Little Mountain Housing - March 2009

I used to work in the Oakridge area of Vancouver and took a lot of lunch time strolls. Some walks took me by multi-million dollar houses and by social housing complexes. In March of 2009, we walked down to explore the Little Mountain Housing project  at 37th and Ontario Street. At that time most of the buildings were empty. It was hoped that a new social housing project would be developed to help with the housing stress of Vancouver but sadly almost 10 years later and not much has changed except for a big empty lot. It was sad to see an abandoned community that had existed since the 1950s, but it's even sadder today to see nothing has changed especially when housing is a crisis in Vancouver.  The following photos show the complex with some profound murals painted by previous tenants and artists. This was also at a time when a lot of money was being spent on the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics so there was a lot of criticism from some groups.

Little Mountain Housing - March 2009

Little Mountain Housing - March 2009

Little Mountain Housing - March 2009 

Little Mountain Housing - March 2009

Little Mountain Housing - March 2009

Little Mountain Housing - March 2009

Little Mountain Housing - March 2009

Little Mountain Housing - March 2009 

Little Mountain Housing - March 2009 

Little Mountain Housing - March 2009

Little Mountain Housing - March 2009

Little Mountain Housing - March 2009

Little Mountain Housing - March 2009

Little Mountain Housing - March 2009 

Little Mountain Housing - March 2009

Little Mountain Housing - March 2009

Pat and Steve walking around the site - AKA @smerdop and @leejinaire

Little Mountain Housing - March 2009

Little Mountain Housing - March 2009

Ontario Street and 37th Ave

Prince Charles meets Grandma Speed in April 1998

 In April 1998, Prince Charles along with William and Harry visited Vancouver as part of a Royal Tour to Canada. During his tour, Prince Charles made an appearance at St. Vincent's Hospital. On this occasion he met my Grandmother who was a resident there. He had a nice little chat with her as the picture shows. This was the first time anyone in our family had met with any of the Royals. This picture made it to newspapers across Canada and in the United Kingdom. She also made it on the CBC National and on the BBC. Some of her relatives in England actually saw her on television much to their surprise and delight. She was famous for a brief moment in her long life of 99 years!!!! Not bad for a lass from Yorkshire who came to Vancouver in the 1920s.

4 years later a different photo of Prince Charles' visit to St. Vincent's was used in a newspaper article in the Vancouver Sun questioning the B.C. Liberals lack of caring for seniors.

Air France Concorde Comes to YVR - April 21, 1990

On April 21, 1990, Air France's F-BTSD Concorde visited Vancouver. There were a lot of spectators at the east end of the runway in what is now Air Port Park. Back then, it was common to drive on the grass and park to watch the planes take off and land. On that day, there must have been at least 50 cars parked waiting for the Concorde to arrive. It was a huge moment for plane spotters to see this iconic plane land at YVR!

Air France F-BTSD Concorde approaches YVR - April 21, 1990

 

Air France F-BTSD Concorde Takes off from YVR - April 1990

 

Snow at Queen Elizabeth Park Through the Years

There's one thing Vancouver is blessed with and that is beautiful parks. Stanley Park is Vancouver's most famous park and is rated as one of the best urban parks in the world. Queen Elizabeth Park is certainly another Vancouver landmark, spectacular in it's own way. Vancouver celebrated the 75th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth Park in 2015. It's located between Cambie and Ontario Street and 29th and 37th Ave. It sits in the centre of the city which gives great views of the city and beyond. It was created out of an old rock quarry which gives it a uniqueness not seen in other parks in Vancouver. It's a great place to go year round but on a winter's day with fresh snow, this is the place to go and play in the snow. With the big hills, it's one of the best tobogganing spots around. I remember on a few occasions when Midlothian Ave was actually closed to allow sledders to slide down from the duck pond right into Hillcrest Park.What a ride that was!!

The Large Quarry Garden - January 2017 

 

Looking towards the Large Quarry Garden - January 2017

Looking towards the Large Quarry Garden - January 2005

Looking under the bridge towards the large Quarry Garden 
January 2005

Japanese Stone Lantern - January 2017

Japanese Stone Lantern - January 2005

A view of Downtown Vancouver and the North Shore Mountains
January 2017

A View of Downtown Vancouver and the North Shore Mountains
January 2017

A view of downtown Vancouver and the North Shore Mountains
January 2017

A view of downtown Vancouver and the North Shore Mountains
January 2005

"The Lions" peaking out of the clouds
January 2005

A view of downtown Vancouver and the North Shore Mountains
January 2005

A view of the Bloedel Conservatory - January 2005

A view of the Bloedel Conservatory - January 2017

Henry Moore's "Knife Edge sculpture - January 2005

Henry Moore's "Knife Edge - Two Piece" sculpture is very impressive. I've been going to QE Park for years and have always appreciated this sculpture. In fact I remember as a kid playing on this sculpture numerous times. It wasn't until I took a friend, a well known mask carver, to QE Park in the late 1990s that I learned how famous this sculpture actually was. When my friend first saw the sculpture, he couldn't believe that Henry Moore's sculpture was actually here. He's the first person I ever knew who actually knew a lot about this sculpture and Henry Moore.

Henry Moore's "Knife Edge sculpture - January 2017

Home Movie of Queen Elizabeth Park during winter of 1970

Snowy Road at Queen Elizabeth Park - January 2017

Lots of snow - 1980

Tobogganing at Queen Elizabeth Park 2005 on the Disk Course

Tobogganing at Queen Elizabeth Park 2005 on the Disk Course

Queen Elizabeth Pitch and Putt on a sunny snow day - 1970