Vancouver Icons: Girl in a Wetsuit
byOn this day in Vancouver history, June 10, 1972, the Girl in a Wetsuit statue was revealed just off the north shore of Stanley Park. She was commissioned by Douglas Brown, a local lawyer, who approached sculptor Elek Imredy in 1968. He wanted the statute to be based on Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid that sits in the water in Copenhagen. I wrote more about our Girl in a Wetsuit’s history in 2008.
Copenhagen:
Girl in a Wetsuit
Vancouver:
Photo credit: blueviking63 on Flickr
Photo credit: Taylor McConnell on Flickr
Photo credit: Wendy North on Flickr
Photo credit: (Left) tgreyfox (Right) cwagdom on Flickr
Photo credit: Matthew Kendall on Flickr
Photo credit: Larissa Sayer on Flickr
Photo credit: Ben Shepherd on Flickr
Over the years our Girl out there in the water has been the subject of many photos, a resting place for animals and birds, and sometimes she’s been dressed up to support the local sports team.
Photo credit: PiscesDreamer on Flickr
Photo credit: Clayton Perry on Flickr
Photo credit: flinner! on Flickr
Photo credit: Philip Tong on Flickr
Photo credit: Philip Tong on Flickr
Photo credit: Philip Tong on Flickr
Other Vancouver Icons posts: Playground of the Gods, Photo Session Statues, City Hall History, BC Sugar, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, Museum of Anthropology, Fort Langley Community Hall, Christ Church Cathedral, Waterfront Station, Pacific Central Station, Randall Building Mural, East Van Cross, Robert Burns Statue in Stanley Park, Vancouver Maritime Museum, Flack Block, The Drop, Prospect Point Lighthouse, Engagement, Ovaltine Cafe, The English Bay Slide, Freezing Water #7, Cleveland Dam, Heritage Hall, School of Theology Building at UBC, Gate to the Northwest Passage, St Paul’s Hospital, Capilano Lake, Stawamus Chief, Nine O’Clock Gun, Malkin Bowl, Search, Vancouver Rowing Club, Echoes, Point Atkinson Lighthouse, English Bay Inukshuk, Hollow Tree, Hotel Europe, Lions Gate Bridge Lions, LightShed, Granville Bridge, 217.5 Arc x 13′, Canoe Bridge, Vancouver Block, Bloedel Conservatory, Centennial Rocket, Canada Place, Old Courthouse/Vancouver Art Gallery, Dominion Building, Science World, Gastown Steam Clock, SFU Burnaby, Commodore Lanes, Siwash Rock, Kitsilano Pool, White Rock Pier, Main Post Office, Planetarium Building, Lord Stanley Statue, Vancouver Library Central Branch, Victory Square, Digital Orca, The Crab Sculpture, Girl in Wetsuit, The Sun Tower, The Hotel Vancouver, The Marine Building, and The Angel of Victory. Should you have a suggestion for the Vancouver Icons series please feel free to leave a note in the comments. It should be a thing, statue, or place that is very visible and recognizable to the public.
5 Comments — Comments Are Closed
Hi Rebecca,
Thanks for the great post! Always enjoy reading your blog. For Vancouver icons, as someone who works in tourism, I can think of many… Some which immediately spring to mind are:
– steamclock
– the downtown Vancouver Public Library
– Lions Gate Bridge
– the VAN-EAST cross
– the red lit entrance sign to Granville Island (hanging under the bridge)
– science world dome
– vancouver convention centre
– orca statue outside of the aquarium
… And I’m sure there are many more you could do also, depending on what you define as a ‘Vancouver Icon’. I look forward to reading about them!
Hi Rebecca, love the local history & photos. More suggestions:
– Carnegie Library in DTES
– Nat Bailey stadium (or whatever they call it now)
– Fort Langley, if Icons includes GVRD. Where else in BC has had a cannon battle?!
– the Lions (peaks)
– surviving remnants of Expo 86 (buildings & art) – or was that covered during the 25th anniversary?
I am from Vancouver, B.C. Canada, born and raised. I live in California now and my favorite memory is of Stanley Park and the girl in the wetsuit picture. Thanks for posting!!!
I have always loved that Hans Christian Anderson statue and I can’t help but love taking pictures of our wonderful “Girl in a Wetsuit”, just as awesome as a visit to Siwash rock.
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