Queen Elizabeth Park, British Columbia

Queen Elizabeth Park
Queen Elizabeth Park
	; A view of the park
Type	Public Park
Location	Vancouver, British Columbia
Created	1902
Operated by	City of Vancouver

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A view of the park

Another view of the park

Queen Elizabeth Park is a municipal park located in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Little Mountain (elevation approximately 168 metres^[1] or 550 feet above sea level). Its surface was scarred at the turn of the twentieth century when it was quarried for its rock, which served to build Vancouver's first roadways.

[edit] History

Queen Elizabeth Park, British Columbia is located in Vancouver

Location of Queen Elizabeth Park in Metro Vancouver

In 1930, the park's floral future was somewhat revealed when the BC Tulip Association suggested the notion of transforming the quarries into sunken gardens. By the end of that decade, the site had been turned over to the Vancouver Park Board for park and recreation purposes, and was dedicated as such by King George VI and his consort, Queen Elizabeth (the present Queen's late mother) on their much lauded visit to Vancouver in 1939, as King and Queen of Canada. From that time, Park staff incrementally transformed the overgrown hillsides into Canada's first civic arboretum, with a generous donation from the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association. The popular quarry gardens were designed by Park Board Deputy Superintendent Bill Livingstone and were unveiled in the early 1960s.

Prentice Bloedel's $1.25 million covered the open reservoirs and built the country's first geodesic conservatory surrounded by covered walkways, lighted fountains and a magnificent sculpture (Knife Edge - Two Piece) by modern artist Henry Moore. The Bloedel Floral Conservatory opened on December 6, 1969 amidst much jubilation with its many climatic zones, displaying a huge variety of plants and a superb selection of free flying tropical birds.