The Burnaby Mountain Centennial Pavilion, 100 Centennial Way, Burnaby. This was built for the 1958 centenary celebrations, if you haven’t deduced that already. At this point in time, SFU was merely a recommendation in a report entitled Higher Education in British Columbia and a Plan for the Future, by Dr. J.B. Macdonald [source].

Update! I should add, I didn’t realize that Horizon’s Restaurant is now occupying the Centennial Pavilion! Furthermore, there was a fire at the restaurant in the spring of 2010, but the good news is, they were insured, and the restaurant has been rebuilt thanks in part to $300,000 of additional help from the City of Burnaby. It’s interesting to see how the building has been adapted over time. I’m glad I found this grand opening souvenir program!

The City and the Store, the cover art from a most excellent brochure from the golden age of the Woodwards Department Store, circa 1958, to commemorate British Columbia’s Centennial Year. The text in the brochure was attributed to Douglas E Harker (who incidentally was born 100 years ago), but it failed to credit the artist, who used coloured pencils or crayons to render period photographs in a precise and consistent way throughout the brochure. From the VPL Special Collections NW Hist Call #:658.871 W91ha.

Vancouver Short Stories, a centennial book cover illustrated by Robin Arkell and George Juhasz. The Vancouver Archives recently did a blog post on the Centennial Commission Records with a host of retro images from 86 not to be missed! I’m proud to have tracked down a growing collection of Centennial and Expo imagery that could still very easily slip through the cracks of our collective memory. Search for the tags centennial and Expo86 for a recap!

Sea Otter by Hugh Alvin Ricks, one of a series of 4 paintings created for Vancouver’s 100th birthday in 1986. This is the only painting of the 4 which to my knowledge did not end up in Vancouver’s City Hall. Hugh Ricks was an American painter based in New Orleans, a favourite artist of the publishing company which commissioned the posters. The other posters in the series include Heritage by Michael Kluckner, City of the Century by Toni Onley, and Waterfront City by Jack Shadbolt. Paintings from this series have been tagged “centennial”. I’m very proud to have recently spotted a pristine copy of this poster for sale at the New Westminster Salvation Army!

In addition to this 100th anniversary poster series, another series of art posters was produced for Expo86. This included The Ovaltine Cafe, by Colette French, Girl in Motion by Robert Genn, a Daniel Izzard sunset, and one other painting (possibly an image of a totem pole? MK now recalls it was a view from Little Mountain of the city! Keep your eyes peeled, peeps!) If anyone spots that fourth Expo86 poster, I’d love to hear from you!

Springtime at the Stuart Building, a Vancouver landmark at the entrance to Stanley Park from 1909-1982. Painted by Barb Wood and seen on the cover of a Vancouver centennial engagement calendar in 1986. About the Stuart Building, Barb writes in the calendar, “At five o’clock on a clear July morning in 1982, a bulldozer operator did his job and we all became a bit poorer. Sitting at the entrance to the Stanley Park causeway, just across from Lost Lagoon, the Stuart Building was to many a piece of pure architectural delight.”

She adds in an email, “we were told it was too frail to stand, so it should come down. When they drove the first bulldozer through it, the results were like a Bugs Bunny cartoon - the structure was so sound, that the machine left a bull-dozer shaped hole, side to side.”

Among the tenants, she recalls a super BC Arts gift shop inside. What a novel idea; buying art in the park!

Girl in Motion, (a play on the theme of Expo 86 “Man in Motion”) a 24 x 30 acrylic on canvas by Robert Genn (the young girl depicting his daughter). Sold on the Expo 86 grounds among other places, it was made into two posters and a limited edition print, apparently one of the largest selling reproductions of its day. This poster followed a series of centennial posters printed for Vancouver’s 100th birthday. Happy birthday, Expo 86!

Heritage by Michael Kluckner (as seen on p.217 of Vancouver Remembered), part of a series of 4 paintings created for Vancouver’s 100th birthday in 1986. The painting depicts both old and new Vancouver with a view from Frances Street at Victoria Drive, including a corner store, a majestic turreted house, and the modern skyline. Even in 1985, many of the homes depicted along this block did not actually exist at this location, but were instead a representative sampling of Grandview homes. Today, the majestic turreted house at Frances Street and Salsbury Drive remains the sole landmark of Vancouver’s early heritage on this block.

Seen previously: City of the Century by Toni Onley, Waterfront City by Jack Shadbolt, and if anyone has the poster or an image of Hugh Ricks’ Sea Otter painting, please send it over! Paintings from this series are tagged “centennial”.

Waterfront City, by Jack Shadbolt, 1985. Part of a series of 4 paintings created for Vancouver’s 100th birthday in 1986. The paintings were commissioned by a publication company that reprinted the paintings as a series of commemorative poster prints. Three of the four paintings were purchased from the publication company, held in trust, and this painting is now displayed in Vancouver’s City Hall.

City of the Century by Toni Onley was previously posted last week, and
Heritage by Michael Kluckner (as seen on p.217 of Vancouver Remembered) will be posted next week. I am missing a picture of Hugh Ricks’ Sea Otter painting; if anyone has the poster, or an image, please send it over! Thank you!

Paintings from this series will be tagged “centennial”.

City of the Century, Vancouver, B.C. from Spanish Banks, October 4, 1984, by Toni Onley. 

This painting was part of a series of 4 paintings created for Vancouver’s 100th birthday in 1986. The paintings were commissioned by a publication company that reprinted the paintings as a series of commemorative poster prints. Three of the four paintings were purchased from the publication company, and this painting is now displayed in Vancouver’s City Hall. The other 3 paintings from the series will be posted in days/weeks to come, and will be tagged “centennial”.

The three other works in the series are Heritage by Michael Kluckner (as seen on p.217 of Vancouver Remembered) Waterfront City by Jack Shadbolt, and Sea Otter by American artist Hugh Ricks (I am missing a picture of Ricks’ Sea Otter painting; if anyone has the poster, or an image, please send it over! Thank you!)

Rand and Edgar Mural (Maritime Museum Mural) by Frank Lewis, 1986.

“Through a series of interconnected images, this mural tells of the people and ships that played a vital role in shaping the history and culture of Vancouver. Two centuries of activity are traced in time from left to right.” (information sheet from the Maritime Museum) In the upper left, the “Lions” represent the geographic outlook of Vancouver. The activity on the sea is represented by images of First Nations peoples and their canoes and Captain George Vancouver and his ship Discovery along with Valdes and Galiano and their ships Sutil and Mexicana from 1792.The image also shows Captain GH Richards who surveyed the area and his ship Plumber as well as the Beaver, the first steamship on the coast, a Hudson Bay Company supply vessel, along with others. In the diamond in the centre of the image is the Empress of Japan and its famous dragon figurehead which is in the Museum’s collection. Modern freighters and luxury steamers complete this section of the picture. The Lions Gate Bridge, built in 1939, is depicted, as is the St Roch, the RCMP patrol vessel that worked the North-West Passage in the early 1940s, which is housed in the Maritime Museum. Also shown are the Ivanhoe and the Master, wood-hulled tugs from the early 20th century. The harbour is depicted by Canada Place with its cruise ship facility and the Saskatchewan Grain Pool elevator and a Japanese freighter. The people who work in the harbour are also shown, identifiably Joe Fortes, the legendary English Bay lifeguard. The mural was created for the Vancouver Centennial in 1986. It is a project of the Vancouver Legacies Programme in cooperation with the Vancouver Maritime Museum and a gift to the city from the firm of Rand and Edgar, Barristers and Solicitors. [source]