Scotia Tower, Modern skyscraper in Vancouver, Canada

Scotia Tower is a modern skyscraper in downtown Vancouver featuring a glass and steel facade that rises 35 stories above street level. The building's geometric form creates a visual landmark that anchors the surrounding business district.

Announced in 1971, Scotia Tower was built from 1974 and opened on 8 June 1977, designed by architects Zebb Zerafa and Menkès of Toronto. Its construction required demolishing the Edwardian Birks Building and the Allen/Strand Theatre, a decision that sparked protests led by MLA Robert Arthur Williams and the Save Our Birks Building Committee.

The corner of Georgia and Granville was the site of the Birks Building, an ornate Edwardian store demolished in 1974 for the tower. The demolition, announced in 1971, drew protests; NDP MLA Robert Arthur Williams chaired the Save Our Birks Building Committee. Birks returned as the first corner-retail tenant before moving to Granville and West Hastings, where London Drugs now trades.

The building connects to adjacent shopping centers and office complexes through underground walkways. These passages provide shelter from weather and simplify movement through the downtown core.

The Georgia Street side of the tower stands where the Strand Theatre once operated, the only house on Vancouver's Theatre Row not located directly on Granville Street. It was replaced in 1977 by the Vancouver Centre Cinemas, which have since closed.