"It all started with Lt. Commander J.W. Hobbs, an entrepreneur who worked for a Toronto bond trading house. . . . When it opened in 1930, at a cost of $2.3 million ($1.1 million over budget), the Marine Building was the talk of the town. Uniformed doormen stood by massive brass doors opening onto the dazzling lobby and sailor-suited women waited to escort passengers in five high-speed elevators, the walls of which were inlaid with 12 varieties of British Columbia hardwoods. It was by far the most glamorous structure many visitors had seen in their lives." Once the tallest building in the British Empire Marine Building web site
			Images from these pages of the ceramic interior of this building will be featured in an article on ceramic tilemaker Ernest Batchelder who did the interior of the building along with many others of the time period. In the magazine Style 1900 based in Virginia August 2006 issue. If you are interested in the magazine click on their logo. Definitely worth a look