Yesterday I wrote about some of Vancouver’s murals and there was one I purposely left off the list so that I could feature it today in its own post. The image on the side of the Randall Building, at 535 West Georgia, was installed in 1993 and is one of the city’s most photographed.
Randall Building Mural
The Changing Vancouver then and now blog recently featured the Randall Building:
“In 1929 the brokerage firm of S W Randall Co saw their new office building completed on West Georgia. The design is attributed to R T Perry; it had elements of gothic and some art deco, and a somewhat unusual arrangement of two double bays of windows to the west and a single, slightly offset bay to the east. It bears some resemblance to Townley and Matheson’s Stock Exchange Building, completed a year later, but there are several other buildings by other architects, all taking the same gothic theme, and built around this time.
In 1991 jeweller Toni Cavelti gave the building a comprehensive but completely sensitive upgrade, adding a penthouse floor (set back from the parapet) in the process. The project, designed by Blewett Dodd Ching Lee, gave the building an almost identical appearance to our 1929 image. Only the recently restored mural of medieval goldsmiths on the east side of the building (by Kitty Mykka) in 1993 made the building look any different. In 1999 Cavelti sold his company to Henry Birks who still sell Cavelti designed jewelry, and now Time and Gold operate in the store location.”
The mural is based on a copper engraving from 1698 by German Christopher Weigel (1654-1725). It shows a master goldsmith instructing apprentices. It was created by Stephen Hinton and Nicola Kozakiewicz, of Streetworks Design. Nicola wrote to me:
“We had done a dozen murals around Vancouver […] Stephen Hinton was project architect of the Randall Building renovation for BDCL and it was he who originally proposed the mural to Tony Cavelti. Tony came up with the image (3″ x 4″ in size) and the two of us worked out colours, how to scale it up, add the 3 dimensional foam shoulder, etc.” Kitty Mykka helped Nicola paint and the two of them signed the work together as: “The Misfits”.
Previous Vancouver Icons posts: 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 Gassy Jack Statue, 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.
A Loving Spoonful‘s popular CandyGrams campaign returns for Valentine’s Day this year, allowing you to send the message of your choice to a special recipient along with two delicious heart-shaped chocolates from Purdy’s, and more!
Send CandyGrams
Senders can select a friendly, flirty or frisky message from 150 options (filed under Like, Love and Lust) and can include their name, or send it as an anonymous secret admirer. It’s the perfect gift for friends, family, lovers, and everyone in between.
This year, along with the card and chocolates, your recipient will receive a complimentary McDonald’s Signature McWrap, Candygram Valentine’s Post-it Notes, Candygram Valentine’s Owl Magnet, and a Valentine’s wish token.
It’s just $10 to send all of this anywhere in Canada, postage included. Sponsors donate all the items included in the CandyGrams so proceeds from the sale of CandyGrams will go directly to assisting those with HIV/AIDS. Each year, our volunteers deliver over 100,000 meals to those in need, and with very little government funding, A Loving Spoonful relies on the generosity of the community.
CandyGrams are limited and are on sale now online. For on-time delivery (via Canada Post) by or before Valentine’s Day, orders must be placed before February 4th for Eastern Canada, before February 5th for Western Canada, and before February 10th for Metro Vancouver.
A Loving Spoonful is a volunteer-driven, non-partisan society that provides free, nutritious meals to people living with HIV/AIDS in Greater Vancouver. Follow A Loving Spoonful on Facebook and Twitter (tag: #candygram) for more information.
There are fashion shows at wedding fairs, women’s shows, an eco fashion week, and showcases sponsored by flagship stores – all of which prove Vancouver has been its own little fashion hotbed for years. With a unique sense of style and a thirst for the latest threads for the slopes, the ballroom, or the beaches, we’ve kept the runways occupied and cameras flashing for the last 100 years.
14 Vintage Vancouver Fashion Shoots
1929: Women modelling wedding dresses. #Port N101.
1941: C.N.R. Publicity shoot. #CVA 586-723.
1945: Bathing suit models. #CVA 586-3822.
1940s: Reg Stephens modelling GWG clothing. #CVA 1184-3588. Jack Lindsay photo.
1944: Hat models for the Woodward’s, Spencer’s, and Hudson’s Bay catalogues. #CVA 586-2985 & #CVA 586-1504 & #CVA 586-1877.
1946: Hudson’s Bay fashion show. #CVA 586-4273.
1959: Pamela House in an Ice Capades promotion. #CVA 180-6230.
1960: Women modeling culottes with dachshund. VPL# 44109 & 1966: Models in sailor suits. VPL# 44117.
1966: Women modelling evening wear. VPL# 44118 & 44136.
1964: Ski wear fashion show model poses at the PNE. #CVA 180-6074-: CVA 180-6074.03.
After hitting the snooze button for the last time on a weekday morning, bleary-eyed Vancouverites become obsessed with two specific pieces of information to get them going: Weather and traffic. Being very much a “bridge and tunnel” commuter region, we hear about bridges all the time and usually whether they have a stall, backup, heavy volume, or a single lane north or south bound. Slowing the pace (in a good way) when it comes to the way you think of our local bridges, I have found 20 awesome Vancouver bridge photos to help you appreciate these connectors that get us where we need to go, while also adding character to our lovely city views.
Burrard Bridge
Pattullo Bridge
Photo credit: TOTORORO.RORO on Flickr
Port Mann Bridge
Granville Street Bridge
Lions Gate Bridge
Second Narrows Rail Bridge
Second Narrows/Ironworkers Memorial Bridge
Oak Street Bridge
Cambie Bridge
Westham Island Bridge
Bonus! Canada Line
![Canada Line Sunset [Explored]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4241/35185064722_9f34d23885_z.jpg)
Thanks to those who have shared their photos with the Miss604 Flickr Pool, from which these photos were sourced. Related posts: Capilano Suspension Bridge 125th Anniversary, Pattullo Bridge History, Port Mann Bridge Photos, Vancouver Icons: Lions Gate Bridge, Lions Gate Bridge Construction Photos.
When I land at YVR, step out the automatic doors from the arrivals area and sniff the cedar-coated Sea Island air, I know I’m home. I hop in a cab at the airport cruise up Granville from one end to the other, and just over the crest of the Granville Street Bridge I get a glimpse of the snow-capped mountains between the neon of the entertainment district. As I pass the Orca mural by Wyland at the north end of the bridge, I not only feel like I’m home, I have one of those “I’m lucky to live here” moments.
The Orca mural came down this month after being a symbol of homecomings for me, and an iconic and unofficial “Welcome to Downtown” monument for many more, since 1994.
Painted by the artist Wyland, there are 100 of these large outdoor murals known as Whaling Walls around the world. The murals feature life-size images of sea life like gray whales, breaching humpback whales, blue whales and orcas. In Vancouver a new mural will be commissioned but the location will be moved to East Vancouver [Source].
5 Iconic Vancouver Murals
The ocean, mountains, and a city full of glass towers are all images associated with Vancouver but other works like Wyland’s Orcas, have come to be symbols of their communities. Here are 5 iconic Vancouver murals have stood out for me over the years:
The Beatty Street Mural
Location: Beatty Street between Dunsmuir and Georgia
About: This has always been a popular mural location. In 2009 the current patchwork of graffiti and murals was painted over by the city as this piece took shape, featuring prominent Vancouverites throughout history.
Lao Tsu Mural
Location: 311 East Pender Street
About: Part of the Vancouver Mural Tour. Vancouver’s first traditional Chinese painting portraying a historical scholar and philosopher in a mural.
Graffiti Alley
Location: Between Richards and Homer, running parallel to Hastings.
About: A city-funded project that went up in 2005.
West End Mural
Location: Bidwell at Robson
About: After the Starbucks moved out in 2014 after 20 years, the fate of the store space is uncertain but this artistic depiction of Vancouver’s West End and Kitsilano along Bidwell is a mainstay in the community.
The Drive Mural Project
Location: Commercial Drive at Charles Street
About: Part of the Commercial Drive Mural Project
Want to check out more murals? The Great Beginning Program of 2008 has helped create and maintain about 4 dozens murals around the city, that you can visit on self-guided tours and pinpoint on this interactive map:
If you have a favourite mural in Vancouver, leave a comment about it or take a photo on Instagram and tag it #Photos604.
TOTORORO.RORO
