 The site was home of the main branch of the Vancouver Public Library from 1957 to 1995.In December 1996, Canada's first (and ultimately only) Virgin Megastore opened on the lower level; Virgin eventually decided to exit the Canadian market and sold the location to HMV in September 2005.In late 2011, HMV Canada, now separately owned by Hilco UK, announced plans to close the Burrard location in January 2012 as part of a corporate refocusing towards smaller locations.