and a seven-story reading atrium where visitors can comfortably take in the view. Many do. In fact, the atrium and the square outside have become two of Vancouver's favorite public gathering spots.

Behind sheltered walls in the heart of Chinatown lies the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Classical Garden, a painstakingly exact Ming Dynasty private courtyard garden.

A Puzzling Contradiction: Arthur Erickson--Vancouver's best-known architect, Arthur Erickson is a puzzling contradiction. A firm believer in listening to what the landscape has to say, Erickson often turns a deaf ear to the needs of those who inhabit his buildings. Combine these features with exceptional eloquence, a driven personality, and flamboyant charm, and you get a lot of buildings, all of which look good on paper -- and some that also work in real life. As this is his native town, Vancouver is blessed with a great deal of Erickson's work. Those with an interest can check out the Museum of Anthropology (1973), 6993 NW Marine Dr., UBC; the Provincial Law Courts (1973), 800 Smithe St.; Simon Fraser University (1963), Burnaby Mountain, Burnaby; the MacMillan Bloedel Building (1969), 1075 W. Georgia St.; and the Khalsa Diwan Society Sikh Temple (1970), 8000 Ross St.

Churches & Temples--Despite its reputation as one of North America's more secular cities, Vancouver has a wide variety of churches, synagogues, temples, and other houses of worship that serve its growing and ethnically diverse population. Vancouver has more than 60 Catholic churches as well as dozens of Protestant churches; Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Hasidic Jewish temples; and Sikh, Buddhist, and Islamic temples.

Holy Rosary Cathedral, 646 Richards St. (tel. 604/682-6774), is a Gothic Revival-style Roman Catholic cathedral built in 1899 to 1900. On Sunday mornings, the carillon bells call the congregation to worship.

Colorful late-morning Sikh wedding ceremonies frequently take place at the Arthur Erickson-designed Khalsa Diwan Gurudwara Temple, 8000 Ross St. (tel. 604/324-2010). You are welcome to observe a ceremony if you call for permission in advance.

The Byzantine iconography and architecture of St. George's Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 4500 Arbutus Street, at W. 31st Avenue (tel. 604/266-7148), constructed in 1930, are as classic as the Sunday services, which are conducted in Greek.

Golden porcelain roof tiles sweep upward to two glittering flying dragons high atop the International Buddhist Society's Kuan-Yin Buddhist Temple, 9160 Steveston Hwy., Richmond (tel. 604/274-2822). After ascending the bleached granite stairway, you are greeted by two marble lions as you enter the burnt-red doorway of the Main Gracious Hall. Inside, a treasury of Chinese sculpture, woodwork, painting, and embroidery is on display. The center courtyard contains a ceramic mural of the goddess Kuan-Yin resting in a bamboo grove and a magnificent bonsai collection. Visitors are welcome to participate in prayers on Saturday at 9am and in other religious and cultural events.

On your way to this beautiful temple, check out the Buddha Supplies Centre, 4158 Main St. (tel. 604/873-8169), where you can pick up incense or joss sticks and tiny paper replicas of earthly belongings like CD players, Mercedes vehicles, and cellular phones (they're burned to send the deceased off with ample luxuries).

Colleges & Universities--During the academic year, more than 32,000 students attend the University of British Columbia (UBC), one of Canada's largest universities. Many UBC attractions are open to the public, including the Museum of Anthropology; the UBC Botanical Garden and Nitobe Memorial Garden; TRIUMF (Tri-University Meson Facility), 4004 Wesbrook Mall (tel. 604/222-1047), where the world's largest subatomic cyclotron is housed; the M. Y. Williams Geological Museum, Geological Sciences Centre, Stores Road, Gate 6 (tel. 604/822-2449); and the UBC Astronomical Observatory and UBC Geophysical Observatory, Main Mall, Gate 1 (tel. 604/822-6186), open for public viewing every clear Saturday, starting one hour after sunset. Call the info line on Saturday afternoon to check the weather report. For campus tours, call tel. 604/822-8687.

You can also use the university's sports facilities, including the Aquatic Centre, Thunderbird Winter Sports Centre, and nearby tennis courts. Miles of trails wind through the Pacific Spirit Park and Point Grey beaches, overlooking the Strait of Georgia and English Bay.

The Belkin Art Gallery (tel. 604/822-2759), Frederic Wood Theatre (tel. 604/822-2678), and UBC School of Music (tel. 604/822-5574) are venues that present student and professional work. Also worth checking out is the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts (tel. 604/822-9197). For more information, contact the Public Affairs Office, 6251 Cecil Green Park Rd. (tel. 604/822-3131), or check online at www.ubc.ca. To get to UBC, take bus no. 4 or 10, or the 99 B-Line.

Sitting atop 360m (1,181-ft.) Burnaby Mountain, the Simon Fraser University campus has an expansive view of metropolitan Vancouver. Architect Arthur Erickson won immediate acclaim for his stunning design when the school opened in 1965. Though it has since won mixed reviews from the students, the SFU campus was for many years known and loved by X-Files fans as none other than FBI headquarters.

The Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology (tel. 604/291-3325) exhibits historic Native works created by Inuit, Kwakiutl, and other provincial aboriginal bands, while contemporary work is shown at the University Art Gallery (tel. 604/291-4266). Admission to both is free. For more information about points of interest at Simon Fraser University, call tel. 604/291-3210 or campus tours at tel. 604/291-5620. Take bus no. 135, 144, or 145 to the campus.