Vanier Park
| Vanier Park | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Type | Public Park |
| Location | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| Created | 1967 |
| Operated by | City of Vancouver |
Vanier Park is a municipal park located in the Kitsilano neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is home to the Museum of Vancouver, the Vancouver Maritime Museum, the City of Vancouver Archives, and the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre.
History
The Squamish people and their kin, the Tsleil-Waututh. Musqueam and Squamish/Tsleil-Waututh established a brief political unity in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century by Chief August Jack Khatsahlano,[1] who inherited the chieftaincy of both peoples[1] and established his residence at Senakw at the mouth of False Creek, rather than choose between residence at the Capilano Reserve or at Musqueam, as either of those would have had political implications for the one not chosen.[1] Senakw encompassed 80 acres, and included Vanier Park. In 1913, the BC Government under Richard McBride expropriated the site, giving the Squamish inhabitants two days to leave before burning their homes. [2]
Around the time of the second world war, the site became a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) station, Number 2 Equipment Depot. On October 28, 1966, it was turned over to the Vancouver Park Board by the Federal Government . Named for former Governor General of Canada Georges Vanier, the park officially opened on May 30, 1967. The H.R. MacMillan Space Centre and the Vancouver Museum complex opened in 1968, thanks to lumber baron MacMillan’s $1.5 million donation.[3]
Deputy Park Board Superintendent William Livingstone, famous for his landscape design for Queen Elizabeth Park and VanDusen Botanical Garden, increased the size of the original park site using tons of free fill from the excavation for the MacMillan Bloedel Building on Georgia Street. The fill added additional acres onto the park which was then landscaped by Livingstone and his crew.[4]
Attractions
Vanier Park plays host to several of Vancouver’s biggest summer festivals, including the International Children’s Festival and the Shakespearean Bard on the Beach. It is the biggest and most famous of the fifteen parks in Kitsilano.[3]
References
- ^ a b c Matthews, James Skitt (2011). "Vol. I". Early Vancouver. City of Vancouver.
- ^ Sterrit, Angela. "The little-known history of Squamish Nation land in Vancouver". CBC News. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- ^ a b Dana Lynch (2008-10-22). "Vanier Park Overview". About.com. Archived from the original on 2011-02-09. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
- ^ "Vanier Park History". Vancouver Park Board. 2008-10-22.
