Vancouver Art Gallery

Summary

The exterior areas of the Vancouver Art Gallery were used to represent some government buildings in Washington, DC.

Location

The Vancouver Art Gallery is comprised of two large buildings in downtown Vancouver. The gallery hosts works from major historical artists, but the emphasis is on contemporary art by Canadian artists, those from British Columbia in particular. Its permanent collection numbers nearly 10,000 artworks, according to the public website.

One side of the largest building (not pictured in photos) served as the exterior of an unidentified Washington, DC, government building in 2.09 "Secrets". It was on the stairs in front of this building that O'Neill and Carter were overheard speaking about navigating across the galaxy and the Stargate Program. Later, it was the place journalist Armin Selig observed O'Neill walking by.

Another entrance of that same building, the one facing W. Georgia Street, was used to represent the "United States Air Force Administration Building" later in the episode. This was indicated by decals placed on the windows. It was there, near the distinctive marble lions, that Selig and O'Neill spoke. Just after they parted and Selig descended the steps, Selig was killed by a hit-and-run car. In reality, there is no road that close to the building, but rather a large plaza with sidewalks. However, the production established the area as a street by adding parking meters and by having several cars drive by as O'Neill and Selig met. The cars must have been driven on the sidewalk for filming. The park bench on which O'Neill and Selig sat was also added for filming.