Poldi was not done with her “hidden treasures of Vancouver” list. The next one would take some sleuthing to locate. It was another architectural feature, this time a large mural crafted from Italian glass tiles that had been commissioned in the 1950s for the Imperial Bank of Canada to adorn the vast banking teller hall of their new building. The bank has long since moved out of the building and the magnificent space currently is being used by a drug store. Poldi knew the name of the drug store (“Shoppers Drug Mart”) but not its location, and this was a chain of stores that had many outlets.

Our inquiries at the hotel concierge desk were met with quizzical looks. No one seemed to know about the Binnings mosaic mural. B. C. Binning was a highly regarded artist in his day, but is not as well known now. But they could help locate the right store by making calls to each, and asking if their store had a mural in it. This didn’t really work. Everyone who answered seemed unaware of any mural.

So we decided to embark on our version of the traveling salesman problem. We would visit the nearby Shoppers Drug Mart stores (there were three or four within walking distance) and look for ourselves.

We were lucky. The nearest one contained the mural, revealed on the second floor of the retail space, next to rows of cleaning products and toothpaste.

It was nicely preserved, and the building owners had kept the vertical space open between the first and second floors so that it could be viewed (nearly) in its entirety. The majesty of the work was not fully appreciated in this quotidian setting. The pharmacists were aware of it—they saw it daily while working their shifts, but had no awareness of its history or significance. We thought the store should make a bigger deal about it- display its story and promote it to gain the business of tourist customers.

Here are some photos I took of the mural. There is also a “key” that identifies the themes presented in its various sections. If you are in Vancouver, and enjoy discovering quirky things like this, visit this downtown drug store!.

Click on a thumbnail, then scroll through the gallery.