Vancouver Park Board

Think Waterfront – Think Parks

Stanley District Director Jim Lowden
narrates the City Edge video
telling the story of parks on the
downtown waterfront.
[

WMV, 25Mb]

March 3, 2005 - Since its inception in 1888, the Vancouver Park Board has had waterfront on its collective mind. After settling in to manage its first park (Stanley) the elected Commissioners set their sights on the English Bay waterfront which circa 1900 was home to rooming houses, hotels and private residences. The waterfront was virtually inaccessible to the public so the Board made it a long term goal to gradually buy up the private properties, tear down the buildings and create sandy beaches for the benefit of all.

And so they did until the very last building, Englesea Lodge, was removed in the mid 1980s. This same principle has guided the Park Board and staff through the many decades with more modest success on Point Grey Road and the Fraser River shoreline and recent major achievements on the edges of the downtown core where waterfront parks have been a key ingredient in the area's development.

City Edge - Vancouver's Recaptured Waterfront is a short film, produced by the Park Board, documenting the development of the waterfront parks in False Creek and Coal Harbour. Over the past 15 years the transformation of former industrial lands into parks and walkways has given residents access to some of the most desirable real estate in Vancouver. The award winning development, when complete, will see 24 hectares of new park land and 25 kilometers of continuous seawall walk, contributing to Vancouver's reputation as one of the most liveable and beautiful cities in the world.

The thirty minute film captures for posterity a remarkable piece of Vancouver's living history. Created by Likeminded Media under the direction of Tara Hungerford, the film outlines park site histories while documenting the development with an overview of design considerations and goals for each waterfront site. Stanley District Director Jim Lowden narrates this informative film telling the story of parks on the downtown waterfront.

Click on the video link (above right) for an abridged, 15-minute version of the 30 minute DVD which can be purchased in its full-length form by contacting 604-257-8495.