Nanaimo | Buildings

Nanaimo

About Nanaimo

Population

83,810 in city

Size

89 km² (34 mi²)

Altitude

18 m

The Nanaimo area was originally populated by native North Americans as the sheltered harbour and inherent natural resources proved conducive to life's necessities. Europeans, too, found the abundant fish, animal and timber a recipe for settlement. But it was the discovery of coal that proved to be the catalyst for Nanaimo's growth. The name "Nanaimo" is a derivation of the region's First Nations people, the Snunéymuxw. They left numerous archaeological traces including longhouses 100 feet long. After settlement by the British, Snunéymuxw people remained in the area. Many were employed by the Hudson's Bay Company to mine the coal in what is today downtown Nanaimo. Nanaimo was incorporated in 1874 and the area's natural resource industries like fishing, logging, milling, sandstone quarrying and mining helped shape the town's growth. In fact, mine tailings were used to expand the waterfront lands, a practice which has continued late into the 20th century. Today Nanaimo stands as a city that avoided obscurity by diversifying its industries. Shipping and tourism have replaced mining as have many other industrial and commercial enterprises defining Nanaimo as the hub of Vancouver Island.

No. of Buildings

No.	Current status
15	All Buildings
11	existing
1	under construction
3	planned

Tallest Buildings

#	Building	Height	Year
1	The Beacon	277 ft	1996
2	Pacifica	208 ft	2009
3	Seacrest Apartments	169 ft	-
4	Coast Bastion Inn	160 ft	-
5	The Gabriola	-	-

Building types

No.	Type
9	low-rise building
6	high-rise building

Other buildings

No.	Type
0	Famous buildings
1	Buildings with construction images